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.
- $1,044 / yearAbout 8% below the NSW council average of ~$1,140 — Mid-Western is one of the relatively few councils whose average residential rate sits below the statewide average. In 2024–25 it was $1,083 (NSW ~$1,203). A separate domestic waste charge applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Operating surplus — performance ratio +3.1%Above the >0% benchmark.
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 2.13× (passes); 19.8 months cash; debt service cover 11.00× (passes)Liquidity, cash cover and debt service cover all comfortably above benchmark.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 5.1% (misses); maintenance 100.9% (passes); renewals 117.5% (passes)The infrastructure-backlog ratio is above its <2% benchmark; asset maintenance and renewals both pass this year.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 51.5% (misses)Below the >60% benchmark: the council relies comparatively more on grants and contributions than on its own revenue.
- Rates & charges outstanding (2023–24)
- 3.2%Well below the <10% benchmark for regional/rural councils (Mid-Western Regional is OLG Group 4, Regional Town/City).
| Indicator (2023–24) | Mid-Western Regional | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 51.5% | > 60% | No | |
| 2.13× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 11.00× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 3.2% | < 10% | Yes | |
| 19.8 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 5.1% | < 2% | No | |
| 100.9% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 117.5% | > 100% | Yes |
Mid-Western Regional Council'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. Mid-Western Regional met 7 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24. The two misses were own-source revenue (51.5% against a >60% benchmark — a comparatively higher reliance on grants and contributions) and the infrastructure backlog (5.1% against a <2% benchmark). (The OLG classifies Mid-Western Regional as a Regional Town/City council, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding; metropolitan councils are benchmarked at under 5%.) The OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows the infrastructure ratios shifting: backlog 5.2%, asset maintenance 96.5%, renewals 66.0%. 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.