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.
- $1,437 / yearAbout 19% above the NSW council average of ~$1,203 (2023–24: $1,371, vs an NSW average of ~$1,140). A separate domestic waste charge (~$724 in 2023–24, ~$740 in 2024–25) applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Operating surplus — performance ratio +10.5%Well above the OLG >0% benchmark.
- Liquidity & cash
- Strong — unrestricted current ratio 12.67×, 15.0 months cash coverWell above the OLG benchmarks (>1.5× and >3 months); debt service cover 3.66× also clears its >2× benchmark.
- 6.6% — within the regional/rural benchmarkCoffs Harbour is classified 'Regional Town/City', so it's benchmarked at <10% (not the <5% metropolitan test); 6.6% clears that line.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 2.9%, asset maintenance 95.1%, renewals 44.5% in 2023–24 — all three miss their benchmarksThe backlog is just above the <2% benchmark; asset maintenance and building/infrastructure renewals both fell short of their >100% benchmarks. 2024–25 OLG figures: backlog 2.9%, maintenance 96.5%, renewals 36.3%.
- 72.4% (passes)Above the >60% benchmark — the council funds most of its operations from its own revenue rather than grants.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Coffs Harbour | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.5% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 72.4% | > 60% | Yes | |
| 12.67× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 3.66× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 6.6% | < 10% (regional/rural) | Yes | |
| 15.0 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 2.9% | < 2% | No | |
| 95.1% | > 100% | No | |
| 44.5% | > 100% | No |
City of Coffs Harbour'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. Coffs Harbour met 6 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24; the three it missed all relate to infrastructure — the backlog is marginally above its <2% line, while asset-maintenance spend and asset-renewal spend both came in under their >100% benchmarks. The OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows a similar picture (backlog 2.9%, maintenance 96.5%, renewals 36.3%). 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.