Research Note
Local
1 September 2025 Community consultation is unrepresentative and biased
Community consultation models used by local governments tend to favour the time-rich (property owners and older residents) over the time-poor (renters and younger residents).
Executive summary
- We analysed a sample of 17 community consultation demographics from across seven metropolitan Melbourne local councils.
- In 94% of the sample, older residents were overrepresented compared to the actual demographics of the local government area.
- In 100% of the sample, homeowners were overrepresented compared to the actual demographics of the local government area.
- On average, only 0.2% of the community opted in to local consultation processes.
- This underlines the biased and unrepresentative nature of opt-in community consultation practices
- Future consultation should be more representative, using methods such as broad-based polling and deliberative bodies chosen by sortition
Key chart
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