Hear, here community listening
Most council data tells you about your community.
Hear, Here helps you understand residents' experience of living in it.
Many decent Australians have attended ‘Marches for Australia’ or may vote for One Nation. Good people are peddled lies on social media, and fear and anger in right wing media. They deserve to be listened to, rather than dismissed.
Hon Julian Hill MP
Assistant Minister Multicultural Affairs
Proudly embracing modern Australia speech to McKell Institute, Sydney 25 February 2026
Knowing who lives in your council area or who how satisfied they are with council is not the same as knowing what it's like to live there.
Hear, Here provides another way to listen. Through private conversations conducted by an independent interviewer, residents can speak openly about what it is like to live in their neighbourhood and community; what they value, what concerns them, what is changing and what could make local life better.
The result is a broader qualitative picture of community life that can be shared across council, bringing different perspectives together and helping inform better planning, priorities and decisions.
Hear, here gives councils the ability to listen, via a neutral party, and gain local insights needed to make better choices about where to focus effort, services and investment.
How it works:
1. We meet with council officers online or in person to discuss and agree what council most wants to understand​.
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2. We submit a proposal based on the number of interview, methodology, deliverables, timeframe, investment.
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3. Council authorises project within 30 days and we finalise discussions.
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4. Project start​
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Together we identify whose perspectives would be most useful to hear and ensure, as much as possible, community representation of culture, ethnicity, age, occupation, faith, gender, geography.
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Council provides a list of cohorts eg school parent, business owner, person in park and we find the interviewees
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We conduct private interviews, face-to-face or online to:
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compare experiences to identify important similarities and differences
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analyse what the findings may mean for council
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identify areas council could consider, build on or explore further
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deliver and present a Community Insights Report to provide deeper understanding of how people experience living locally.
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5. At the halfway mark, we provide an early indication of themes and meet online with council representatives to discuss our 3 page interim report which outlines:
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project progress
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high level themes we're hearing
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the next stages of the project.
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6. At the end of the project
Council will receive within 30 days, a clear Community Insights Report and presentation covering:
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What people value and want strengthened
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Challenges and differences in people’s experiences
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The reasons behind views that surveys cannot explore in depth
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Issues or changes worth understanding further
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Opportunities to inform future priorities and decisions
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A practical summary of what we heard; what it may mean; what council could consider.
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A final briefing for council officers, with time for questions and discussion
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Findings can help council officers and elected members across council to set priorities, shape policies and programs, improve services and make informed decisions based on how people experience living locally.
"To every government leader in this room: speak plainly, act boldly and listen deeply."
Community member consultation comment Victorian Multicultural Review 2025 p. 10