Customer Service Guarantee
As part of our commitment to improve our service delivery, Council has a Customer Service Guarantee with 64 measurable targets.
These targets have been chosen because they are frequently requested services or they are measures we believe will be important to you.
We track our performance on the Guarantee and report back to our community on how we have performed in meeting our commitments.
For any targets where we have failed to meet our stated standard, we will develop improvement plans so that we meet our commitment.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of the Guarantee, please contact Council on 9205 5555 or at info@yarracity.vic.gov.au You can also let us know of any instances where we have failed to meet a target by filling in this feedback form.
Reports on Council's performance against the Guarantee
Council provides quarterly and annual reports to the community on how it has performed against each of the 64 targets.
Most recent quarterly report
Previous quarterly report
Yearly report card 2010/2011
Yearly report card 2009/2010
The 64 targets
Most recent quarterly report
Here is the 
Customer Service Guarantee report for October - December 2011 (666.42 KB)
In summary, during October - December 2011:
- 43 targets were met or exceeded (up from 42 in the July - September 2011 quarter)
- 8 targets were within 3% of being achieved
- 13 targets were not met (down from 14 in the July-September 2011 quarter).
Compared with the previous quarter, Council improved its performance in:
- Making footpaths that were determined to be a tripping hazard safe within 24 hours and then programming these footpaths for repair. This target was 100% achieved, with 17 footpaths made safe over the quarter.
- Determining 80% of planning applications designated as 'simple' within 60 days. Council's performance against this target improved from 58% in the previous quarter to 64% over October-December 2011.
- Responding to animal nuisance calls, such as barking dogs or stray animals, within one working day. This target was 100% achieved whereas it was only achieved in half of the cases in the previous quarter.
Council will try to improve its performance on several targets which were not met in the previous quarter including:
- Responding to letters within 10 working days of receipt
- Making major potholes safe within 24 hours and repairing them within 7 days
- Providing parking permits within 5 days of the receipt of a valid application.
Previous quarterly report
Here is the Customer Service Guarantee report for July - September 2011 (622.74 KB)
In summary, during July - September 2011:
- 42 targets were met or exceeded
- 8 targets were within 3% of being achieved
- 14 targets were not met.
During the July - September 2011 quarter, Council reviewed the guarantee targets to ensure they were still relevant. Some targets were revised such as the commitment to upgrade Council's website. As the website was upgraded in late 2010, the commitment was revised to be that Council will "continually improve Council’s website to ensure information is expanded and updates are made daily."
The number of targets was increased from 63 to 64 after one target in the animal management area was split up into two separate targets.
Yearly report card - 2010-2011
Here is the Customer Service Guarantee report for 2010-2011 (661.92 KB)
In summary:
- 35 targets were met or exceeded
- 7 targets were within 3% of being achieved
- 21 targets were not met, although 12 improved from the previous year.
Improved performance
In 2010-2011, Council improved its performance against the following targets:
- That major potholes will be responded to and made safe within 24 hours and repaired within seven days. In the last quarter of 2010-2011, 65 of 66 major potholes reported to Council were repaired within this timeframe. Over the year, 90.5% of potholes were fixed within the timeframe compared with 84% the previous year.
- That we will visit all parks every two weeks to ensure that the grass is maintained and to identify, remove or report any situations of risk or threat to public safety. This target was achieved in 2010-2011, compared with a result of 93% in 2009-2010.
- That all eateries in Yarra will be subject to an inspection by a health officer at least once every 12 months. This target was achieved in 2010-2011, compared with a result of 99.4% in 2009-2010.
Areas for improvement
Plans will be developed to improve our performance against targets which have not been achieved. These include:
- 90% of calls to our Customer Service Centre will be answered within 45 seconds.
- 80% of planning applications designated as ‘Simple’ will be determined within 60 days.
- That Council will generate 10% of its energy needs from renewable (and low carbon) local energy sources by 2012.
Yearly report card - 2009-2010
Here is the Customer Service Guarantee report for 2009-2010 (116.87 KB)
The 64 targets:
Customer responsiveness
1. We will answer 90% of calls to our Access Yarra customer service centre within 45 seconds.
2. We will respond to your letter within 10 working days of receipt.
3. We will respond to your email with an acknowledgement within 1 working day.
Waste Services
4. The weekly domestic waste collection service will not lead to more than 85 reports of uncollected bins per month (this target is well above industry standards).
5. The weekly recycling collection service will not lead to more than 40 reports of uncollected bins per month (this target is well above industry standards).
6. Damaged bins will be repaired on site at time of collection where possible. Reports of broken bins will be attended to within 2 working days of being reported, unless otherwise requested by residents.
7. Replacement bins will be provided within 1 day of being reported, unless otherwise requested by residents.
8. A hard rubbish collection will be provided within 10 days of being requested.
9. A green waste collection service will be provided within 10 days of being requested.
10. We will clean every major shopping strip daily and other residential streets, on average, once every 4 weeks.
11. All street litter bins in shopping strips will be emptied daily.
12. Council will work to reduce the amount of waste collected in Yarra being sent to landfill. Fifty-seven percent of waste will be diverted from landfill by 2014-15.
13. Our Rapid Response team will investigate reports of litter and dumped waste for prosecution within four hours of it being reported.
