In response to the 2016-17 independent review of the PBO, the PBO agreed to conduct a stakeholder survey once in each term of Parliament. The responses collected from these surveys provide a measure of how the PBO is performing to ensure high standards and quality services are maintained. The results feed into the annual corporate reporting and the recommendations will shape how the PBO works over the coming years.

47th Parliament

In June 2024 , the PBO completed its most recent survey to measure the satisfaction levels of our stakeholders – an exercise undertaken every 3 years. We engaged the services of an independent research company (Uncommon Knowledge) to undertake the research on our behalf. The research invited feedback from PBO's key stakeholder groups, including parliamentarians, parliamentary staff, government department staff, journalists, academics, and economists. The research included a qualitative component of one-on-one interviews with a subsequent online survey, and we achieved a total sample size of 83 respondents.

Compared to the 2021 survey results, there have been very few significant changes. The results continue to indicate high levels of satisfaction with the services delivered by the PBO. However, the 2024 cohort has presented very differently from 2021. Many primary stakeholders are less knowledgeable of the PBO and are using our products and services for the first time. As a result, there are specific areas of improvement which we will prioritise ahead of and during the next parliament, including by:

  • expanding our outreach program by incorporating a proactive engagement with parliamentarians and their staff, with a focus towards those who are new to their roles and people with limited expertise in economics and policy
  • enhancing awareness and the experience parliamentarians and their staff have of our services by building their knowledge of  how our services could be useful to them
  • ensuring our communication channels are fit for purpose and provide relevant information to improve understanding of our product and services
  • continuous improvement to the website to ensure it is user focused by making information easier to find.

A summary of findings is available:

 

 

46th Parliament

In June 2021, the PBO completed its survey for the 46th Parliament through the engagement of an external firm (Uncommon Knowledge) to undertake the survey on our behalf. The survey was a mixture of one-on-one interviews and an online survey, of parliamentarians, parliamentary staff, journalists, and economists. The number of responses (85) was higher than previous surveys conducted in 2018 (35) and 2015 (63). The results indicated high levels of satisfaction with the services delivered by the PBO, with some specific areas of improvement identified, including by:

  • enhancing the awareness that parliamentarians have of our services through more active outreach to parliamentarians and their staff
  • enhancing the experience that parliamentarians have of our services through greater recognition of the different needs that they have, including for the timeliness of information and the way we interact with them
  • ensuring that our website is more user focused, by making information easier to find and more interactive.

We will prioritise acting on this feedback for the remainder of 2021-22 and beyond.

A summary of findings is available: