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.
- $1,315 / yearAbout 15% above the NSW council average of ~$1,140 (about 19% above in 2024–25: $1,434 vs the NSW ~$1,203). A separate domestic waste charge applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Operating surplus — performance ratio +9.7%Well above the >0% benchmark.
- Liquidity & cash
- Strong liquidity (5.83×), 21.6 months cash; debt service cover 20.27× (passes)Unrestricted current ratio, cash cover and debt service cover all comfortably above benchmark.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 1.9% (passes); renewals 115.3% (passes); maintenance 130.7% (passes)All three infrastructure ratios on the benchmark side of the line.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 69.5% (passes)Above the >60% benchmark.
- Domestic waste charge (2023–24)
- $495 / yearA separate annual charge that funds the bin service. The OLG time-series records this rising to $856 in 2024–25 — see the note below.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Lane Cove | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.7% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 69.5% | > 60% | Yes | |
| 5.83× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 20.27× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 4.8% | < 5% | Yes | |
| 21.6 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 1.9% | < 2% | Yes | |
| 130.7% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 115.3% | > 100% | Yes |
Lane Cove'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. Lane Cove met all 9 benchmarks in 2023–24. (The OLG classifies Lane Cove as a metropolitan council, so it is benchmarked at under 5% for rates outstanding; regional and rural councils are benchmarked at under 10%.) The OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows the infrastructure ratios moving: backlog 1.9%, maintenance 102.0%, renewals 172.9%. Separately, the OLG data records the average domestic waste charge rising from $495 (2023–24) to $856 (2024–25); the council publishes its waste charges in its annual Revenue Policy / Fees and Charges, and we could not independently confirm the reason for the year-on-year change — see the sources below. We present the numbers and their benchmarks; whether that's good value 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
- Your Council (NSW Government) — Lane Cove · 2023–24
- Office of Local Government — Time-Series Data 2024–25 (infrastructure & charges update) · 2024–25
- Lane Cove Council — Delivery Program & Operational Plan (Revenue Policy, Fees & Charges) · 2025–26
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.