Every year we ask residents how satisfied they are with a range of Council services. Here’s a snapshot of results from this year’s General Service Satisfaction Survey and the series of Point of Contact satisfaction surveys.
The 2026–2027 Residents Survey of the Council is now underway until March 2027.
It covers services such as parks, libraries and customer service hubs, and is distributed to a wide range of people via email, post and feedback at Council facilities.
If you are approached or contacted, we encourage you to participate.
2025/2026 results: What you say we do well
100% satisfied
Provide interactive, hands-on learning experiences for young residents focused on sustainability and civil defence awareness.
What you think
100% are satisfied with our education programmes.
What you say
“Visuals, hands on resources. Engaging activities. Programme consolidated our learning. Great resource and delivery.”
Community outcomes
99% satisfied
Showcase our garden city and attract residents and visitors
What you think
99% are satisfied with the Botanic Gardens, Mona Vale and Hagley Park.
What you say
“Having a lot of space, it's a proper escape from the city.”
Community outcomes
97% satisfied
Provide administrative support to people using our cemetery services.
What you think
97% are satisfied with our education programmes.
What you say
“The team, both in the office and in the field are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.”
Community outcomes
95% satisfied
Provide quality case management services through informative, prompt and efficient responses.
What you think
95% are satisfied with our case management services.
What you say
“They are always helpful to the applicants and provide early warning and advice to assist the applicants preparing documentations for consents.”
Community outcomes
94% satisfied
Inspire discovery, connect people and enrich communities through our public libraries.
What you think
94% are satisfied with our libraries.
What you say
“Free, easily accessible, well maintained and staffed.”
Community outcomes
93% satisfied
Provide efficient and quality support for people using sport and recreation facilities.
What you think
93% of sport and recreation facility users are satisfied with the staff support.
What you say
“Staff promptly respond and [this] speaks volumes of the...knowledge of all services provided.”
Community outcomes
91% satisfied
Provide event organisers with friendly, respectful and timely support.
What you think
91% are satisfied with the events support provided by the Council.
What you say
“[The Events Team are] wonderful humans to deal with. They make holding an event remarkably straightforward and enjoyable...”
Community outcomes
88% satisfied
Provide community support, resilience, development, and recreation initiatives.
What you think
88% are satisfied with the community development and capacity building.
What you say
“The staff I have connected with have a good understanding of... community, relevant networks and opportunities to work together for common good.”
Community outcomes
Walk-in 99% satisfied
Telephone 89% satisfied
Email 73% satisfied
Provide respectful, prompt and efficient responses to address needs and resolve issues.
What you think
Overall, people are largely satisfied with our customer service.
What you say
“Much faster and easier than expected and lovely staff.”
Community outcomes
87% satisfied
Provide and maintain a network of facilities such as community centres and halls.
What you think
87% of people are satisfied with the community facilities the Council offers.
What you say
“Easily booked; and always in very good condition.”
Community outcomes
Residual waste 82% satisfied
Recycling 84% satisfied
Organic waste 81% satisfied
Collect and dispose of much of Christchurch's waste and encourage recycling.
What you think
Overall, 82% of people are satisfied with kerbside collections.
What you say
“The kerbside collection of rubbish is reliable and the 3 bin system helps segregate waste.”
Community outcomes
82% satisfied
Supply clean drinking water to protect the health of our community.
What you think
82% are satisfied with the reliability of the water supply.
What you say
“It is nice that there is drinkable water from the Council's pipes.”
Community outcomes
85% satisfied
Provide a range of recreation opportunities and nature experiences at our Regional Parks.
What you think
85% are satisfied with the recreation opportunies and nature experiences.
What you say
“Local but feels like you're out of town, mix of recreation modes (Bottle Lake), lots of track options, green track.”
Community outcomes
2025/2026 results: What has improved the most
29% satisfied
Provide good value for ratepayer money.
