Lockhart Shire Council budget and finances

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 Lockhart as a 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.

See the full explainer, with formulas →

The numbers

: $394 / yearAbout 67% below the NSW council average of ~$1,203 (2023–24 was $404, against an NSW average of ~$1,140). Lockhart is among the lowest average residential rates in NSW. Rate levels reflect land values and each council's rating structure, not the quality or quantity of services — in Lockhart, 1,136 farmland assessments hold 94.3% of the shire's rateable land value and provide 79.9% of general rate income, while residential base rates sit between $40 and $80. A separate domestic waste charge applies (OLG average ~$382 in 2024–25; the council's adopted 2026–27 charge is $495 for the three-bin service).
: Operating performance ratio −17.0%Below the >0% benchmark. The council's adopted 2026–27 budget forecasts a General Fund operating deficit of $1.82M.
Self-funding: Own-source revenue 28.2% (misses)Well below the >60% benchmark: in the adopted 2026–27 budget, operating grants and contributions of $9.71M outweigh rates and annual charges of $4.62M. Small rural councils with large road networks and few ratepayers commonly sit low on this ratio.
Liquidity & cash: Unrestricted current ratio 4.93×, debt service cover 7.06×, 9.1 months cash — all passAll three comfortably above their benchmarks (>1.5×, >2× and >3 months) in 2023–24.
Infrastructure: Backlog 0.0%, asset maintenance 131.3%, renewals 126.5% — all three pass (2023–24)The OLG time-series records an infrastructure backlog ratio of 0.0% in both 2023–24 and 2024–25. The 2024–25 file shows asset maintenance rising to 202.8% and renewals falling to 68.4%. Separately, the council's own special-variation material describes an annual funding gap of about $2.3M on transport assets — a different measure from the backlog ratio, which expresses the cost of bringing assets to a satisfactory standard as a share of total infrastructure value. See the note below.
: 8.8%Below the under-10% benchmark that applies to rural councils. The council's 2024–25 financial statements show $226,000 outstanding against $2,768,000 of rates income, or 8.17%.
Capital works (2026–27 budget): $6.68M, of which $3.90M is roadsAdopted Operational Plan 2026–27: roads capital includes $1.30M for the Safer Roads Henty/Pleasant Hills project, $0.74M for regional roads, $0.64M rural sealed and $0.47M rural unsealed. Other capital includes a new $850,000 Lockhart works depot building, funded by a new external loan.

Lockhart		Meets?
−17.0%	> 0%	No
28.2%	> 60%	No
4.93×	> 1.5×	Yes
7.06×	> 2×	Yes
8.8%	< 10%	Yes
9.1 months	> 3 months	Yes
0.0%	< 2%	Yes
131.3%	> 100%	Yes
126.5%	> 100%	Yes

Lockhart'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. Lockhart met 7 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24. The two it did not meet are the two that measure how much of its own money it raises and whether the year's operating income covered the year's operating costs — an own-source revenue ratio of 28.2% means most of the council's operating income is grants rather than rates and fees. Two figures deserve to be read together rather than separately: the OLG time-series records an infrastructure backlog of 0.0% for both 2023–24 and 2024–25, while the council's own special-variation documents state a General Fund operating deficit and an annual transport asset renewal gap of about $2.3M, and forecast that the unrestricted cash balance would move negative within two financial years without additional income or reduced expenditure. They are different measures over different horizons; we present both and link the sources rather than reconciling them for you.

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.