Why Call Centre Benchmarking Matters for Australian Councils
In local government, contact centres do far more than answer phones — they shape community perception, resolve resident enquiries, and support critical services like waste, planning, and permits. If people can’t reach help quickly or receive inconsistent answers, trust and satisfaction suffer.
ACXPA benchmarking shows what residents actually experience on real calls and where improvement will have the biggest impact, using independent scoring that councils can rely on for transparency and accountability.
Our public mystery shopping focuses on general enquiries and service requests so results are comparable across councils. Private programs can include any of the scenarios above plus compliance, accessibility, or customer care evaluations.
Accessibility
How quickly and easily residents can reach someone who can help. We assess menus, recordings, time to queue and speed to answer. Faster access protects trust, reduces frustration and supports equitable service delivery.
Agent Mastery
How effectively agents handle the conversation: listening, clarifying needs, explaining options, setting next steps and closing confidently. Mastery builds confidence, accuracy and positive community experiences.
Together, these apply to every council contact centre — whether you’re managing customer service, rates, waste or community services — and they’re the fastest levers to improve performance and community satisfaction.
From Insights to Improvement: The ACXPA Loop
Benchmarking creates clarity — but improvement only happens when insight is turned into action. ACXPA is built to support councils beyond the data, with Australia’s most comprehensive set of contact centre resources, training, and practitioner support designed specifically for public sector environments.
Councils use ACXPA to move from understanding performance to lifting it — through targeted training, workforce planning tools, standards-aligned guidance, and a practitioner community focused on what actually works in local government.
Independent Benchmarking
Mystery-shopped calls scored against 80+ CX metrics. See where access slows residents down, where conversations stall, and how your council compares alongside other councils.
Explore BenchmarkingTraining That Builds Mastery
Through CX Skills, lift results with targeted courses in service, complaint handling, WFM and contact centre management — improving both Accessibility and Agent Mastery.
View TrainingCall Centre Resources
Tap Australia’s leading collection of contact centre resources — calculators, playbooks and expert guidance — to set realistic service levels, forecast accurately and staff efficiently.
Explore ResourcesMonthly Roundtables
Live, unscripted sessions with call centre experts on what actually works. Anyone can join live; members get the recordings. Bring questions, compare notes and leave with tactics you can use tomorrow.
Join the Next SessionWhy Benchmark with ACXPA?
Independent methodology, local government experience, and data that supports accountability and improvement.
We’ve been supporting councils for years through contact centre training, service reviews and benchmarking. Our public call centre rankings began in 2023, building on a deep understanding of local government operations and community expectations.
We assess actual calls made by residents, not internal scores. You see what people really experience in your menus, queues and conversations.
Use independent results to demonstrate accountability, justify funding or investment, and track service improvements over time.
We pinpoint where access slows residents down and where conversations stall, then link fixes to training and process changes that deliver measurable results.
See Which Councils Are Currently Leading the Way
Each quarter, ACXPA independently assesses and ranks Australian councils’ contact centres using the national
Contact Centre CX Standards.
These rankings highlight who’s setting the benchmark for customer experience — and provide a transparent, data-driven view of how the sector is performing.
How Councils Typically Start Benchmarking
Councils rarely begin with a long-term benchmarking program. Most start by getting a clear, independent view of their contact centre performance against some nominated peers — and whether deeper benchmarking is justified.
Get an independent snapshot
Start with a short benchmarking trial to understand wait times, accessibility, and customer service quality — using the same methodology as our full benchmarking services.
Sense-check priorities
Review results in a practical workshop. Separate symptoms from root causes and identify where improvement effort will deliver the biggest impact.
Decide what comes next
With defensible data in hand, councils can confidently decide whether to take no further action, address issues internally, or progress to ongoing benchmarking.
There’s no obligation to continue. The trial exists to support informed decision-making — not to lock councils into a program.
What the Benchmarking Trial Involves
The trial is a trimmed-down version of our Benchmarking PLUS service — built to give councils a fast, independent view of performance and a practical workshop to decide what to do next.
