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.
- $1,603 / yearAbout 40% above the NSW council average of ~$1,140. In 2024–25 the average was $1,663 (NSW ~$1,203). A separate domestic waste charge (~$615 in 2023–24, $642 in 2024–25) applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Operating surplus — performance ratio +2.9%Above the >0% benchmark.
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 2.56×, 5.6 months cash; debt service cover 9.70× (all pass)Liquidity, cash cover and debt service cover all above benchmark.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 5.1% (misses <2% benchmark); renewals 164.8% (passes); maintenance 133.3% (passes)The council spends well above benchmark on renewals and maintenance, but the infrastructure-backlog ratio is above its benchmark this year.
- 7.3% (misses <5% metro benchmark)Above the under-5% benchmark that applies to metropolitan councils.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 79.5% (passes)Above the >60% benchmark.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Burwood | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.9% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 79.5% | > 60% | Yes | |
| 2.56× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 9.70× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 7.3% | < 5% | No | |
| 5.6 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 5.1% | < 2% | No | |
| 133.3% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 164.8% | > 100% | Yes |
Burwood 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. Burwood met 7 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24 — the two misses were rates outstanding (7.3% against a <5% benchmark) and infrastructure backlog (5.1% against a <2% benchmark). (The OLG classifies Burwood as a metropolitan council, so it is benchmarked at under 5% for rates outstanding; regional and rural councils are benchmarked at under 10%.) The OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows the infrastructure ratios moving: backlog 6.5%, maintenance 127.4%, renewals 121.0%. 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.