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.
- $1,122 / yearAbout 2% below the NSW council average of ~$1,140 — one of the relatively few councils whose average residential rate sits just below the statewide average. In 2024–25 it was $1,175 (NSW ~$1,203). A separate domestic waste charge (~$557 in 2023–24; ~$585 in 2024–25) applies. (OLG 'Your Council' data.)
- Operating surplus — performance ratio +5.8%Above the >0% benchmark.
- Liquidity & cash
- Strong liquidity (5.85×), 20.8 months cash; debt service cover 4.09× (passes)Unrestricted current ratio, cash cover and debt service cover all above benchmark.
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 1.1% (passes); renewals 58.7% (misses); maintenance 40.8% (misses, notably low)The asset-maintenance ratio (spending on maintaining assets vs what's required) is well below the 100% benchmark this year.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 56.0% (misses)Below the >60% benchmark — the council relies more on grants and other external income than the benchmark envisages, common for rural councils.
- Domestic waste charge (2023–24)
- $557 / yearA separate annual charge that funds the bin service (~$585 in 2024–25).
| Indicator (2023–24) | Nambucca Valley | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.8% | > 0% | Yes | |
| 56.0% | > 60% | No | |
| 5.85× | > 1.5× | Yes | |
| 4.09× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 4.5% | < 10% | Yes | |
| 20.8 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 1.1% | < 2% | Yes | |
| 40.8% | > 100% | No | |
| 58.7% | > 100% | No |
Nambucca Valley'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. Nambucca Valley met 6 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24. The OLG classifies it as a 'Large Rural' council, so it is benchmarked at under 10% for rates outstanding (regional and rural councils get the 10% line; metropolitan councils are held to under 5%). The three misses were own-source revenue (56.0% vs >60%), building & infrastructure renewals (58.7% vs >100%) and asset maintenance (40.8% vs >100%) — the asset-maintenance figure is notably low, meaning maintenance spending was well under the modelled required amount that year. The OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows two of these improving: asset maintenance 57.0% and renewals 75.1% (backlog steady at 1.1%), though both remain below benchmark. 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.