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 Cowra as a Large Rural council — OLG group 11 — 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.
- $583 / yearAbout 52% below the NSW council average of ~$1,203 — one of the lowest average residential rates in NSW (2023–24 was $537, vs NSW ~$1,140). A separate domestic waste charge (~$571 in 2024–25) applies. (OLG time-series data.)
- Operating surplus — performance ratio 7.31%Above the >0% benchmark.
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 4.46×, 11.8 months cash; debt service cover 6.13× (all pass)Liquidity, cash cover and debt service cover are all comfortably above benchmark.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 58.3% (just below benchmark)Just below the >60% benchmark — a meaningful share of income comes from grants, common for rural councils with a small ratepayer base over a large area.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 0.46% and renewals 121.3% both pass; asset maintenance 109.1% passesAll three infrastructure ratios are on the benchmark side of the line for 2023–24.
- 13.48%Above the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils — the one ratio, alongside own-source revenue, that misses.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Cowra | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.31% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 58.3% | > 60% | No | |
| 4.46× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 6.13× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 13.48% | < 10% | No | |
| 11.8 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 0.46% | < 2% | Yes | |
| 109.1% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 121.3% | > 100% | Yes |
Cowra'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. Cowra met 7 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24 — a comparatively strong result, with an operating surplus, low debt, and infrastructure ratios all inside benchmark. The two ratios that miss are own-source revenue (58.3%, just under the 60% line) and rates outstanding (13.48%, above the 10% rural threshold). One notable neutral fact: its average residential rate is one of the lowest in NSW, at roughly half the state average. The OLG's 2024–25 time-series (which drops several ratios from collection) shows asset maintenance at 98.8%, renewals at 77.3% and backlog at 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.