Have Your Say: step-by-step guide
If you are preparing a NSW Government project or initiative for public consultation, find out how to publish information on the website.
All NSW Government consultations must be listed on Have Your Say
As per the Premier's Memorandum, NSW Government departments and agencies are required to list any public consultation that they are conducting on the central portal, Have Your Say.
Public consultations for comment
The Have Your Say portal is a centralised hub for all NSW Government public consultations currently open for comment and submissions.
It provides access to information about public consultations on government plans to improve services, the economy and infrastructure in NSW.
Members of the public and organisations can:
- find out about topics of interest
- be informed about activities in their local area
- share their views and ideas by making a submission.
The publishing process
Request access
If your NSW Government department or agency is conducting public consultation for an upcoming project or initiative you can request access to upload your consultation on the nsw.gov.au Help Hub.
When applying for access please ensure you are using your @nsw.gov.au email address.
Once your account has been verified and approved you will be able to create a consultation on the nsw.gov.au website.
Create your consultation
Once you have accessed the system for the first time (and set up your multi-factor authentication) you can create your consultation. To create your consultation you will need:
- your consultation title
- a sentence summarising what your consultation is about (1 to 2 sentences)
- a brief overview of the consultation background, what you are seeking feedback on and a summary of changes or ways this may affect citizens
- opening and closing dates and times of your consultation
- details about how citizens can submit their feedback (for example, email addresses, links to online surveys and phone numbers)
- an image cropped to 760px by 440px.
Your consultation should be succinct, customer-focused and written in plain English. Here are some examples of Have Your Say consultations written in the nsw.gov.au style guide.
Read the guidelines on how to create a consultation on Have Your Say.
Submit your consultation for review
Once you have completed your consultation you can click 'Needs Review' in the top right-hand menu of the page. This will automatically send it through to the NSW Digital Channels team for review.
If there are no changes the team will publish your consultation at 9am on the date you have specified. If the team needs to make changes they will contact you to arrange approvals.
Please allow at least 2 days for the Digital Channels team to review and publish your consultation.
If you require a specific time of publication please contact the NSW Digital Channels team.
Get help with your consultation
The Department of Customer Service partners with agencies across the NSW Government to deliver online consultations using a secure, mobile-friendly digital engagement platform in accordance with best practice standards.
Our team of experts will help you design surveys, edit content and advise on the best tools to use to engage your customers and achieve your consultation objectives.
Working with our engagement team, you will be able to:
- achieve a great response rate; the platform’s average engagement rate is 35-40%
- reach a greater number of customers
- use variety of consultation tools and widgets (including quick polls, ideas boards, surveys, newsfeed and interactive maps) to make it easier for customers to have their say
- access real-time reporting and analytics
- benefit from the support of targeted promotions through various communication channels
- receive a wide range of insights to deliver initiatives, programs and policies that are customer-centric and of great value to the community.
Take a look at the following case studies to understand what the engagement platform offers:
- Better parking in Greater Sydney (NSW Transport)
- Your mental health at work during COVID-19 (whole-of-government)
- Making home ownership more achievable in NSW (NSW Treasury)
- Help shape the future of strata in NSW (NSW Fair Trading)
- The Future of Maritime Safety (Centre for Maritime Safety)
To partner with us, email the Customer, Delivery and Transformation team at the Department of Customer Service.
Contact us
If you are a NSW Government employee and need help or information about the Have Your Say portal, contact the Digital Channels support team at the Department of Customer Service.