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.
- $905 / yearAbout 22% below the NSW council average of ~$1,140 (2024–25: $936 vs NSW ~$1,203). A large mining and business rate base means residential ratepayers carry a smaller share, so average residential rates are lower here. A separate domestic waste charge (~$451; 2024–25 ~$520) applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Operating surplus — performance ratio +20.2%Well above the >0% benchmark.
- Liquidity & cash
- Liquidity 1.77×, 8.1 months cash; debt service cover 4.51× (all pass)Unrestricted current ratio, cash cover and debt service cover all above benchmark.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 12.8% (misses); maintenance 88.4% (misses); renewals 60.7% (misses)All three asset ratios miss their benchmarks in 2023–24; the OLG's 2024–25 data shows backlog improving to 7.9%, maintenance to 278.9% and renewals to 75.4%.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 64.3% (passes)Above the >60% benchmark.
- Domestic waste charge (2023–24)
- $451 / yearA separate annual charge that funds the bin service (2024–25: ~$520).
| Indicator (2023–24) | Muswellbrook | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20.2% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 64.3% | > 60% | Yes | |
| 1.77× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 4.51× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 6.7% | < 10% | Yes | |
| 8.1 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 12.8% | < 2% | No | |
| 88.4% | > 100% | No | |
| 60.7% | > 100% | No |
Muswellbrook Shire'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. Muswellbrook met 6 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24 — the three misses are all asset-related (infrastructure backlog 12.8% against a <2% benchmark, asset maintenance and renewals both below 100%). The OLG classifies Muswellbrook as a Large Rural council, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding (metropolitan councils are benchmarked at under 5%). The council's average residential rate is notably low — about 22% below the NSW average — which reflects a large mining and business rate base rather than a judgement about service levels. The OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows the asset ratios shifting (backlog 7.9%, maintenance 278.9%, renewals 75.4%). 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.