In late 2024, Lismore City Council undertook its most comprehensive community survey to date, inviting residents and business owners to share their views on local services, priorities and quality of life in the region. The Lismore Community Scorecard was delivered by independent research firm Catalyse, and forms a vital part of Council’s evidence-based approach to long-term planning.
Lismore is committed to community-led decision-making and the Scorecard ensures Council can better understand what matters most to residents — and where to focus resources for greatest impact.
This survey was a key input into the development of Lismore’s new Community Strategic Plan, helping us answer some important questions:
- How satisfied are people with Lismore City Council’s overall performance?
- What services do people value most—and how are we tracking?
- How do residents and business owners feel about life in Lismore?
By seeking a broad cross-section of feedback, we can more confidently align our strategic priorities with the needs and aspirations of our community.
The Community Scorecard was open from 5 to 24 November 2024 and received an overwhelming 1,678 responses — more than four times the sample size required for statistically significant results. This included:
- 384 responses from business owners
- Over 136,000 words of written feedback
- Achieving nearly 1,700 responses sends a strong message: our community is engaged, invested, and eager to be heard.
To ensure findings reflected the broader population, results were weighted to match Lismore’s age and gender profile based on the latest census data.
Using a proven framework, participants rated 42 areas of Council service delivery across five key themes:
- Community
- Environment
- Place
- Prosperity
- Governance
The Scorecard also captured insights into general satisfaction with life in Lismore, with 9 targeted questions focusing on liveability, sense of belonging and perceptions of the region.
Areas of strength
- Sense of Community: A majority of residents feel a sense of belonging in their local community.
- Sport and Recreation: Sport and recreation facilities are performing well and are among the highest-rated services.
- Parks and Playgrounds: Parks and playgrounds are positively regarded by the community.
- Support for Local Business: The local area is seen as a reasonably good place to work or operate a business.
Areas for improvement
Infrastructure and Amenity:
- Local roads and bridges were the lowest-rated area overall.
- Stormwater management and waste services also received low satisfaction, suggesting a need for improved maintenance and responsiveness.
- Community buildings and public toilets were rated poorly, pointing to concerns about amenity and upkeep.
Flood Resilience and Recovery:
- Both flood mitigation planning and flood recovery efforts were rated low, indicating community concern about disaster preparedness and progress on recovery.
Economic Development and Planning for Growth:
- There is dissatisfaction with Council's broader growth management across the LGA. Residents expressed limited satisfaction with Council’s efforts in creating jobs, boosting tourism and activating the city centre.
Youth Services:
- Community services and facilities for youth received low satisfaction scores, indicating a need for targeted investment and improvement.
Leadership and Governance:
- Ratings were low across several governance areas, including leadership, communication of a clear vision, and financial sustainability.
Highest Comparative Scores
(Where Lismore is performing in line with or close to industry average/high)
Lowest Comparative Scores
(Where Lismore is rating as most below average)
The Scorecard results including the open text feedback was used to inform a draft Community Strategic Plan in response to what the community told us. This draft was then further socialised with community through a series of four dedicated workshops to test that we had understood what the community had said. This additional layer of consultation was used to inform the final draft Community Strategic Plan for Lismore which is now on public display for further community input.