What the council is working on
Recent deliveries, what's underway now, and what's planned next — drawn from the council's own plans, budgets and project pages. We report what the council has publicly said it's doing; every item links to its source.
The council's stated direction
Carrathool's direction is set out in its Community Strategic Plan 'Towards 2035' — reviewed and updated after community consultation in April and May 2025 — delivered through a four-year Delivery Program 2026–2029 and the annual Operational Plan and budget adopted on 23 June 2026.
The council manages local roads, water supply and sewer schemes, waste facilities, parks, halls, caravan parks, swimming pools, aerodromes, cemeteries, the Hillston library and planning across nearly 19,000 km² of the western Riverina, with an economy anchored in irrigated horticulture, broadacre cropping, grazing and poultry. Its Delivery Program is the elected council's statement of what it will do over its term, organised under five CSP objectives, and it names the service areas Council will review in each year of the term (year 1 town and village maintenance, year 2 roads, year 3 water and sewerage, year 4 developer services).
Council adopted the 3.7% IPART rate peg for 2026/27, giving about $4.31 million in ordinary rates income — roughly 82% of it from farmland categories — plus about $301,000 from the domestic waste management charge. Its 2026/27 plant replacement program is budgeted at about $1.48 million. Against the OLG's 2023–24 benchmarks the council's reported figures were on the benchmark side of the line for eight of the nine indicators, with own-source revenue (33.1% against a >60% benchmark) the exception.
- Carrathool Shire Council — Delivery Program 2026–2029 (Towards 2035) · 2026–2029
- Carrathool Shire Council — Operational Plan 2026/27 · Adopted 23 Jun 2026
- Carrathool Shire Council — Integrated Planning and Reporting · Aug 2026
Underway now
Carrathool Shire Housing Strategy
Consultant engaged; community survey opened December 2025Council engaged planning consultancy Habitat to prepare a Carrathool Shire Housing Strategy covering Hillston, Goolgowi, Merriwagga, Rankins Springs, Carrathool and the shire's rural areas. Council's stated reason is evolving demand tied to agriculture, grain and animal farming — health and aged care, key-worker housing, and seasonal and itinerant worker accommodation — and the strategy is intended to inform decisions about the types of housing land the LGA needs. A community survey was opened to residents, renters, homeowners, workers, retirees and employers.
Source: Carrathool Shire Council — Carrathool Shire Housing Strategy
Hillston residential subdivision — blocks sold directly by Council
Land release ongoing; covenants set by Council Minute 0918 of 25 June 2024Council is selling residential blocks in the McGregor/O'Donnell Street subdivision at Hillston directly to buyers at $35,000 each, with building covenants attached under Council Minute 0918/25.06.2024. An expression-of-interest document is published on Council's website. A companion subdivision at Goolgowi is listed among the major projects in the Delivery Program 2026–2029.
Source: Carrathool Shire Council — Hillston Subdivision, land for sale
Bally Rogan Bridge replacement, Lachlan Valley Way
Temporary bridge in use; demolition and new footings from August 2026WaterNSW is replacing the bridge over the Lake Brewster Inlet Channel on the Lachlan Valley Way with a longer, stronger and higher structure. As at the August 2026 community update, a temporary bridge had passed quality-assurance inspection and carries traffic while the old bridge is demolished; coffer dams are being installed upstream and downstream to dewater the site for new footings, reducing channel flow by up to about 35% while in place. This is a WaterNSW project delivered in consultation with Carrathool Shire Council, not a council works project.
Source: WaterNSW / Carrathool Shire Council — Bally Rogan Bridge replacement, August 2026 community update
Planned / committed
Major projects named in the Delivery Program 2026–2029
Council term 2026–2029The Delivery Program lists Council's major projects for the term: a Goolgowi subdivision, road improvements across the shire, boat ramps on the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee, an Integrated Water Cycle Management Strategy, improvements to the water network to lift quality and capacity, and upgrades to the Hillston Caravan Park. Council also names its top community priorities to 2035 in order: community growth and an ageing demographic, a well-maintained road network, reliable water supply, tourism, youth facilities and programs, and the visual appearance of the towns and villages.
Source: Carrathool Shire Council — Delivery Program 2026–2029