Community Satisfaction Survey

Key findings

• Sense of community

  Residents overwhelmingly agree that Port Phillip is:

  • Welcoming and inclusive for people from diverse cultures
  • Vibrant, accessible, engaging, and full of energy and life
  • A place where they feel proud, connected, and enjoy living in the neighbourhood.

• What’s working well

  Satisfaction remains high for services that the community values most. Top performing services include:

  • Local libraries
  • Kerbside waste collection
  • Parks and gardens
  • Children’s services
  • Sports ovals and outdoor facilities
  • The Waste Recovery Centre.

  Some neighbourhoods, including St Kilda Road and St Kilda East / Balaclava, reported above-average satisfaction.

• Issues and concerns

  While results have improved overall, challenges remain:

  • Safety, policing and crime
  • Car parking
  • Homelessness
  • Provision and maintenance of street trees
  • Road maintenance and repairs

  We acknowledge these issues and are committed to addressing them.

• What we’re doing on key issues

  The survey helps us prioritise what matters most to you. We use the results to improve our services, strategies and plans. Some initiatives include:

  • Community Safety Plan to be renewed in 2025/26 Feel Safe. Be Safe. Community Safety in Port Phillip | Have Your Say Port Phillip.
  • Continued improvements to parking services, including an update to Local Law restrictions relating to caravans, boats and trailers, and ensuring sufficient resourcing for major events such as the Grand Prix.
  • Affordable Housing and Homelessness strategy to be renewed in 2025/26 Engaging on the new Homelessness and Affordable Housing Strategy | Have Your Say Port Phillip.
  • A new contract is being procured for open space and tree maintenance, including increased services such as mulching garden beds, weed spraying, tree pruning and rain garden maintenance.
  • An additional $9m of planned investment to replace degraded road pavement and wearing coarse, which will result in thousands of square meters of additional road pavement replaced each year.

• How we use your results

  Results from the survey are used across the organisation to improve planning, budgeting and service delivery. For example, we are implementing:

  • An additional Local Laws officer to ensure additional proactive patrols of construction sites, to address community concern about out of hours and unpermitted work taking place.
  • A partnership with students from the University of Melbourne’s innovation program to develop graffiti and vandalism mitigation strategies.
  • Increased street pressure washing in “hot spot” locations, such as around trees that drop significant amounts of fruit and seeds.
  • 80 new cages on public bins to support community recycling of eligible containers.
  • Two new auditors to ensure contractors are meeting service delivery standards.
  • Two refurbishment projects in our local libraries.
  • Website improvements to make it easier to navigate and find what you need.
  • A special rate for the South Melbourne precinct, and renewal for Port Melbourne, which will increase trader-led activities in both precincts.
  • Improved reporting-back timeframes for community engagement, and clearer information about how feedback as influenced the project outcomes.
  • Continued rollout of the footpath renewal program, with a focus on repair and replacement of damaged or uneven footpaths, tree root management to prevent recurring damage, and upgrades in high-traffic and high-growth areas.
  • Renewal of the Public Place CCTV system in St Kilda.

  The Action Plan will be continually reviewed and updated with feedback from Councillors and can be accessed here: CSS 2025 Action Plan