As councils grapple with growth pressures, liveability data is helping to turn community sentiment into measurable outcomes.
For local governments across Australia, the challenge is no longer simply delivering infrastructure – it is delivering the right infrastructure.
In fast-growing communities especially, councils are under pressure to balance housing growth, transport demand, social infrastructure, environmental resilience and community expectations, with finite resources and competing priorities. The question increasingly facing councils is not just what should be delivered next, but how to prove that those investments will genuinely improve quality of life.
That’s where liveability data is becoming an increasingly important decision-making tool.
Community engagement platform Place Score has built its approach around measuring what residents value most in the places they live, work and spend time. Through the Australian Liveability Census, conducted every two years, councils gain access to nationally benchmarked data that translates community sentiment into measurable indicators.
In 2023, more than 26,000 Australians participated in the census, including more than 8000 residents living in the nation’s fastest-growing local government areas.
The findings painted a stark picture. Residents in Australia’s fast-growing outer suburban local government areas (LGAs) rated liveability, on average, six per cent lower than the rest of the country and up to 11 per cent lower than neighbouring metropolitan areas. Yet these same growth areas are expected to accommodate an additional 2.5 million people by 2031.
For councils, the implications are significant. As communities expand, the pressure to ensure growth is matched with social infrastructure, amenity and connection also intensifies.
But the data also demonstrates something else – that liveability outcomes can improve when councils use evidence-based planning to guide investment decisions.
Turning community sentiment into strategy
Unlike traditional consultation methods that often focus on isolated projects or individual priorities, Place Score’s liveability framework aims to provide councils with a broader understanding of how communities experience place as a whole.
The framework measures 50 liveability indicators, spanning everything from walkability and access to services through to social cohesion, safety, resilience and sense of belonging.
Importantly, the methodology aligns with broader national thinking around wellbeing measurement. Place Score shares its definition of liveability with the Australian education system, reinforcing a consistent understanding of what makes communities thrive across both civic and educational settings.
The Australian Liveability Census is also currently the only nationally benchmarked liveability research program in the country, allowing councils to compare local outcomes against regional, state and national averages.
For councils, this benchmarking capability can be particularly valuable. Community expectations are often shaped not only by local experiences, but also by perceptions of how their area compares to neighbouring regions.
Having defensible, comparative data allows councils to identify gaps, prioritise investments and advocate more effectively for external funding.
It also shifts conversations from anecdotal feedback toward measurable outcomes.
Rather than relying solely on who attends a community consultation session or which issues generate the loudest responses, councils can access statistically robust data showing what matters most across demographics, suburbs and neighbourhoods.
This can become especially important in high-growth corridors where rapid development risks outpacing community infrastructure.
Camden Council’s liveability turnaround
For Camden Council in New South Wales, liveability data became an important tool for understanding how one of Australia’s fastest-growing regions could continue improving outcomes despite enormous population pressure.
Growth-area councils often face declining liveability scores as housing density increases and infrastructure struggles to keep pace. But Camden has managed to move against that trend.
Using insights drawn from Place Score’s Liveability Census alongside broader wellbeing measurement frameworks, Council developed a more detailed understanding of the community’s priorities, strengths and vulnerabilities.
That work contributed to the development of the Camden Wellbeing Report 2025, which established a structured framework for measuring community outcomes across health, cohesion, resilience, safety and education.
The report highlighted how data-driven planning could improve transparency, collaboration and evidence-based decision making across the LGA.
Importantly, the process moved beyond simply collecting community feedback. The liveability data was used to identify where investment gaps existed and where interventions could produce the greatest impact on residents’ daily lives.
The results were measurable.
Between 2023 and 2025, Camden recorded improvements across several Place Score liveability indicators, including sense of belonging, neighbourhood connection and perceptions of inclusiveness.
Residents rated Camden’s sense of belonging at 7.7 out of 10 in 2025, up from 7.4 in 2023 and above both state and national averages.
Perceptions of Camden being welcoming to all people also improved, rising from 7.9 to 8.2 over the same period.
Neighbourhood resilience and community connection similarly trended upward.
These improvements are significant because they run counter to broader national patterns identified in growth-area communities.
The data also gave Council stronger foundations for advocacy and long-term planning.
Mayor of Camden, Therese Fedeli, said it was pleasing to see residents continue to feel connected to their neighbourhoods.
“Camden is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, so it’s incredibly encouraging to see our community continuing to report stronger feelings of belonging, connection and inclusion as we grow,” she said.
“The insights from this data are helping Council better understand what matters most to our residents and where we can make the greatest impact in people’s everyday lives.
“We’re committed to ensuring Camden remains a connected, resilient and welcoming community now and into the future.”
Camden used the insights to help shape strategies around social infrastructure, transport, resilience and community services, while aligning local priorities with broader Federal and state wellbeing frameworks.
Council’s approach demonstrates how liveability data can move beyond community consultation and become embedded within governance, strategic planning and infrastructure prioritisation.
Rather than treating wellbeing as an abstract concept, the data created measurable indicators that could track progress over time and guide future investment.
Building defensible decisions in Hornsby
For Hornsby Shire Council, the value of liveability data was particularly evident in funding advocacy.
Like many councils experiencing housing growth and increasing density, Hornsby faced the challenge of demonstrating where social infrastructure investment was most urgently needed.
As a Place Score Liveability Census partner since 2021, Council progressively integrated community insight into planning and decision-making processes.
By aligning Place Score’s 50 liveability metrics with its Community Strategic Plan, Hornsby established a clearer understanding of how residents experienced different neighbourhoods and where infrastructure gaps were emerging.
That evidence became particularly valuable when seeking external funding support.
Using Place Score data, Hornsby Shire Council successfully supported a funding application through the Federal Government’s Thriving Suburbs program, securing more than $12 million for the Hornsby Park Field of Play project.
The liveability data helped Council demonstrate not only where population growth was occurring, but also the specific social infrastructure deficits affecting those communities.
Crucially, the data provided defensibility.
For councils, infrastructure decisions are increasingly scrutinised by governments, stakeholders and communities alike. Demonstrating why one project is prioritised over another can become difficult when decisions rely heavily on anecdotal evidence or fragmented consultation feedback.
Place-based liveability metrics help councils to ground those decisions in measurable community outcomes.
The geographically detailed nature of the data also allows councils to identify how priorities vary between demographics, suburbs and neighbourhoods, rather than assuming a one-size-fits-all approach to planning.
In practice, this gives councils stronger evidence when advocating for funding, designing infrastructure programs or responding to community concerns.
It also creates a clearer line between strategic planning and lived experience.
A growing role for liveability measurement
As councils continue responding to rapid growth, housing pressures and evolving community expectations, liveability measurement is likely to play an increasingly important role in local government decision making.
The traditional challenge for councils has never been a lack of community feedback. Rather, it has been how to interpret that feedback consistently, compare it meaningfully and translate it into long-term planning decisions.
Nationally benchmarked liveability data provides one pathway for doing that.
For growth-area councils in particular, the stakes are high. The communities absorbing much of Australia’s population growth are often also those experiencing the greatest infrastructure shortfalls and liveability pressures.
Place Score’s research found that between 2011 and 2016, Australia’s fastest-growing outer suburban LGAs absorbed 35 per cent of national population growth and generated 25 per cent of job growth, while receiving only 13 per cent of infrastructure investment.
To find out more, visit placescore.org
