What the community has said
Findings from surveys, consultations and official measures, each labelled by how it was collected. Figures from different kinds of evidence are never combined.
How to read this page
- Representative survey:
- A sample designed to reflect the whole population.
- Weighted opt-in panel:
- People who signed up to a panel, weighted to look more like the population. Useful, but not a random sample.
- Administrative statistic:
- Counts and measures from official records.
- Other published research:
- Published research by other organisations.
- Self-selected consultation:
- Views from people who chose to take part. Shows what participants said, not what everyone thinks.
None of this says how any MLA should vote. Public Matter doesn’t run its own polls.
Weighted opt-in panelCompleted survey
2025 Community Priorities Survey: what Canberrans want the government to focus on
Who: ACT Government, YourSay Panel. When: 21 October to 4 November 2025 (summary report, April 2026). How many: 1,801 people. Where: the ACT.
Method: An opt-in panel of Canberrans aged 18 and over, with extra young people recruited through a second panel, weighted by age, gender and region to match the 2021 Census. Limits: people chose to join the panel, so weighting helps but this isn’t a random sample of all Canberrans. Figures here are for the ACT as a whole. Question: “What do you feel are the most important areas for the ACT Government to focus on? (up to three)”
Share choosing each area as a top-three priority| Area | Chose it as a top-three priority | Agree enough is being done |
|---|
| Delivering high-quality healthcare | 47% | 39% |
| Improving housing choice and affordability | 31% | 24% |
| Improving public transport and active travel options | 27% | 47% |
| Maintaining essential services | 26% | 62% |
| Delivering high-quality education | 25% | 42% |
| Investing in major infrastructure projects | 23% | 54% |
| Enhancing community safety | 19% | 40% |
| Delivering cost-of-living support where it's most needed | 17% | 27% |
| Enriching Canberra's entertainment, sporting and cultural life | 15% | 55% |
| Taking climate action and switching to clean energy | 15% | 60% |
| Supporting local business and growing the ACT economy | 14% | 32% |
| Strengthening services to support vulnerable Canberrans | 14% | 31% |
Open consultations
No open government consultations are listed here yet. When they are, each will link to the official YourSay page, and results will only appear once published, labelled as views from people who chose to take part.
No other survey or consultation findings have been checked and added yet.
Official statistics
ACT Wellbeing Framework
Official measures published by the ACT Government, latest ACT-wide figure for each. Source data.
Access and connectivity (4 measures)
| Australian digital inclusion index | By breakdown only | |
| Community satisfaction with ACT Government services | 85% | 2023-06-30 |
| Ease of access to places | By breakdown only | |
| Local area liveability | By breakdown only | |
Economy (9 measures)
| Change in number of businesses | 3.5% | 2023-06-30 |
| Disposable household income percentile ratio � P20/P50 ratio | 62.8% | 2020-06-30 |
| Employment growth | 3.5% | 2023-07-01 |
| Industry gross value added growth | By breakdown only | |
| Labour productivity | 7.1% | 2022-06-30 |
| Participation rate | 72.7% | 2023-07-01 |
| Real gross state product (GSP) growth | 1.9% | 2022-06-01 |
| Underemployment rate | 5.1% | 2023-07-01 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.8% | 2023-07-01 |
Education and life-long learning (10 measures)
| Learning gain - literacy years 3-5 | 78.2 (Score) | 2021-12-31 |
| Learning gain - literacy years 7-9 | 33.2 (Score) | 2021-12-31 |
| Learning gain - numeracy years 3-5 | 81.3 (Score) | 2021-12-31 |
| Learning gain - numeracy years 7-9 | 32.5 (Score) | 2021-12-31 |
| Proportion of 3-year-olds enrolled in preschool | 75.6% | 2022-12-31 |
| Proportion of ACT adults with non-school qualifications | 70.4% | 2022-05-01 |
| Proportion of children enrolled in a preschool program in the year before fulltime schooling | 100.7% | 2022-12-31 |
| Relative equity of literacy outcomes | 58 (Score) | 2022-12-31 |
| Relative equity of numeracy outcomes | 52 (Score) | 2022-12-31 |
