Melbourne (VIC) Council budget and finances

Budget & finances

Every Victorian council reports the same set of financial measures to the state each year, under the Local Government Performance Reporting Framework (LGPRF). The state doesn't set pass marks for these measures. So we show Melbourne's figure for 2024–25 next to the median of all Victorian councils. The median is the middle value: half of councils are above it and half below. The median is a point of reference, not a target.

New to these terms? Read them in plain English

Operating result (surplus / deficit): Income minus expenses for the year's normal operations.
Average residential rate: The typical yearly general-rates bill for a home in the area.

See the full explainer, with formulas →

The numbers

Average rate per property (2024–25): $2,345General rates plus any municipal charge, divided by all property assessments (homes and businesses). Melbourne has no municipal charge. The Victorian median is $1,937.
Borrowings: $110 million (forecast, 30 June 2026)The 2026–27 budget borrows $145 million and repays $95 million during the year, for $160 million at 30 June 2027. It projects $95 million in 2028, $60 million by the end of this council term in 2028–29 and $40 million in 2030, and says the aim is to be debt-free by the end of 2031–32. In 2024–25, loans and borrowings were 28.2% of rates (Victorian median 13.2%).
Adjusted underlying result (2024–25): 5.5% surplusThe operating result without capital grants and contributions, as a share of that revenue. The Victorian median is 0.56%. The council's own 'underlying result' in its budget is measured differently.
2026–27 budget: $804.8 million, with a $1.2 million budgeted surplusIncludes a $175.1 million capital works program, $73.2 million for safety and cleaning, $41.2 million for events, arts, culture and activation, and $26.4 million for the Garden City program.

Measure (2024–25)	Melbourne	Victorian median
	5.5%	0.56%
Current assets ÷ current liabilities (short-term liquidity)	0.75×	2.17×
Unrestricted cash ÷ current liabilities (free cash)	−0.86×	0.26×
Loans and borrowings ÷ rates	28.2%	13.2%
Loan repayments ÷ rates	30.5%	1.4%
Non-current liabilities ÷ own-source revenue	21.5%	16.7%
Asset renewal and upgrade ÷ depreciation	128.8%	94.9%
Rates ÷ adjusted underlying revenue (reliance on rates)	61.7%	57.8%
Rates ÷ property values	0.25%	0.28%
Expenses per property assessment	$4,235	$4,100
Average rate per property assessment	$2,345	$1,937

Melbourne City Council, LGPRF financial measures, 2024–25, next to the median of the 79 Victorian councils reporting each measure. Source: Local Government Victoria, LGPRF 2020–2025 Full Council Data Set (Nov 2025 release), CC BY 4.0. The median is CouncilBeacon's own calculation.

The LGPRF has no official benchmarks, and Local Government Victoria says its data shouldn't be used for simplistic league tables. So we don't mark any figure as a pass or a fail, and we don't rank councils. The Victorian median is CouncilBeacon's own calculation, taken across the Victorian councils that report each measure in the 2024–25 data set. A figure above or below the median isn't good or bad in itself. Councils differ in size, assets and services, and the council's annual report explains its own results. The 2025–26 figures are due in about November 2026.

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.