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 Dungog as a Large Rural council, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding; metropolitan councils are held to under 5%.) Dungog is a shire of about 9,900 people spread over 2,250 km² of river valley and range country, with a large road and bridge network relative to its rate base — context worth holding alongside the numbers.
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.
The numbers
- $1,646 / yearAbout 37% above the NSW council average of ~$1,203 (2023–24 was $1,580, vs NSW ~$1,140). A separate domestic waste charge (~$589 in 2024–25, up from ~$536) applies. Dungog completed a five-year IPART-approved special rate variation in 2023–24 that lifted general income by a cumulative 76.0% and is retained permanently in its rate base — see Rates & fees. (OLG time-series data.)
- Operating performance ratio −25.8%Below the >0% benchmark: operating expenses exceeded operating revenue (excluding capital grants and contributions) by about a quarter of that revenue in this year.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 37.7% (misses)Below the >60% benchmark — a larger share of income comes from grants and contributions rather than rates, fees and charges. Small rural councils with large road networks commonly sit below this benchmark.
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 2.38× (passes); cash expense cover 17.6 months (passes); debt service cover 1.99× (just misses)Liquidity and cash buffer are both comfortably above benchmark. Debt service cover of 1.99× sits marginally under the >2× line.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 9.7% and asset maintenance 58.4% both miss (2023–24); renewals 338.9% passesThe backlog ratio is the estimated cost to bring assets to a satisfactory standard, as a share of asset value. The OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows backlog broadly unchanged at 9.6%, renewals still well above benchmark at 229.9%, and asset maintenance lower at 30.2%.
- 7.6%Below the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Dungog | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| −25.8% | > 0% | No | |
| 37.7% | > 60% | No | |
| 2.38× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 1.99× | > 2× | No | |
| 7.6% | < 10% | Yes | |
| 17.6 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 9.7% | < 2% | No | |
| 58.4% | > 100% | No | |
| 338.9% | > 100% | Yes |
Dungog'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. Dungog met 4 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24: the operating performance, own-source revenue, infrastructure backlog and asset maintenance ratios were on the wrong side of their benchmark line, and debt service cover fell just short of it, while liquidity, cash cover, rates collection and the building-and-infrastructure renewals ratio cleared theirs. The renewals ratio of 338.9% means the council spent well above the depreciation on its built assets that year — consistent with a period of major bridge and road works. Alongside this, Dungog's average residential rate is about 37% above the NSW average, following a five-year special rate variation approved by IPART for 2019–20 to 2023–24. We present the numbers, the benchmarks and the council's own published explanations below; what they add up to is for you to judge.
Sources — check it yourself
- Office of Local Government — Time-Series Data 2023–24 (all NSW councils, benchmark ratios) · 2023–24
- Office of Local Government — Time-Series Data 2024–25 (infrastructure ratios update) · 2024–25
- Your Council (NSW Government) — council data · 2023–24
- Dungog Shire Council — Special Rate Variation (IPART instrument of approval, SRV update June 2024) · 2026
- Dungog Shire Council — Long Term Financial Plan 2022/23 – 2032/33 · 2022/23–2032/33
- Dungog Shire Council — Annual Reports & Financial Statements · 2026
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.