| School identification | 60% | 2022-12-31 |
Environment and climate (10 measures)
| Air quality - annual | By breakdown only | |
| Catchment health | By breakdown only | |
| Ecosystem condition | By breakdown only | |
| Greenhouse gas emissions | By breakdown only | |
| Heatwave resilience | By breakdown only | |
| Status of threats to the natural environment | By breakdown only | |
| Tree canopy cover | 22.5% | 2020-04-15 |
| Use of green spaces - self-reported | By breakdown only | |
| Use of green spaces - visitation | 14,270 (Visitors) | 2023-08-31 |
| Water quality | By breakdown only | |
Governance and institutions (8 measures)
| Community experience and perception of human rights | By breakdown only | |
| Having a say and being heard | By breakdown only | |
| Percentage of cases finalised - ACAT | 92% | 2023-06-30 |
| Percentage of civil cases finalised - ACT Magistrates Court | 92% | 2023-06-30 |
| Percentage of civil cases finalised - ACT Supreme Court | 61% | 2023-06-30 |
| Percentage of criminal cases finalised - ACT Magistrates Court | 89% | 2023-06-30 |
| Percentage of criminal cases finalised - ACT Supreme Court | 82% | 2023-06-30 |
| Trust in groups and institutions in the ACT | By breakdown only | |
Health (12 measures)
| Access to GP services | By breakdown only | |
| Access to allied health services | By breakdown only | |
| Access to dentists | By breakdown only | |
| Access to mental health services | By breakdown only | |
| Access to specialist services | By breakdown only | |
| Children who are developmentally on track | 47.3% | 2021-12-31 |
| Getting enough sleep | By breakdown only | |
| Health status | By breakdown only | |
| Healthy weight | By breakdown only | |
| K6 psychological distress scale | By breakdown only | |
| Life expectancy at birth | By breakdown only | |
| Mental health status | By breakdown only | |
Housing and home (6 measures)
| Affordable home purchase | 31.7% | 2022-09-30 |
| Availability of affordable homes for purchase | 55.1 (Rate per 1,000) | 2020-06-30 |
| Housing suitability index | By breakdown only | |
| Overcrowding | 94.6% | 2021-08-10 |
| People sleeping rough | 1.3 (Rate per 10,000) | 2021-08-10 |
| Rental stress | 27.7% | 2020-06-30 |
Identity and belonging (8 measures)
| Belonging | By breakdown only | |
| Canberra is a good place to live | By breakdown only | |
| Culturally inclusive city | By breakdown only | |
| Discrimination | By breakdown only | |
| Engaging with traditional custodians and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures | By breakdown only | |
| Inclusion | By breakdown only | |
| Knowledge of traditional custodians | By breakdown only | |
| Valuing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture | By breakdown only | |
Living standards (4 measures)
| Consumer price index (CPI) | By breakdown only | |
| Disposable income | $1,406 | 2020-06-30 |
| Level of prosperity | By breakdown only | |
| Net worth | $1,116.2k | 2020-06-30 |
Personal wellbeing (1 measures)
| Personal wellbeing index | By breakdown only | |
Safety (11 measures)
| Ambulance response times to priority 1 incidents | 16.8 (Minutes) | 2023-06-30 |
| Community attitudes on violence against women | 70 (Score) | 2021-06-30 |
| Community satisfaction with police services | 68.7% | 2023-06-30 |
| Emergency preparedness | By breakdown only | |
| First fire crew on scene of a structural fire | 11.5 (Minutes) | 2023-06-30 |
| Number of road deaths | 2.2 (Rate per 100,000) | 2023-06-30 |
| Perception of safety in the neighbourhood at night | 57% | 2023-06-30 |
| Perception of safety in the neighbourhood during the day | 93.6% | 2023-06-30 |
| Serious claims incidence rate | 10.1 (Rate per 1,000 employees) | 2021-06-30 |
| Victimisation rate of personal crime | 934.3 (Rate per 100,000) | 2023-06-30 |
| Victimisation rate of property crime | 3,333.6 (Rate per 100,000) | 2023-06-30 |
Social connection (4 measures)
| Level of participation in events and activities | By breakdown only | |
| Loneliness scale | By breakdown only | |
| Social connection scale | By breakdown only | |
| Volunteers | By breakdown only | |
Time (3 measures)
| Quality of time scale | By breakdown only | |
| Satisfaction with time spent commuting | By breakdown only | |
| Time spent on work | By breakdown only | |