A new way to report a problem to the Surf Coast Shire

Every few months, members of the Committee for Lorne meet with the senior officers of both Surf Coast Shire and Great Ocean Road Coast Committee to discuss issues of importance to our region and community. While we have multiple agencies having responsibilities for various priorities and areas of operation within our region, it is a great way to ensure that everyone is “on the same page”. It is also a very effective forum for Committee for Lorne to raise strategic issues which will require collaboration between agencies to deliver solutions.

At a recent Inter-agency meeting, representatives of the Surf Coast Shire presented a new initiative to make it easier for community members to report problems to the Shire and for the problems to be prioritised and despatched to the appropriate personnel within the Shire for resolution.

It is now a simple process to lodge a request via the Shire’s website.

Community members and visitors can lodge a request for service, information or maintenance – anytime, anywhere. The online form on Council’s website – accessed via the home page or www.surfcoast.vic.gov.au/request – is the best method to lodge a request.

The website is compatible with phones and tablets and the form is easy to fill out. People add the details of the request and their contact details. They are given a customer request number. This can be used to track requests and people can choose to be informed of the outcome. Examples of requests include waste management, trees, maintenance, drainage, roads and general enquiries, such as how to change personal details.

This new, simpler approach to lodging a Customer Request for Maintenance (CRM) Council is an example of the Shire improving on its responsiveness, which is a key platform of its Digital Transformation strategy.

To lodge a request for service, information or maintenance, visit www.surfcoast.vic.gov.au/request

You don’t necessarily have to have access to a computer and Internet Browser to lodge a request. The simplest way lodge a request is probably via a smart phone. It is possible to set up an “App” on your smart phone to do this. Here are the steps:

  1. Open Safari. Other browsers, such as Chrome, won’t work for this.
  2. Navigate to the website you want to save to your home screen. Make sure you visit the exact page you want to open.
  3. On the Toolbar line of the Safari Browser at the top of the screen, tap on this icon – 
  4. On the bottom row of icons, scroll over until you see Add to Home Screen and tap this.
  5. On the next screen, choose a name for the link on your home screen. You’ll see the link so you can confirm it, as well as the site’s logo that becomes the “App” icon.  
  6. Now just tap the new App on your home screen, and it will open the website in its own navigation window.

Having used the service to lodge a couple of Customer Requests for Maintenance, it works! Email confirmation of receipt of the CRM within a few minutes and follow up by phone or email (your choice) when the request is being actioned.

We recommend that you install the “App” on your smart phone and the Shire is encouraging all requests to be lodged this way so that they are effectively managed and resolved.

Committee for Lorne