City of Newcastle has been named among the 10 most-improved councils in the country in a national satisfaction survey, standing out against a broader slide in how Australians rate their local governments.
The council, however, still found itself below the national average for satisfaction.
The 2026 Snap Send Solve Community Satisfaction Index, now in its second year, found council satisfaction fell nationally to 59.6 out of 100, down 1.7 points on 2025, with every state and territory recording a decline.
City of Newcastle's score rose from 57.0 in 2025 to 58.5 in 2026, a 2.6 per cent increase.
This was enough to rank it ninth nationally for improvement and the only NSW council to make the top 10 most-improved list.
It is also the only council in the country to lift its score while landing on NSW's declining average, underlining how the council was swimming against the current.
A City of Newcastle spokesman welcomed the recognition, noting the research was conducted independently of council.
"City of Newcastle welcomes the news its satisfaction score was ranked in the top 10 most improved in Snap Send Solve's Community Satisfaction Index," the spokesman said.
"While this was research undertaken by a private organisation and was not commissioned or validated by City of Newcastle, it's great that our commitment to continuous improvement is being noticed."
The council said it carried out its own regular research and engagement to track progress against the goals set in partnership with residents under its Newcastle 2040 Community Strategic Plan.
The council spokesman encouraged residents wanting to have a say on council decisions to register for its community e-newsletter, Newcastle Connect, via its Have Your Say website.
The Snap Send Solve data saw NSW's average score drop 2.0 points to 58.5, behind every state bar the ACT, which posted the sharpest fall in the country, down 2.7 points to 54.5.
South Australia rated its councils best overall, at 61.2, followed closely by Tasmania and Western Australia at 61.0.
Townsville City Council recorded the country's biggest jump, up 7.1 per cent to 58.5, followed by the City of Casey (up 4.9 per cent to 59.6) and Boroondara City Council (up 3.1 per cent to 65.6), both in Victoria, which claimed six of the 10 most-improved spots nationally.
Maroondah also topped the index outright as the nation's highest-rated council, scoring 66.3, narrowly ahead of the City of Melville (66.2) and City of Mandurah (66.1) in Western Australia, and Whitehorse City Council and the City of Marion, tied on 66.1.
Two NSW councils cracked the national top 10 for overall satisfaction, Camden Council, eighth on 65.3, and Randwick Council, tenth on 64.8.
Newcastle's score, while an improvement at a 58.5 rating, was still below the national average.
Snap Send Solve chief executive Danny Gorog said councils that engaged closely with residents and acted quickly to resolve reported issues were more likely to be rated strongly by their communities.
"While our councils generally do a great job, the drop in satisfaction with their performance across the country shows the level of frustration that is out there among residents, particularly related to issues we see in the number of reports on hot-button topics such as potholes and damaged roads, parking, dumped rubbish, graffiti and vandalism," Mr Gorog said.
More than 1.7 million reports were lodged with authorities via the Snap Send Solve app nationally in the year to June 30, up 16 per cent on the previous year.
Complaints about roads jumped 27 per cent, the biggest rise of any category, as pothole and road maintenance frustrations mounted, while reports about rubbish and bins climbed 23 per cent and parking and car-related complaints rose 13 per cent, with illegal and inconsiderate parking among the fastest-growing gripes nationally.
