New data shows Victorian councils have substantially improved their waste services by recording a large reduction in the number of missed bin collections and successfully diverting more waste from landfill.

Overall, councils improved on more than a third of the performance measures, just one year after performance data was first made available by the Andrews Labor Government.

The latest data has been made publicly available on the Labor Government’s Know Your Council website today, allowing residents across Victoria to see how their local council is performing.

Know Your Council measures and compares the performance of Victoria’s 79 councils each year, giving residents greater insights into trends and patterns in the way their council operates.

Councils report on a broad range of performance data including planning permits, financial performance, roads, governance and waste collection.

The data shows councils are becoming more efficient, with the average cost of running indoor and outdoor aquatic facilities per visitor falling in the past 12 months.

After the Victorian Ombudsman’s investigation into closed council meetings earlier this year, data shows councils have also become more transparent, with the percentage of decisions made in meetings closed to the public dropping almost 5 per cent.

Golden Plains Shire and the City of Greater Dandenong were the most improved in this area, with the rate of decisions made ‘in camera’ dropping by 75 per cent when compared to 2014/15.

The data also shows areas for further improvement – such as animal management, which recorded poorer results.

Reporting takes place each year, with a space also set aside for each council to explain their results.

To view performance data for your council and to compare councils, visit knowyourcouncil.vic.gov.au.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Local Government Natalie Hutchins

“Local residents rightly expect councils to be as open and transparent as possible when it comes to local services.”

“We were elected to put people first – and that means giving ratepayers more information on their local councils than they’ve ever had before.”