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 Moorabool'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.
The numbers
- Average rate per property (2024–25)
- $1,979General rates divided by all property assessments (homes, farms and businesses). The Victorian median is $1,937.
- Adjusted underlying result (2024–25)
- 0.43% surplusThe operating result without capital grants and contributions, as a share of that revenue. The Victorian median is a 0.56% surplus.
- Borrowings
- 63.7% of rates (2024–25)Loans and borrowings compared with rate revenue; the Victorian median is 13.2%. The 2026–27 budget borrows $2 million for capital works and repays $2.481 million of loan principal.
- 2026–27 budget
- $33.2 million capital works programOf this, $21.958 million is new works; the rest is works carried over. New works are funded $14.808m from council operations and $5.15m from grants and contributions, with $2m of borrowing. Total budgeted expenditure is $71.5m, with an underlying operating deficit of $0.8m.
| Measure (2024–25) | Moorabool | Victorian median |
|---|---|---|
| 0.43% | 0.56% | |
| Current assets ÷ current liabilities (short-term liquidity) | 0.71× | 2.17× |
| Unrestricted cash ÷ current liabilities (free cash) | −0.33× | 0.26× |
| Loans and borrowings ÷ rates | 63.7% | 13.2% |
| Loan repayments ÷ rates | 3.7% | 1.4% |
| Non-current liabilities ÷ own-source revenue | 10.6% | 16.7% |
| Asset renewal and upgrade ÷ depreciation | 118.6% | 94.9% |
| Rates ÷ adjusted underlying revenue (reliance on rates) | 65.5% | 57.8% |
| Rates ÷ property values | 0.31% | 0.28% |
| Expenses per property assessment | $3,752 | $4,100 |
| Average rate per property assessment | $1,979 | $1,937 |
Moorabool Shire 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. The LGPRF counts unrestricted cash as cash and cash equivalents minus restricted cash, so a negative figure means the restricted amount was larger than the council's cash and cash equivalents at 30 June 2025. The 2025–26 figures are due in about November 2026.
Sources — check it yourself
- Local Government Victoria — LGPRF 2020–2025 Full Council Data Set (XLSX, Nov 2025 release, CC BY 4.0) · 2024–25
- DataVic — Local Government Performance Reporting (dataset and licence) · 2024–25
- Victorian Government — Know Your Council comparison dashboard · Sep 2026
- Moorabool Shire Council — Adopted 2026/27 Annual Budget (PDF): Mayor and CEO's introduction, financial snapshot, section 4.2.3 borrowings · 2026–27
- Moorabool Shire Council — Council Budget 2026-2027 · Sep 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.