Budget & finances
Comparing raw dollar totals between councils isn't very useful — bigger councils naturally have bigger numbers. What does tell you about a council's financial health are normalised indicators: the standard ratios that every NSW council reports against the Office of Local Government's benchmarks, plus per-property figures you can compare to the NSW average. The ratios below are from the NSW Government's 'Your Council' / OLG time-series data for 2023–24.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- Operating performance ratio
- Whether everyday income covers everyday running costs.
- Own-source operating revenue ratio
- How much of the council's income it raises itself vs. grants from other governments.
- Unrestricted current ratio
- Whether the council has enough spare cash to pay its short-term bills.
- Debt service cover ratio
- How comfortably operating cash covers the council's loan repayments.
- Rates & annual charges outstanding ratio
- The share of rates bills that haven't been paid by year-end.
- Cash expense cover ratio
- How many months the council could keep paying bills if income stopped.
- Infrastructure backlog ratio
- The cost of fixing run-down assets, as a share of what those assets are worth.
- Asset maintenance ratio
- Whether the council actually spends what it should on maintaining its assets.
- Building & infrastructure renewals ratio
- Whether assets are being renewed as fast as they wear out.
- Operating result (surplus / deficit)
- Income minus expenses for the year's normal operations.
- OLG benchmark
- The healthy target set by the state for each financial ratio.
- Average residential rate
- The typical yearly general-rates bill for a home in the area.
- Office of Local Government (OLG)
- The NSW body overseeing councils; publishes the financial data.
- $1,237 / yearAbout 8% above the NSW council average of ~$1,140. In 2024–25 it rose to $1,301 (NSW ~$1,203). A separate domestic waste charge applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Operating deficit — performance ratio −8.5%Below the >0% benchmark: the council's day-to-day operating expenses exceeded its operating income this year.
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 0.59× (misses); 6.0 months cash; debt service cover 2.70× (passes)The unrestricted current ratio is well below the >1.5× benchmark — a stand-out low reading — while cash cover and debt service cover pass.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 11.0% (misses, high); maintenance 86.8% (misses); renewals 48.9% (misses)All three infrastructure ratios sit on the wrong side of their benchmarks; the backlog ratio is well above the <2% benchmark.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 65.4% (passes)Above the >60% benchmark.
- Rates & charges outstanding (2023–24)
- 6.7%Below the <10% benchmark for regional/rural councils (Bathurst Regional is OLG Group 4, Regional Town/City).
| Indicator (2023–24) | Bathurst Regional | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| -8.5% | > 0% | No | |
| 65.4% | > 60% | Yes | |
| 0.59× | > 1.5× | No | |
| 2.70× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 6.7% | < 10% | Yes | |
| 6.0 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 11.0% | < 2% | No | |
| 86.8% | > 100% | No | |
| 48.9% | > 100% | No |
Bathurst Regional Council's financial-health indicators, 2023–24, against the NSW Office of Local Government benchmarks. 'Meets?' simply states whether the figure is on the benchmark side of the line. Source: NSW Government 'Your Council' / OLG time-series data, 2023–24.
These ratios are the standard, size-independent way to read a council's finances, which is why we use them instead of raw dollar totals. Bathurst Regional met 4 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24. Three misses stand out: the operating result was a deficit (−8.5%), the unrestricted current ratio was low at 0.59× (a measure of short-term liquidity, well under the >1.5× benchmark), and the infrastructure backlog was 11.0% (well above the <2% benchmark). (The OLG classifies Bathurst Regional as a Regional Town/City council, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding; metropolitan councils are benchmarked at under 5%.) The OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows the infrastructure ratios shifting: backlog 10.8%, asset maintenance 61.3%, renewals 67.9%. We present the numbers and their benchmarks; whether that's good value is for you to judge from the sources below.
Sources — check it yourself
Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.