2025 Quality of Life Survey

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How's Life?
Kei te pēhea tōu ao?

どんな毎日をお過ごしですか？
Como anda a vida?
¿Cómo va todo?

生活过得怎么样？

ज़िन्दगी कैसी चल रही है?

The 2025 Quality of Life Survey

The 2025 Quality of Life Survey is now open. We’d love to hear how you feel about life in the district and get your thoughts on issues such as housing, health services, the environment, transport, employment, and sense of community.


What's the Quality of Life Survey?

We’ve been conducting the Quality of Life Survey since 2018. It’s an annual survey that helps us gauge residents’ overall quality of life and understand what matters most to our communities.

The information it provides helps us build a long-term picture of the wellbeing of our district and identify what improvements can be made for the benefit of all our residents.

It's also a great opportunity to share what’s going well and the things you love about our beautiful part of the world.

The survey has been developed with input from organisations including Health Action Wanaka, MahiQL, and Queenstown Lakes Charitable Housing Trust. Together, we use the insights to plan ahead and identify ways to improve the quality of life of our residents.

This research is conducted by Versus Research on behalf of Queenstown Lakes District Council.


How do I take part?

To participate in the survey, you must be 18 years of age or older and live in our district (you don’t need to be a ratepayer). Non-resident ratepayers are also welcome to take part.

Completing the survey is easy and takes around 15-20 minutes to complete. Simply click the link in the yellow survey box at the top of this page.

All responses are anonymous – we won’t be able to identify you from any information you provide.

So, grab a cuppa and let us know what really matters to you.

The survey runs for 5 weeks and closes at 5.00pm on Sunday 16 November 2025.

If you'd like to see the sort of questions we ask before you take the survey, please check out the FAQs on the righthand side of this page.

If you don’t have access to a device, you can complete the survey by using our free computer/internet access at any of our public libraries, district wide.

You can also request a hard copy of the survey by contacting our customer services team on 03 441 0499.

A summary of the survey findings will be published on this page in early 2026.


How can I get help?

If you have any questions or difficulties completing the survey due to a disability or language barrier, please contact Versus Research directly on 0800 837 787 or email info@versus.co.nz.


Be in to win!

You can opt into the prize draw to win a $250 Prezzy card when you complete the survey (you’re welcome to complete the survey without entering the prize draw, too).

Prize winners will be announced shortly after the close date (16 November 2025).


Why is my participation important?

Having reliable and up-to-date information makes all the difference to our ability to improve our community’s quality of life.

Unlike most of the other data sources we have access to, the Quality of Life Survey is one of the few that gathers community insights at a district or town level.

Your feedback is highly valuable in helping shape our policies and plans and for advocating on your behalf to government.


What were some of the key points from last year?

Key findings from the 2024 survey include:

  • The number of residents concerned about having a steady place to live decreased from 21% (2023) to 18%. Similarly, those that had experienced insecure accommodation reduced from 10% to 5%.
  • 49% of residents who rent accommodation to short-term guests do it to afford their mortgage or rent, with 31% doing it for a secondary income.
  • Residents reporting no disposable income or being unable to cover expenses increased from 21% to 29%, considerably higher than any other survey year.
  • 68% of residents reported good or excellent ratings of physical wellbeing and 63% reported good or excellent ratings for mental wellbeing.
  • Residents reporting no barriers to accessing medical professionals declined again year-on-year, from 39% to 37%, and is down from 47% in 2020.
  • The percentage of residents using alternative transport methods increased for each different mode of transport year-on-year, with a significant increase in those walking at least monthly rising from 64% to 81%.
  • Those agreeing they would recommend living and working in the district increased from 51% to 59%.
  • While most residents agree it’s worth taking the time to get recycling right (87%), and they are confident they recycle correctly (87%), only 15% are confident their recycling actually gets recycled.

>> You can read previous surveys at www.qldc.govt.nz/community-research

Got questions? Check out the FAQ section to the right of this page where we provide answers to the more common questions we've received over the years.

