Southern Grampians Shire (VIC) Council budget and finances

Budget & finances

Every Victorian council reports the same set of financial measures each year under the Local Government Performance Reporting Framework (LGPRF), published by Local Government Victoria. Victoria sets no pass/fail benchmarks for these measures, so we show Southern Grampians' 2024–25 result next to the median of all Victorian councils that reported it. A median is simply the middle value — a reference point, not a target. Southern Grampians is in the LGPRF's 'Large Shire' comparison group.

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.

See the full explainer, with formulas →

The numbers

Average rate per property assessment (2024–25): $1,892 (Victorian median $1,937)General rates divided by all rateable property assessments, homes, farms and businesses together.
Expenses per property assessment (2024–25): $4,886 (Victorian median $4,100)
Borrowings (2024–25): 27.6% of rates (Victorian median 13.2%)Loan repayments were 0.37% of rates (median 1.4%). The 2026–27 Budget includes $5 million of new borrowing and says the council's loans will peak at $10.1 million in 2026–27; the council's Long-Term Financial Plan forecasts all debt repaid by 2036.
2026–27 Budget: Operating surplus of $5.79 million; capital works program of $17.5 millionThe capital works program totals $17.513 million, including $13.1 million of asset renewal and $6.7 million on roads. The Budget forecasts an adjusted underlying result of −$4.1 million, which excludes one-off capital grants and contributions. Total rates and charges are budgeted at $26.3 million.

Measure (2024–25)	Southern Grampians	Victorian median
Adjusted underlying surplus (or deficit), as a share of adjusted underlying revenue	−1.0%	0.56%
Current assets compared with current liabilities	1.55×	2.17×
Unrestricted cash compared with current liabilities	0.36×	0.26×
Loans and borrowings compared with rates	27.6%	13.2%
Loan repayments compared with rates	0.37%	1.4%
Non-current liabilities compared with own-source revenue	22.5%	16.7%
Asset renewal and upgrade spending compared with depreciation	130.9%	94.9%
Rates compared with adjusted underlying revenue	45.1%	57.8%
Rates compared with property values	0.28%	0.28%
Expenses per property assessment	$4,886	$4,100
Average rate per property assessment	$1,892	$1,937

Southern Grampians Shire Council, LGPRF financial measures, 2024–25, with the Victorian median across the 79 councils that reported each measure. The median is CouncilBeacon's own calculation from the LGPRF data set; LGPRF itself publishes no benchmarks. Source: Local Government Victoria, LGPRF 2020–2025 Full Council Data Set (Nov 2025 release), CC BY 4.0.

LGPRF publishes no benchmarks for these measures, and Local Government Victoria says the data should not be used for simplistic league tables — so we don't say whether a figure is good or bad, and we don't rank councils. The median is ours, computed across the Victorian councils that report each measure. The file also carries a target column, which is each council's own target, not a state standard; we don't show it. The Budget's operating surplus includes capital grants; the adjusted underlying result leaves them out.

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.