Independent assessment
We assess your contact centre using the same standards-led approach behind our ongoing benchmarking — covering key drivers like accessibility, wait-time performance, and customer service quality (including soft skills).
Peer comparison (your nominated councils)
You nominate five peer councils for comparison, so your results come with real context — not just a score in isolation.
1-hour results workshop
We walk through what the data means, separate symptoms from root causes, and help you lock in a clear next-step plan you can take to leaders and stakeholders.
The trial is designed to create clarity — not to push councils into an ongoing program. If it confirms you’re already strong, you’ll know. If it shows gaps, you’ll know where to focus.
Six Benchmarking Options for Councils
Whether you’re comparing performance, pinpointing service gaps, or building a defensible case for investment, there’s a benchmarking pathway to suit different budgets and objectives.
As an industry association, we publish a free quarterly snapshot so councils can see what “good” looks like across the sector — without needing to buy anything.
View the latest council rankings, trends, and summary insights here: Council Call Centre Rankings.
A low-effort, cost-effective temperature check. Includes 6 mystery shopper calls per month, scored against 23 metrics from the Contact Centre CX Standards.
Available to ACXPA Business Members only.
Our most comprehensive solution. Monthly reports across 80+ CX metrics with confidential comparisons against up to 10 nominated councils.
Tailored mystery shopping for councils — with optional accessibility testing, compliance reviews, custom scenarios and bespoke KPIs.
Submit your own call recordings for independent evaluation across key public-sector communication criteria — clarity, empathy, compliance, accessibility, and accurate advice.
Quick Benchmarking Services Comparison at a Glance
Here’s the simplest way to understand your options — start with ACXPA’s council publicly available data to get a taste, then move from a low-risk trial through to ongoing benchmarking and bespoke services.
| Service | Purpose | Best For | Starts From | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council Dashboard (published results & sector insights) |
Anyone who wants to build context first — then decide whether a trial or ongoing benchmarking is justified. | |||
| Benchmarking Trial (trimmed-down Benchmarking PLUS) |
A fast, decision-grade snapshot of your council’s performance with peer comparison and a practical workshop to decide what to do next.
Note: Ordering is available to members. |
Councils who want an independent view of wait times, service quality (including soft skills), and the operational drivers behind performance — without committing to a minimum term. | From $697 + GST | Learn More |
| Monthly Snapshot | A light-touch monthly check-in across 23 high-level metrics to track performance and catch issues early. | Councils wanting a simple ongoing “temperature check” to validate internal QA and spot drift before it becomes a bigger problem. | $397 per month | Learn More |
| Benchmarking PLUS | Ongoing benchmarking with monthly reporting — compare your council to up to ten nominated councils across 80+ CX metrics. | Customer Experience, Service Delivery and Governance teams needing defensible data for improvement programs, reporting, and investment decisions. | $903 per month | Learn More |
| Private Call Centre Benchmarking | Bespoke mystery shopping for councils — including optional compliance reviews, accessibility audits and custom KPIs. | Councils needing deeper, tailored insight aligned to local priorities (e.g. compliance, accessibility, or specific community scenarios). | $849 per month | Learn More |
| Call Quality Assessments | Independent evaluation of your recorded calls — scored on clarity, empathy, accuracy and accessibility to support coaching and QA. | Team leaders and QA managers who want external validation and coaching-grade feedback on real calls (not surveys). | $550 per month | Learn More |
Where to Next?
Whether you’re ready to benchmark your council or still building context, these are the three most common next steps councils take.
Start with a Benchmarking Trial
Most councils begin with a short benchmarking trial to get a clear, independent view of performance and sense-check priorities before deciding what to do next.
Learn more >
Explore Council Rankings
See how selected councils are performing, track sector-wide trends, and understand what strong contact centre performance looks like across local government.
View Rankings >
Customer Service & CX Training Courses
Build capability across frontline and leadership teams with expert-led training in service excellence, complaints handling, and contact centre management.
View Training >Still Have Questions?
We’re here to help you find the right benchmarking solution for your council. Get in touch, call us directly, or book a discovery session.
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