Darebin (VIC) Council budget and finances

Budget & finances

Every Victorian council reports the same set of financial measures to the state each year, under the Local Government Performance Reporting Framework (LGPRF). The state doesn't set pass marks for these measures. So we show Darebin's figure for 2024–25 next to the median of all Victorian councils. The median is the middle value: half of councils are above it and half below. The median is a point of reference, not a target.

New to these terms? Read them in plain English

Operating result (surplus / deficit): Income minus expenses for the year's normal operations.
Average residential rate: The typical yearly general-rates bill for a home in the area.

See the full explainer, with formulas →

The numbers

Average rate per property (2024–25): $1,764General rates plus any municipal charge, divided by all property assessments (homes and businesses). Darebin has no municipal charge. The Victorian median is $1,937.
Adjusted underlying result (2024–25): 2.9% surplusThe operating result without capital grants and contributions, as a share of that revenue. The Victorian median is 0.56%.
2026–27 budget: Operating deficit of $9.6 millionThe adopted budget (30 June 2026) projects an adjusted underlying deficit of $15.95 million and similar deficits for the following 3 years. The council says this is largely because of its planned investment in business transformation and technology ('Digital Darebin'), funded from cash built up in earlier years, and it has built in savings or revenue targets of $4 million a year from 2026–27.
Borrowings: $34.5 million forecast at 30 June 2026No new borrowing is planned. The loan, used for the Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre redevelopment, is projected to fall to $30.0 million by 30 June 2027 and to be fully repaid in 2032–33 (budget s. 4.2.3).
2026–27 capital works: $27.6 millionIncluding $6.5m for roads, $4.5m for recreation, leisure and community facilities, $1.9m for footpaths and cycleways and $1.6m for bridges. The council says it has reduced capital works and operating project allocations and deferred some projects because costs have grown faster than revenue.

Measure (2024–25)	Darebin	Victorian median
	2.9%	0.56%
Current assets ÷ current liabilities (short-term liquidity)	1.88×	2.17×
Unrestricted cash ÷ current liabilities (free cash)	0.32×	0.26×
Loans and borrowings ÷ rates	25.1%	13.2%
Loan repayments ÷ rates	3.8%	1.4%
Non-current liabilities ÷ own-source revenue	19.9%	16.7%
Asset renewal and upgrade ÷ depreciation	72.2%	94.9%
Rates ÷ adjusted underlying revenue (reliance on rates)	71.6%	57.8%
Rates ÷ property values	0.22%	0.28%
Expenses per property assessment	$2,813	$4,100
Average rate per property assessment	$1,764	$1,937

Darebin City Council, LGPRF financial measures, 2024–25, next to the median of the 79 Victorian councils reporting each measure. Source: Local Government Victoria, LGPRF 2020–2025 Full Council Data Set (Nov 2025 release), CC BY 4.0. The median is CouncilBeacon's own calculation.

The LGPRF has no official benchmarks, and Local Government Victoria says its data shouldn't be used for simplistic league tables. So we don't mark any figure as a pass or a fail, and we don't rank councils. The Victorian median is CouncilBeacon's own calculation, taken across the Victorian councils that report each measure in the 2024–25 data set. A figure above or below the median isn't good or bad in itself. Councils differ in size, assets and services, and the council's annual report explains its own results. The 2025–26 figures are due in about November 2026. Budget figures come from the adopted 2026–27 budget.

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.