What you think
29% agree that the Council provides good value for ratepayer money. This is an 11% increase from the previous year.
What you say
“Maintaining essential local infrastructure (roads, water, waste collection). Providing community services, supporting local events and community wellbeing.”
Community outcomes
45% satisfied
The Mayor and councillors provide quality leadership.
What you think
45% are satisfied with the leadership of the Mayor and Councillors. This is a 10% increase from the previous year.
What you say
“We currently have a great community board who do their best to keep is informed via Facebook community forum. We have a mayor who is striving to keep our rates down.”
Community outcomes
48% satisfied
Residents have a good understanding of the Council decision-making process.
What you think
48% agree they understand how the Council make decisions. This is an 8% increase from the previous year.
What you say
“First time I had engaged with it. The process for making a submission was well explained and easy to do.”
Community outcomes
41% satisfied
Decisions are made in the best interests of the city.
What you think
41% are satisfied that decisions are made in best interests of the city. This is an 8% increase from the previous year.
What you say
“Have Your Say is a good portal. Staff involved in community liaison and communication are genuinely motivated to include people and to reach good decisions.”
Community outcomes
59% satisfied
Supply clean drinking water to protect the health of our community.
What you think
59% are satisfied with the quality of water supply. This is a 7% increase from the previous year.
What you say
“I think Council is doing an excellent job of ensuring that there is always drinking water available.”
Community outcomes
40% satisfied
Build, maintain and repair streets, roads and footpaths so everyone has safe and easy access to where they need to go.
What you think
40% are satisfied with the condition of our roads. This is a 7% increase from the previous year.
What you say
“Upgrading roads and underground power cables. They are doing amazing work...”
Community outcomes
2025/2026 results: Where you think we could improve
56% satisfied
Provide a transport network that is safe for all users so that everyone comes home healthy and safe each day.
What you think
56% are satisfied that our transport network is safe for all users.
What you say
“Would like to see more care taken on the footpath/cycle track...”
Community outcomes
58% satisfied
Manage flood capacity within the city's rivers and their tributaries.
What you think
58% are satisfied with the city's flood capacity.
What you say
“Burnside has a major flooding problem on Grahams Road with the trees at Memorial Ave end [creating] leaves and tree rubbish [...] They need to enhance the drainage system to avoid this situation.”
Community outcomes
41% satisfied
Council has targets for Christchurch to halve emissions by 2030 (compared to 2016-2017 levels) and to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, with at least 50% reduction in methane emissions by 2045.
What you think
41% agree that emission reduction targets will be met for Christchurch.
What you say
“More attention to sustainability, environmental/wildlife protection and addressing climate change.”
Community outcomes
44% satisfied
Build, maintain and repair streets, roads and footpaths so everyone has safe and easy access to where they need to go.
What you think
44% are satisfied with the condition of our footpaths.
What you say
“You planted the trees along the streets and yes at times they may look nice but there was no foresight in the ongoing damage that the root structure might do to the footpaths and the infrastructure. With the rises and cracks that have occurred, they become dangerous to the elderly and disabled in our communities.”
Community outcomes
26% satisfied
Wise spending decisions are made by the Council.
What you think
26% agree that the Council makes wise spending decisions.
What you say
“Clearer updates, plain language, and better explanation of decisions and spending.”
Community outcomes
29% satisfied
Provide good value for ratepayers' money.
What you think
29% agree that the Council provides good value for ratepayers' money.
What you say
“Keep within inflation CPI. Houses have to budget, do the same!!!”
Community outcomes
Additional documents
- Residents Survey Programme 2025/2026 Snapshot Summary [PDF, 536 KB]
- General Service Satisfaction Survey Report 2026 [PDF, 2.2 MB]
- General Service Satisfaction Survey Results Table Summary [PDF, 371 KB]
- Point of Contact Surveys Report 2025/2026 [PDF, 1.3 MB]
- Point of Contact Surveys Results Table Summary [PDF, 420 KB]