Roads and footpaths
14. Major potholes will be responded to and made safe within 24 hours and repaired within 7 days.
15. 10,000 metres of footpaths will be upgraded every year.
16. Footpaths determined to be a tripping hazard will be made safe within 24 hours and programmed for repair.
17. Urgent maintenance requests will be attended to within 24 hours.
Library Services
18. 24,000 new items will be added to Yarra Libraries' collection each year.
19. 3,500 new items will be added to the Yarra Libraries for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities collections per year.
20. Yarra libraries will conduct at least 300 childrens’ storytimes per annum.
21. Library services will conduct at least four community cultural programs per year.
Parks and open space
22. We will visit all parks every two weeks, to ensure that the grass is maintained and to identify, remove or report any situations of risk or threat to public safety.
23. We will visit all sporting ovals every week, to ensure that the grass is maintained and to identify, remove or report any situations of risk or threat to public safety.
24. We will inspect all playgrounds, public toilets and barbeque facilities on a prioritised maintenance program to ensure the facilities are clean, safe and usable.
Trees
25. We will prune every street tree in shopping precincts, primary and arterial roads, and in local streets at least every two years, to ensure they meet safety requirements.
26. We will plant a minimum of 750 street trees per year.
Graffiti
27. Our Rapid Response team will respond to reports of offensive graffiti within 4 hours.
Animals
28. We will increase the number of registered pets by 5% per year.
29. Our pet and domestic animal services will conduct a minimum of 64 hours of park patrols per month.
30. We will respond to animal nuisance calls, such as barking dogs or stray animals, within 1 working day.
31. Appropriate enforcement action will be taken within 3 working days for all animal nuisance calls, such as barking dogs or stray animals.
Parking
32. We will provide parking permits within 5 days of the receipt of a valid application.
Planning
33. We will commit to conducting broad community consultation on all major planning proposals presented to Council.
34. 80% of planning applications designated as ‘Simple’ will be determined within 60 days.
35. 100% of planning applications designated as ‘Fast Track’ will be determined within 21 days.
Transport
36. We will construct 5 major separated on-road bicycle routes and 5 major off-road bicycle routes by 2013.
Community care
37. We will respond within 1 working day to requests for assessment for assistance (home care, respite care, delivered meals).
38. We will provide a total 47,000 hours of direct care services per year to assist older people and people with disabilities to remain living independently at home.
39. We will provide a delivered meal to every eligible client by 1pm.
40. We will meet every request for home maintenance services (to assist eligible older people with a disability to remain living at home).
Family & Children’s Services
41. We will respond within 1 working day to all enquiries from new and existing community members.
42. Occupancy rates at our child care centres will average 98% across the year.
43. We will meet all funding and regulatory requirements for Children’s Services, Maternal and Child Health, Family Support and Financial Counselling.
Recreation
44. We will improve our leisure centres and sports grounds, as measured by improved attendances and customer feedback.
45. We will process new leisure centre memberships within 30 minutes of their receipt.
46. We will respond to and process current member enquiries relating to terms, conditions and payments within 3 working days.
47. We will deliver 99% of timetabled classes for group fitness, swim lessons, squads and multisport.
48. We will ensure our pools are available to the public for 99% of operational hours through frequent water testing to ensure water quality is of the highest standard for swimmers and meets health department regulations.
Health
49. All eateries in Yarra will be subject to an inspection by a health officer at least once every 12 months.
50. Council’s contracted syringe management service will regularly monitor drug hotspots and provide a rapid response to inappropriately discarded syringes in public places in Yarra.
Environmental Sustainability
51. We will reduce water consumption in Council operations by 40% (133ML) by 2013 (from 2000 levels).
52. Council will become Carbon Neutral (produce zero net emissions) by 2012, a reduction of approx 16,820 tonnes.
53. Council will use 30% less energy by 2012 (reduction of approx 5046 tCO2 equivalent from 2001 levels).
54. Council will generate 10% of its energy needs from renewable (and low carbon) local energy sources by 2012.
Community Amenity
55. Appropriate enforcement action will be taken within 3 working days on complaints regarding a Local Law (such as overhanging trees, footpath trading, littering, obstructions on footpaths and roadways).
56. We will respond to all noise complaints reported during business hours regarding licenced premises within 1 working day, and within 15 minutes if reported after hours.
57. We will take appropriate enforcement action in response to noise complaints within 10 working days.
Accessibility
58. We will endeavour to optimise accessibility to all Council services and information.
59. We will redesign the Council website and ensure it is fully accessible, in accordance with guidelines established by the World Wide Web Consortium.
60. We will include training and awareness of interpreter and translator services, and of the needs of people with disabilities, in all new staff inductions
Communication
61. We will continually improve Council’s website to ensure information is expanded and updates are made daily.
62. We will produce 11 issues of Yarra News each year and every issue will be delivered to 42,500 households and businesses.
63. We will report to the community on how we have performed on the targets set out in this guarantee on an annual basis through the Yarra News and the Yarra website.
Consultation and Engagement
64. Council will implement its Community Consultation Policy to ensure it engages with the community on a broad range of Council policies, projects and activities. Training will be conducted to ensure staff are aware of the policy and know how to seek support to implement it.
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