← Bland Shire Council
Budget & finances

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, which is the most recent year with a complete set of published figures for Bland. (The OLG classifies Bland as a Large Rural council, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding; metropolitan councils are held to under 5%.) Where the OLG's 2024-25 file has no figure for Bland, we say so and use the council's own audited 2024-25 financial statements instead, labelled as such.

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.
See the full explainer, with formulas →

The numbers

$1,508 / yearAbout 32% above the NSW council average of ~$1,140 for the same year (OLG time-series data). Rate levels reflect land values and each council's rating structure — Bland's rate base is dominated by large farmland and mining assessments — and are not a measure of service quality. The OLG's 2024-25 time-series records no average residential rate for Bland, so 2023-24 is the latest published figure on this basis.
Average domestic waste charge
$470 (2023-24, OLG) · $520 for a 240-litre service in 2025-26 (Council)The OLG's 2024-25 time-series records no average domestic waste charge for Bland. Council's own adopted 2025-26 Revenue Policy sets the domestic waste management charge at $520.00 per 240-litre service or $411.00 per 120-litre service, with a $45.00 charge on vacant land where the service is available and on properties outside a serviced area.
Operating performance ratio 30.7% in 2023-24 (passes)Well above the >0% benchmark. Council's audited 2024-25 statements report a net operating result of $10.5 million ($4.8 million before capital grants and contributions), down from $23.1 million in 2023-24 — grants and contributions revenue fell $19.9 million (55.3%) to $16.1 million as roads and bridges project funding wound back.
Liquidity & cash
Unrestricted current ratio 24.58×; debt service cover 61.17×; 49.2 months cash (2023-24, all pass)Council's audited 2024-25 statements show these at 21.89×, 112.57× and 40.72 months respectively, with total cash, cash equivalents and investments of $84.0 million and loans of $0.5 million at 30 June 2025.
Self-funding
Own-source revenue 31.8% in 2023-24 (misses the >60% benchmark)This is the ratio of revenue Bland raises itself (rates, charges, fees) to total operating revenue. It is the one health ratio well below benchmark: grants and contributions are a large share of income for a shire of about 5,450 people with 8,558 km² of roads and assets to maintain. Council's audited statements show grants and contributions at $16.1 million of $39.3 million total income in 2024-25.
Infrastructure
Backlog 4.9% misses (2023-24); asset maintenance 198.1% and renewals 215.2% passThe infrastructure backlog ratio is the estimated cost of bringing assets to a satisfactory standard as a share of their carrying amount; the <2% benchmark is one many rural councils do not meet. Council's audited 2024-25 statements (consolidated) show backlog 5.29%, asset maintenance 106.80% and building & infrastructure renewals 64.14% — the audited figures are consolidated across the general and sewer funds, so they are not strictly like-for-like with the OLG series.
4.5%Well below the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils, and below the under-5% benchmark that applies to metropolitan ones.
Indicator (2023-24)BlandMeets?
30.7%> 0%Yes
31.8%> 60%No
24.58×> 1.5×Yes
61.17×> 2×Yes
4.5%< 10%Yes
49.2 months> 3 monthsYes
4.9%< 2%No
198.1%> 100%Yes
215.2%> 100%Yes

Bland'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. Bland met 7 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023-24. Two important caveats on the year: the OLG's 2024-25 time-series contains no average residential rate, no average domestic waste charge and no benchmark ratios for Bland — those cells are empty, which means the figures were not collected for that year, not that the council scored zero or failed anything. Where a 2024-25 figure is quoted above it comes from Council's own audited financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2025 and is labelled accordingly. The two benchmarks Bland does not meet are own-source revenue (31.8% against >60%) and the infrastructure backlog (4.9% against <2%); Council's 2026-27 Operational Plan sets out a planned deficit of $14.1 million, which it describes as aligned with its long-term financial strategy and representing investment in infrastructure and asset maintenance. We present the numbers, their benchmarks and the council's own statements; what they are worth 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.