How's Life?
Kei te pēhea tōu ao?

どんな毎日をお過ごしですか？
Como anda a vida?
¿Cómo va todo?

生活过得怎么样？

ज़िन्दगी कैसी चल रही है?

The 2025 Quality of Life Survey

The 2025 Quality of Life Survey is now open. We’d love to hear how you feel about life in the district and get your thoughts on issues such as housing, health services, the environment, transport, employment, and sense of community.


What's the Quality of Life Survey?

We’ve been conducting the Quality of Life Survey since 2018. It’s an annual survey that helps us gauge residents’ overall quality of life and understand what matters most to our communities.

The information it provides helps us build a long-term picture of the wellbeing of our district and identify what improvements can be made for the benefit of all our residents.

It's also a great opportunity to share what’s going well and the things you love about our beautiful part of the world.

The survey has been developed with input from organisations including Health Action Wanaka, MahiQL, and Queenstown Lakes Charitable Housing Trust. Together, we use the insights to plan ahead and identify ways to improve the quality of life of our residents.

This research is conducted by Versus Research on behalf of Queenstown Lakes District Council.


How do I take part?

To participate in the survey, you must be 18 years of age or older and live in our district (you don’t need to be a ratepayer). Non-resident ratepayers are also welcome to take part.

Completing the survey is easy and takes around 15-20 minutes to complete. Simply click the link in the yellow survey box at the top of this page.

All responses are anonymous – we won’t be able to identify you from any information you provide.

So, grab a cuppa and let us know what really matters to you.

The survey runs for 5 weeks and closes at 5.00pm on Sunday 16 November 2025.

If you'd like to see the sort of questions we ask before you take the survey, please check out the FAQs on the righthand side of this page.

If you don’t have access to a device, you can complete the survey by using our free computer/internet access at any of our public libraries, district wide.

You can also request a hard copy of the survey by contacting our customer services team on 03 441 0499.

A summary of the survey findings will be published on this page in early 2026.


How can I get help?

If you have any questions or difficulties completing the survey due to a disability or language barrier, please contact Versus Research directly on 0800 837 787 or email info@versus.co.nz.


Be in to win!

You can opt into the prize draw to win a $250 Prezzy card when you complete the survey (you’re welcome to complete the survey without entering the prize draw, too).

Prize winners will be announced shortly after the close date (16 November 2025).


Why is my participation important?

Having reliable and up-to-date information makes all the difference to our ability to improve our community’s quality of life.

Unlike most of the other data sources we have access to, the Quality of Life Survey is one of the few that gathers community insights at a district or town level.

Your feedback is highly valuable in helping shape our policies and plans and for advocating on your behalf to government.


What were some of the key points from last year?

Key findings from the 2024 survey include:

  • The number of residents concerned about having a steady place to live decreased from 21% (2023) to 18%. Similarly, those that had experienced insecure accommodation reduced from 10% to 5%.
  • 49% of residents who rent accommodation to short-term guests do it to afford their mortgage or rent, with 31% doing it for a secondary income.
  • Residents reporting no disposable income or being unable to cover expenses increased from 21% to 29%, considerably higher than any other survey year.
  • 68% of residents reported good or excellent ratings of physical wellbeing and 63% reported good or excellent ratings for mental wellbeing.
  • Residents reporting no barriers to accessing medical professionals declined again year-on-year, from 39% to 37%, and is down from 47% in 2020.
  • The percentage of residents using alternative transport methods increased for each different mode of transport year-on-year, with a significant increase in those walking at least monthly rising from 64% to 81%.
  • Those agreeing they would recommend living and working in the district increased from 51% to 59%.
  • While most residents agree it’s worth taking the time to get recycling right (87%), and they are confident they recycle correctly (87%), only 15% are confident their recycling actually gets recycled.

>> You can read previous surveys at www.qldc.govt.nz/community-research

Got questions? Check out the FAQ section to the right of this page where we provide answers to the more common questions we've received over the years.

Page last updated: 13 Oct 2025, 07:39 AM