Council performance framework
To improve the transparency and accountability of local government, the Office of Local Government collects and publishes a wide range of performance information. This data is made publicly available to help communities understand the activities of their council and to identify opportunities for improvement across the sector.
Tasmanian council data dashboards
The easiest way to explore and understand council performance data is through the Tasmanian council data dashboards.
The dashboards are tools designed to help people understand the diversity of Tasmanian councils and the communities they serve. They use publicly available data to provide:
- local community snapshots for each of the state’s 29 councils
- detailed information about key financial trends over the past 10 years.
Tasmanian council profile
Tasmanian council financial trends
About the data source
Much of the information in the dashboards comes from the Tasmanian Local Government Consolidated Data Collection (CDC). The CDC is a single, statewide set of data that the Office of Local Government has collected from all 29 councils every year since 2000.
This single collection process minimises demands on councils and improves the consistency of the data. The CDC includes council information about:
- financial and asset management
- land use planning and development
- demographic and workforce data
- roads and bridges.
Accessing the raw data (for researchers and analysts)
The complete datasets from the CDC are available to download from the LIST. The files are in Excel format and contain the individual annual data returns from each council from 2000-01 to the present. When looking for the datasets on the LIST website, look for "Tasmanian Local Government Consolidated Data Collection (CDC)".
Future reforms to council performance
Based on key recommendations from the Future of Local Government Review, the Tasmanian Government is working with the local government sector to develop a new, best-practice performance monitoring system for local government.
A key feature of this new system will be the enhancement of the online dashboards with new data and better representing existing metrics to maximise transparency for the public. This will, in time, provide a 'one-stop-shop' for consistent and meaningful information on the performance of all 29 councils, from financial sustainability to service delivery and statutory compliance.
These reforms will also streamline how data is collected from councils and aim to strengthen the roles of oversight bodies like the Office of Local Government and council audit panels to ensure they are properly empowered and resourced. This is a major project, and more information will be provided as the work progresses.
Other performance information
The Office of Local Government's work complements the annual audit reports on local government financial sustainability and performance by the Tasmanian Auditor-General. For 2023-24, Volume 3 includes the local government analysis. For all previous reporting years, the local government analysis can be found in Volume 2.
