MARKYT® Community Scorecard

Bellingen Shire Council undertakes an ongoing strategic planning process to ensure our priorities, services and investment continue to reflect the needs and aspirations of our community.

In 2024, Council adopted the FUTYR® strategic planning approach, strengthening the way we engage with our community, plan for the future and report on our progress. This process informed the development of Our Plan for the Future, which brings together our Community Strategic Plan, Delivery Program and Operational Plan into one clear roadmap and responds to the Integrated Planning and Reporting principles of the Local Government Act 1993.

Community Scorecards

An important part of our strategic planning process is regularly checking in with our community to understand how people feel about life in the Shire, Council services and facilities, and how Council is progressing against the priorities our community has identified.

2026 Community Pulse Scorecard

In 2026, Council undertook a Community Pulse Scorecard as a two-year check-in on community sentiment and Council's progress against the priorities identified in Our Plan for the Future.

A total of 1,089 community members participated in the independent study conducted by CATALYSE®, providing valuable insight into perceptions of Council services and facilities and how these have changed since the 2024 Community Scorecard.

The results provide comparative data against 2024 as well as industry benchmarks, helping Council understand where perceptions have improved, where opportunities remain and where our community would like us to focus.

These insights will help inform future service planning, service reviews, budget considerations and investment decisions.

Explore the 2026 results

Explore the 2026 Community Pulse Scorecard in MARKYT Interactive

Download the 2026 Community Pulse Scorecard report(PDF, 3MB)

2024 Community Scorecard

In 2024, more than 1,600 people participated in the MARKYT® Community Scorecard, sharing their views on life in the Shire, Council services, priorities and aspirations for the future.

The Scorecard was followed by workshops with Councillors, staff and the community to further explore the findings. Together, this work helped shape the vision, objectives, strategies and actions contained in Our Plan for the Future and established a baseline against which Council can track changes in community perceptions over time.

Explore the 2024 Community Scorecard in MARKYT Interactive

Download the 2024 Community Scorecard report(PDF, 3MB)

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our Community Scorecards and broader strategic planning processes. Your feedback helps Council understand what matters to our community, track our progress and make informed decisions about where we focus our efforts and resources.