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.
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.
- $1,590 / yearAbout 37% above the NSW council average of ~$1,140 — well above the statewide average. Rose to $1,650 in 2024–25. A separate domestic waste charge (~$666, rising to ~$734 in 2024–25) applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Operating surplus — performance ratio +13.0%Above the >0% benchmark.
- Liquidity & cash
- Strong liquidity (3.63×), 8.6 months cash; debt service cover 7.05× (passes)Unrestricted current ratio, cash cover and debt service cover all above benchmark.
- Rates & charges outstanding
- 11.2% (misses)Above the <5% benchmark for a metropolitan council — a notably high share of rates uncollected at year end.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 48.6% (misses)Below the >60% benchmark — a larger share of income comes from grants and contributions.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 2.8% (misses); maintenance 98.0% (misses); renewals 188.6% (passes)Backlog and asset-maintenance ratios miss their benchmarks; renewals spending is well above benchmark.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Hawkesbury | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13.0% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 48.6% | > 60% | No | |
| 3.63× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 7.05× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 11.2% | < 5% | No | |
| 8.6 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 2.8% | < 2% | No | |
| 98.0% | > 100% | No | |
| 188.6% | > 100% | Yes |
Hawkesbury'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. Hawkesbury met 5 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24. Two misses stand out: rates and charges outstanding was 11.2% (against a <5% benchmark for a metropolitan-classified council — regional and rural councils are benchmarked at under 10%), and own-source revenue was 48.6% (against a >60% benchmark). The OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows some infrastructure ratios moving: backlog 3.0%, asset maintenance 131.7%, renewals 277.1%. 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.