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 last year the full 9-ratio benchmark set was reported on a comparable basis.
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.
- $1,481 / yearAbout 30% above the NSW council average of ~$1,140 (2024–25: $1,560, vs an NSW average of ~$1,203 — a similar ~30% gap). A separate domestic waste charge (~$411 in 2023–24, ~$437 in 2024–25) applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Operating surplus — performance ratio +3.3%Above the OLG >0% benchmark.
- Liquidity & cash
- Strong — unrestricted current ratio 4.49×, 14.1 months cash coverWell above the OLG benchmarks (>1.5× and >3 months); debt service cover 2.48× also clears its >2× benchmark.
- 10.7% — just above the regional/rural benchmarkMidCoast is classified 'Regional Town/City', so it's benchmarked at <10% (not the <5% metropolitan test); 10.7% is just over that line.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 10.0% in 2023–24 (2024–25: 2.2%); renewals 115.6% and asset maintenance 105.9% both clear their benchmarks in 2023–24 (2024–25: renewals 103.0%, maintenance 75.4%)The 2023–24 backlog was well above the <2% benchmark; the 2024–25 OLG figures (not yet part of the full comparable 9-ratio set) show the backlog narrowing sharply but asset maintenance dropping below its >100% benchmark that year.
| Indicator (2023–24) | MidCoast | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.3% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 65.7% | > 60% | Yes | |
| 4.49× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 2.48× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 10.7% | < 10% (regional/rural) | No | |
| 14.1 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 10.0% | < 2% | No | |
| 105.9% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 115.6% | > 100% | Yes |
MidCoast'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. MidCoast met 7 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24; the two it missed — rates outstanding and infrastructure backlog — reflect a large, dispersed rural/coastal LGA with a big road and asset network. The 2024–25 OLG figures (where published) show the infrastructure backlog narrowing a lot (10.0% → 2.2%) but asset maintenance spend dropping (105.9% → 75.4%), which the council has linked to a $24 million-a-year federal-funding shortfall it says is squeezing its budget. 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
- Office of Local Government — Time-Series Data 2024–25 (average residential rate; infrastructure ratios) · 2024–25
- Your Council (NSW Government) — Mid-Coast finances overview & benchmarks · 2023–24
- Great Lakes Advocate — Mid-Coast Council: rates hiked after $24m funding crisis revealed · 29 Jun 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.