How to complain to your council, step by step

Most council problems get sorted with one good report. The ones that don't usually stall for the same reasons: the report went to the wrong place, there was no reference number to chase, or nobody followed up. This guide sets out the process that works, from the first report to the ombudsman, so you know what to do at each step and when to move to the next one.

If you already know you need to put a complaint in writing, our complaint letter to council guide has ready-to-edit templates for barking dogs, neighbours' rubbish, missed bins, trees, noise, and roads and footpaths.

Step 1: Find the right council

It sounds obvious, but it catches people out. Council boundaries don't always follow suburb names, and a postcode can be split between two councils. The problem belongs to the council for the place where it is, not where you live.

Our council directory lists all 536 local councils we cover, with each one's postal address, phone number and website. The ACT has no local councils: the ACT Government runs council-type services, and you can report most problems through its Fix My Street service.

Also check the problem is actually the council's. Main roads are usually managed by the state road authority, streetlights are often owned by the electricity distributor, and serious pollution goes to the state environment regulator. Our guide to getting council to fix a local problem has a table of who looks after what.

Step 2: Report it through the council's own system

Councils usually separate two things. A service request (sometimes called a customer request) is a first report: a pothole, a missed bin, a dead animal, a broken bench. A complaint is about how the council handled something: the request was ignored, the work was poor, a staff member was rude, or a decision seems wrong.

If you haven't reported the problem yet, start with a service request. Complaining about a problem the council doesn't know about tends to slow things down, because it gets turned into a request anyway. Most councils accept reports:

• through an online form or "report a problem" page on their website,
• by phone to customer service,
• in person at a customer service centre, or
• through an app. Many councils accept reports through Snap Send Solve, and some have their own apps.

Always get a reference number. It's the single most useful thing you can have. It links every later call, email and letter to the same record, shows when the council first knew, and is the first thing an ombudsman will ask for. If you report by phone, ask for the number before you hang up and write it down with the date and the name of the person you spoke to.

What to include in your complaint or request

Council staff triage a lot of reports. Make yours easy to act on:

1. Exactly where. Street number, nearest cross street, a landmark, or a pin on the map. "Outside 42 Smith Street, near the bus stop" beats "on Smith Street".
2. What the problem is. One or two plain sentences.
3. Photos. Dated, taken from a safe spot, with something in the frame that shows scale or location.
4. How long and how often. When it started and whether it's getting worse.
5. Any risk. A trip hazard next to a school, a sharp edge, a blocked drain that floods houses. Safety risks usually get priority, so say so plainly.
6. What you want. A repair, an inspection, enforcement, an explanation, or an apology.
7. Your contact details, and whether you're happy to be contacted.

Stick to one issue per report. Keep it factual and polite, even if you've been waiting a long time.

How long should it take?

There's no single answer. Each council sets its own response and resolution timeframes, usually in its complaints policy or customer service charter, and state rules differ. Urgent safety hazards are normally dealt with much faster than routine maintenance, and some jobs are scheduled into a works program that runs months ahead.

Look up your council's complaints policy on its website (search the site for "complaints policy" or "customer service charter"). It will tell you what the council has promised, which is the standard you can hold it to. Note the date you reported, and put a reminder in your calendar for when the timeframe runs out.

Step 3: Follow up in writing

If the timeframe passes with no fix and no explanation, follow up. Phone calls are fine for a quick check, but a written follow-up creates a record. Quote your reference number, give the date of your first report, say what has (or hasn't) happened, and ask for a specific response by a specific date. Fourteen or 21 days is reasonable for most issues.

A signed, posted letter addressed to the Chief Executive Officer or General Manager is harder to lose than a web form, and gets registered in the council's records system. Our complaint letter templates cover the most common problems. Better Letters prints and posts a letter for $3.95, or you can download the PDF free and post it yourself with your photos attached.

Step 4: Ask for an internal review

If you get a response you think is wrong, or the council keeps missing its own timeframes, ask for an internal review. Most council complaints policies have one. A more senior officer, or someone outside the team that handled it, looks again at how your complaint was dealt with.

In your review request:

• quote every reference number and the dates of your earlier contact,
• say which part of the response you disagree with, and why,
• point to the council's own policy or promised timeframe if it wasn't met, and
• say what outcome would resolve it.

Ombudsmen generally expect you to have given the council this chance before they get involved, so don't skip it.

Your local councillor

Councillors are elected to represent residents. They can't usually direct staff to fix your particular problem, but they can ask questions, find out what's holding it up, and raise it at a council meeting. A councillor is most useful when the issue affects a whole street or suburb, when you need budget or policy to change, or when the normal process has stalled. Councillors' names and contact details are on each council's website, often listed by ward.

Step 5: Complain to the ombudsman

Every state and territory has an independent ombudsman that takes complaints about councils. It's free. The ombudsman looks at whether the council acted lawfully, fairly and reasonably: things like unreasonable delay, not following its own policy, or not giving reasons for a decision. It can make enquiries, help resolve the complaint, investigate, and recommend changes. It generally won't overturn a lawful decision just because you disagree with it.

Complaints about a councillor's conduct (rather than council services) go to a separate body in some states, for example the Office of Local Government in NSW, the Local Government Inspectorate in Victoria and the Office of the Independent Assessor in Queensland. The ombudsman's website will point you to the right place if yours isn't something it handles.

When you contact the ombudsman, have ready your reference numbers, copies of your letters and emails, the council's responses, and a short timeline. The clearer your paper trail, the faster they can help.

Step 6: Your state MP or the Minister for Local Government

Councils are created under state law, so your state member of parliament (your local member in state parliament) can raise your problem with the council or with the minister. MPs' electorate offices deal with this kind of casework every day. Send a short letter explaining what happened, with copies of your complaint, the council's response and any ombudsman outcome. You can find your state MP by postcode:

The Minister for Local Government is unlikely to step into a single complaint, but it's worth writing when a council keeps failing residents, when the problem is systemic, or when you think the rules themselves need to change. These are the current ministers responsible for local government:

Names, roles and addresses on this page come from each parliament's official member lists. Data checked 20 October 2026.

Keep a simple record

At every step, keep a one-page log. It takes five minutes and makes each later step much easier:

• the date and method of each contact (online form, phone, letter, email),
• the reference number and the name of anyone you spoke to,
• what they said would happen, and by when, and
• copies of photos, letters and replies.

If other people are affected, ask them to report it too, each with their own reference number. Several reports about the same problem show the council it isn't a one-off. For bigger local issues, a coordinated letter-writing campaign can get a problem onto the agenda.