Council works to strengthen customer experience across services
Published on 24 September 2026
Gympie Regional Council’s customer contact centre managed more than 63,000 interactions with the Gympie community in the last financial year, supporting the everyday needs of residents.
By the end of July 2026, it had answered more than 40,300 calls, an increase of 778 calls on the previous year. The team also managed more than 12,300 face-to-face enquiries at Town Hall and Channon Street centres and actioned 11,198 email and mail requests.
The figures are included in Council’s newly endorsed Corporate Services Quarterly Report for May to July 2026, which outlines work underway to improve customer experience, corporate systems and services, and the way in which Council communicates with the community.
Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig said the figures demonstrated that while digital services were growing, residents continued to value direct contact with Council.
“More than 52,000 calls and face-to-face enquiries is a significant level of engagement with Council,” Cr Hartwig said.
“While residents are increasingly using email and online services, these figures show there is still a strong demand for people to be able to speak with someone directly and get the information or assistance they need.
“That’s why having a well-functioning organisation behind our frontline services is so important.”
The Customer Contact Centre received 9,830 calls during the quarter (June-August 2026), with a significant proportion of those inquiries related to rates and rates notices.
Cr Hartwig said Council was also continuing to look at new ways to keep residents informed and connected.
“Councill launched its inaugural Gympie Regional Council E-News in August, providing an easy way for residents to keep up with Council activities, events, projects, and opportunities,” he said.
“Across the quarter, the team also issued 56 media releases to local media and made 55 social media posts, reaching more than 36,877 followers.”
Behind the scenes, Council continued work to strengthen its governance, technology, and internal systems.
The Governance team implemented a new Data Breach Response Procedure and Register, along with supporting tools, templates, and staff training, as Council continues to implement changes associated with the State Government’s Information Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023 (IPOLA).
Council’s Information, Communication, and Technology team also delivered improvements and training to strengthen Council's cybersecurity resilience and grow the organisation’s ability to respond to cyber-attacks and other digital threats.
Cr Hartwig said investing in these corporate functions was essential to maintaining reliable services for the community.
“Corporate services might not always be visible to residents, but they underpin almost everything Council delivers,” he said.
“When someone reports an issue, visits a library, applies for a development approval, pays their rates or asks Council for help, there are people, systems and processes working behind the scenes to make that service possible.
“Strengthening those systems means we can continue to improve the experience for our community.”
Council is also investing in the region’s future workforce. This quarter, it facilitated more than 490 hours of high school placements across the organisation.
Council representatives also met with more than 900 students at the Gympie Region Industry and Career Showcase to promote career pathways within local government.
The Corporate Services Quarterly Report May to July 2026 is available here.(PDF, 6MB)
ENDS