Australian Capital Territory's chief minister and minister of Territory and Municipal Services, Katy Gallagher, said Canberra Connect provided a vital service to the community in 2011 responding to almost 1.3 million customer enquiries.

"Canberra Connect had a very busy year in 2011 with more than 500000 visits to its five shopfronts, more than 5.2 million visits to its online services, and answering more than 775000 calls at the contact centre," the chief minister said.

"This was highlighted in September when Canberra Connect played a central role in providing information to the community about the Mitchell fire.

During a four day period in the fire's aftermath, they received an extra 8000 calls in addition to their normal daily workload.

Canberra Connect shopfronts also served about half a million customers and processed more than 557000 transactions, while our contact centre answered calls on topics ranging from stamp duty to injured kangaroos and vehicle registrations.

The contact centre also answered calls for the SES 132 500 number and managed 1827 calls over the year, providing assistance during 11 separate flood or storm events.

The ACT is one of only a handful of jurisdictions in Australia that has a single organisation that seamlessly connects the community to government for information, payments and services.

"Canberra Connect had a record number of online transactions last year, collecting more than $1 billion in ACT Government revenue. More than 580,000 bills were paid using BPay, up from 480,000 the previous year, showing that Canberrans are embracing online and alternative payment options," the chief minister said.

"Canberra Connect's Fix My Street initiative continued to grow in popularity with 7228 reports by the community of issues in their neighbourhood. This initiative, which was introduced in mid-2010, allows residents to report issues, such as graffiti, potholes and broken paths, at any time of the day – and then track their request online."

The service is delivered by about 160 people all located in Canberra. Independent research showed that customer satisfaction was 90 per cent for Canberra Connect services overall, with the shopfronts achieving 93 per cent satisfaction.

Canberra Connect service channels include shopfronts in Tuggeranong, Woden, Dickson and Belconnen, a driver's licence service in the Civic Library, the contact centre (13 22 81) and online at http://www.canberraconnect.act.gov.au/

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@governmentnews.com.au.  

Sign up to the Government News newsletter