A review has found participants feel YourSay Panel makes them more connected to their community, but less like their contribution makes a difference. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
An examination of one of the ACT Government’s feedback mechanisms, YourSay Panel, has found Canberrans continue to feel like their input isn’t influencing government decisions.
The YourSay Panel Member Experience Survey 2025 final report found overall member satisfaction with the panel remained high (scoring an average 6.8 out of 10) but only just over a third of respondents (36 per cent) felt their opinion actually mattered to the ACT Government (about a third of participants were undecided about this aspect, while 26 per cent disagreed that this was the case).
“Fewer members feel they are getting what they expected from the Panel experience (59 per cent, down from 65 per cent in 2024) or influencing government decisions (28 per cent, down from 35 per cent in 2024),” the review noted.
“Providing evidence of how survey feedback influences ACT Government decision-making remains a key area for improving the YourSay Panel experience.”
But despite this finding, it was clear the YourSay initiative was making people feel more involved in their community (72 per cent of respondents) and that it provided an avenue to express their views (87 per cent).
All YourSay Panel members were invited to take part in the survey and 1767 did so. The results were then weighted to reflect the relative population proportions based on ABS Census data.
One example where the review has resulted in change is that the YourSay Panel reports website has been updated to make it easier for members to find results from previous surveys.
Three key themes emerged from the 2025 survey that participants felt could be improved.
One was around trust, transparency and impact. One participant wanted “any indication that opinions expressed in the survey actually changed ACT Government policy”, while another wrote that a “direct link” between survey outcomes and legislative or policy changes would be appreciated.
Users also wanted better communication and follow-up on the survey outcomes, rather than submitting feedback and not hearing about the project again, as well as having access to the results of surveys they hadn’t taken part in.
“Perhaps being notified when something is actually actioned by the Legislative Assembly?” asked one participant.
The third theme centred around the survey design and participation experience, with a strong agreement that panel surveys were easy to complete (93 per cent) and not too long (87 per cent).
But there was still room for improvement.
“Allowing open text fields to provide further information. Not just at each question, but at the end as well, when ideas might have been generated by the survey,” one participant suggested.
“I am often frustrated that this opportunity is missing, especially where a question doesn’t fully allow me to reflect my views.”
Easy-to-implement improvements suggested by participants included offering more prizes or incentives to take part in the consultation process, chances to participate in other types of research and making it easier to find past survey results.
The YourSay Panel mainly collects information through short surveys and has a membership of about 6500 people.
All Canberrans aged 16 or over are eligible to join the panel and take part in surveys, with survey data weighted give a representation of the ACT’s population, according to age, gender and region.
An ACT Government spokesperson said the YourSay Panel was primarily used for research and was only one mechanism for Canberrans to give their opinions into the government’s decision-making.
“It is separate to YourSay Conversations, which is the platform that hosts community engagement projects, that enables the community to provide ACT Government with more detailed feedback on proposed policy and initiatives,” they said.
“The Government considers survey results from the panel along with other inputs and factors when making decisions, including stakeholder engagement, community engagement and government commitments.”
Practical changes to the Panel to strengthen how members hear about results and to better communicate (where possible) the direct impact of their feedback on projects or topics, are currently under consideration.
