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 Greater Hume as a Large Rural council, 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.
- $992 / yearAbout 18% below the NSW council average of ~$1,203 (2023–24 was $939, vs NSW ~$1,140). A separate domestic waste charge applies — $242 in 2023–24, rising to $348 in 2024–25 alongside the new three-bin FOGO service. (OLG time-series data.)
- Operating deficit — performance ratio −4.3%Below the >0% benchmark, though a smaller deficit than many comparable rural councils.
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 3.35×, 8.9 months cash; debt service cover 13.49× (all pass)Liquidity, cash cover and debt service cover are all comfortably above benchmark.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 40.4% (well below benchmark)Below the >60% benchmark — a larger share of income comes from grants, common for rural councils with a small ratepayer base over a large area.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 2.1% narrowly misses; asset maintenance 187.8% and renewals 153.1% both passThe infrastructure-backlog ratio is just outside benchmark (2.1% vs a <2% target); asset maintenance and renewals are both strongly above benchmark.
- 7.0%Below the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Greater Hume | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| −4.3% | > 0% | No | |
| 40.4% | > 60% | No | |
| 3.35× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 13.49× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 7.0% | < 10% | Yes | |
| 8.9 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 2.1% | < 2% | No | |
| 187.8% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 153.1% | > 100% | Yes |
Greater Hume'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. Greater Hume met 6 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24. Two notable neutral facts: its own-source revenue (40.4%) is well below the 60% benchmark, reflecting heavy reliance on grants typical of small rural councils, and its average residential rate is meaningfully below the NSW average. The OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows the infrastructure backlog easing slightly to 1.8% (now meeting benchmark) while asset maintenance (159.4%) and renewals (110.8%) eased from their 2023–24 highs but stayed above benchmark. 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.