← Brewarrina 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. (The OLG classifies Brewarrina as a Rural council in group 8, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding; metropolitan councils are held to under 5%.)

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

$139 / yearThe lowest average residential rate of any NSW council in the OLG time-series, against an NSW average of about $1,203 (2023–24 was $132, vs an NSW average of about $1,140). Rate levels reflect local land values and the council's own rating structure — its 2026/27 minimum ordinary rates are $158.50 in Brewarrina, $125.50 in Goodooga and $96.00 in Angledool and Gongolgon — not the quantity or quality of services. A separate domestic waste charge (about $439 in 2024–25) applies on top.
Operating performance ratio −2.9%Below the >0% benchmark — an operating deficit for the year.
Liquidity & cash
Unrestricted current ratio 5.26× ; debt service cover 13.87× ; 14.1 months cash (all pass)All three liquidity and solvency measures are well above their benchmarks (>1.5×, >2× and >3 months respectively).
Self-funding
Own-source revenue 32.6% (misses)Below the >60% benchmark. The council's own 2026/27 Operational Plan describes continued reliance on grant funding to support infrastructure and service delivery in a remote regional context.
Infrastructure
Backlog 4.4%, asset maintenance 100.0% and renewals 3.4% all miss (2023–24)Asset maintenance sits exactly on the 100% line, so it is scored as a miss on the arithmetic rather than falling short of it. The OLG's 2024–25 file shows backlog at 4.3%, asset maintenance again at 100.0% and renewals rising to 44.0% — we show both years rather than picking one.
5.0%Below the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils.
Budget position (2026–27)
Consolidated accounting deficit of about $2.91 millionThe council's adopted Operational Plan attributes this mainly to non-cash depreciation, and states that after adding depreciation back the budget shows a positive cash result of about $2.63 million. For the General Fund alone it reports a $2.78 million operating deficit, $4.67 million of depreciation and a $1.89 million underlying cash surplus.
Indicator (2023–24)BrewarrinaMeets?
−2.9%> 0%No
32.6%> 60%No
5.26×> 1.5×Yes
13.87×> 2×Yes
5.0%< 10%Yes
14.1 months> 3 monthsYes
4.4%< 2%No
100.0%> 100%No — exactly on the line
3.4%> 100%No

Brewarrina'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. Brewarrina met 4 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24. Three points are worth reading carefully rather than at a glance: the asset maintenance ratio is 100.0% against a benchmark of 'greater than 100%', which is a miss on the arithmetic but not a shortfall in maintenance spend; the building and infrastructure renewals ratio moves a long way between the two published years (3.4% in 2023–24, 44.0% in 2024–25), which for a council of this size can turn on the timing of a single renewal project; and own-source revenue of 32.6% reflects a rate base of roughly 1,400 people spread across 19,162 km², which the council's own budget documents describe as continued reliance on grants. The council publishes its own financial material — the audited Annual Report 2024–25 and the adopted Operational Plan 2026–27, whose General Manager's message states that this year's focus is financial sustainability, disciplined cost management and maximising external funding. We present the numbers, their benchmarks and the council's own documents; the judgement is yours.

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.