Australia & New Zealand consultation trust gap widens

Open Point has published research highlighting a gap between how engagement professionals view public consultation and how residents in Australia and New Zealand experience it. The report surveyed more than 1,500 residents and practitioners across both countries.

The findings suggest many residents do not believe organisations making decisions about their communities are listening to them or acting on their views. Nearly half said they did not trust those organisations to listen, respond to feedback or be transparent about decision-making.

Only 30% of residents said their views influence decisions, while just 15% said they were told what would happen next after taking part. The research also found that 65% believe decisions are already made before consultation begins, and 60% see the process as a box-ticking exercise.

Participation was also low. Forty-nine per cent of residents said they had never been invited to take part in a local consultation or community engagement activity, despite more than half saying it matters to them to help shape decisions in their area.

Participation gap

The report points to a mismatch between assumptions about public disengagement and residents' experiences. Among those who do participate, 62% said the same small group tends to dominate discussions, while 58% of engagement professionals said more needs to be done to reach under-represented groups.

This leaves organisations with a basic problem: people say they want a say in decisions on planning, infrastructure, public services and local policy, but many are either not being asked or do not believe their input will change anything.

The research also highlights a perception gap between professionals and the public. While 82% of community engagement practitioners said residents trust their organisation, the resident survey showed far lower confidence in those responsible for local decisions.

Systems problem

The findings point to a structural issue rather than a lack of commitment from engagement teams. Many practitioners reported problems with the systems used to run consultation processes and store information.

Only 26% of organisations said they use a centralised engagement platform. Another 62% said engagement data is stored across multiple disconnected systems, while 67% said institutional knowledge is lost when staff leave.

The report links those weaknesses to project risks. Sixty-six per cent of stakeholder engagement professionals said engagement challenges had contributed to project delays, 65% said they had led to higher costs, and 41% said they had caused delayed approvals or permits.

Those pressures are particularly relevant in long-running projects involving multiple parties, especially in infrastructure, energy transition and regulated sectors, where consultation often runs for several years.

Technology focus

The findings also show broad support among practitioners for wider use of technology in engagement work. Ninety per cent said technology should play a greater role, and 79% said centralising engagement data and activity would improve efficiency.

There was also support for artificial intelligence in specific tasks. According to the report, 88% of practitioners felt positive about using AI in community and stakeholder engagement, particularly for translation, accessibility, identifying themes in large datasets, and drafting communications or consultation materials.

When asked about the purpose of engagement, practitioners ranked building trust in communities above goals such as speeding up approvals or meeting minimum legal requirements. That suggests many teams see consultation as more than a compliance exercise, even if residents often experience it differently.

John Moss, Chief Executive Officer of Open Point, said the findings show the gap between engagement effort and outcome is structural rather than inevitable. "We are living in a moment of vast investment in digital and physical infrastructure, yet trust in the institutions implementing and building this infrastructure to serve communities is remarkably low. That contradiction sits at the heart of the engagement crisis. Communities want to participate, and the professionals serving them want to deliver meaningful engagement. What is often missing is the infrastructure to connect the two. That is exactly the challenge Open Point was built to address."