What is communications?

When we talk about communications, we mean the way Council shares information with the community. This includes:

  • Publications like the Banyule Banner and News From Our Neighbourhood delivered to your letterbox.
  • Social media posts on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn
  • Emails, text messages and webpages
  • Signs and posters around our suburbs
  • Information about events, services, decisions and construction projects.

The Communications Strategy

The draft Communications Strategy 2025–2029 guides plans to improve reach, responsiveness and impact of our communications. It includes actions to improve our communications and make Council’s messaging clearer, more inclusive and easier to access.

The Strategy also aims to help our community feel more connected, informed and represented about the parts of Council that matter most to them and will help us to:

  • make sure our communications provide accurate, timely and complete information
  • raise awareness and deepen understanding of Council's services, initiatives and decisions
  • build trust and strengthen connection.

The Strategy aligns with a Council Plan strategy to 'Improve the reach, transparency, impact and responsiveness of our communications', and is listed as an action in the Council Plan 2021 – 2025 Year 4 Annual Action Plan (Table 6, Action 22, p.29).

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What we've heard

2024 Communications Survey

In mid-2024 we asked our community what they thought of our communications. We received over 550 responses to the survey, both online and in-person.

We've used this feedback to develop the draft Communications Strategy, which includes 40 actions to improve the reach, responsiveness and impact of our communications.

What we heard

  • Council's communication

    Survey respondents rated Council communications as 'good' (6.7/10), up from 5% in 2020.

  • Publications and website

    Our community told us they 'really liked' the Banyule Banner, News From Our Neighbourhood and Council’s website.

  • Communications methods

    People said they feel that we’re mostly using the right communication methods, with good alignment between how people want to receive information and the way Council shares it.

  • Digital communications

    Amongst the community there’s strong usage of Council’s website and digital forms.

  • eNewsletter and socials

    Our eNewsletter subscriber base and social media engagement is growing – although social media followers have slowed.

Room to improve

Your survey responses also told us where we can get better. We heard that:

  • young and middle-aged adults and multi-lingual households are less satisfied and engaged with Council’s communications
  • our community wants to hear more about local events and activities, roadworks and Council infrastructure projects
  • people would like more personalised and on-demand communications, such as emails or SMS notifications
  • some people feel Council could use simpler messaging and plain language.