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 Gunnedah 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.
- $1,093 / yearAbout 9% below the NSW council average of ~$1,203 (2023–24 was $1,037, vs NSW ~$1,140). A separate domestic waste charge (~$396 in 2024–25) applies. Note: a large IPART-approved rate rise applies from 2025–26 onward — see Rates & fees. (OLG time-series data.)
- Operating surplus — performance ratio 9.6%Above the >0% benchmark.
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 4.03×, 21.8 months cash; debt service cover 13.05× (all pass)Liquidity, cash cover and debt service cover are all comfortably above benchmark.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 43.7% (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 very large area.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 3.0% and asset maintenance 96.3% both miss narrowly; renewals 323.3% (passes)The infrastructure-backlog and asset-maintenance ratios are just outside benchmark; the renewals ratio passes comfortably. The 2024–25 data shows backlog widening to 6.1% and asset maintenance improving to 103.4% (now passing), while renewals fell to 64.2% (now missing).
- 3.9%Well below the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Gunnedah | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.6% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 43.7% | > 60% | No | |
| 4.03× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 13.05× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 3.9% | < 10% | Yes | |
| 21.8 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 3.0% | < 2% | No | |
| 96.3% | > 100% | No | |
| 323.3% | > 100% | Yes |
Gunnedah'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. Gunnedah met 6 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24 — a comparatively strong year, with a positive operating result and very high cash buffer. Since then the council has told IPART that 'the NSW rate peg, cost shifting and rapidly rising expenses has not allowed rates to keep pace with costs', and secured a large Special Rate Variation running 2025–26 and 2026–27 (see Rates & fees); its adopted 2026–27 operational plan projects about $66 million in total expenditure against a budgeted $2.7 million deficit, with roughly $24 million in capital works. 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
- Office of Local Government — Time-Series Data 2023–24 (all NSW councils, benchmark ratios) · 2023–24
- Your Council (NSW Government) — Gunnedah · 2023–24
- Office of Local Government — Time-Series Data 2024–25 (infrastructure ratios update) · 2024–25
- Gunnedah Times — Capital works of $24m expected in adopted budget · 13 Jul 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.