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.
- $927 / yearAbout 19% below the NSW council average of ~$1,140. In 2024–25 it was $968 (NSW ~$1,203) — still around 20% below the state average. (OLG time-series data.)
- Operating deficit — performance ratio −24.8%Well below the >0% benchmark; a large deficit for this year. Financial sustainability is a live theme for the council (see the note below).
- Liquidity & cash
- Unrestricted current ratio 0.80× (misses >1.5×); 10.0 months cash; debt service cover 2.32× (passes)The unrestricted current ratio is below the >1.5× liquidity benchmark; cash cover and debt service cover pass.
- Self-funding
- Own-source revenue 44.3% (misses >60%)Below the benchmark, indicating a relatively high reliance on grants and contributions — common for large rural councils with a small population and a very large area.
- 11.2% (misses <10%)Just above the <10% benchmark that applies to rural councils (OLG group 11, Large Rural).
- Infrastructure
- Backlog 2.8% (misses <2%); renewals 138.4% (passes); maintenance 127.3% (passes)The council spent above 100% on both asset renewals and maintenance this year; only the backlog ratio misses.
- Domestic waste charge (2023–24)
- $664 / yearA separate annual charge that funds the bin service. The 2024–25 waste charge is not published in the OLG time-series file — check the council's fees for the current figure.
| Indicator (2023–24) | Upper Hunter | Meets? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| −24.8% | > 0% | No | |
| 44.3% | > 60% | No | |
| 0.80× | > 1.5× | No | |
| 2.32× | > 2× | Yes | |
| 11.2% | < 10% | No | |
| 10.0 months | > 3 months | Yes | |
| 2.8% | < 2% | No | |
| 127.3% | > 100% | Yes | |
| 138.4% | > 100% | Yes |
Upper Hunter 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. Upper Hunter met 4 of the 9 benchmarks in 2023–24 — a weak year on this measure. The stand-out misses were a large operating deficit (−24.8%), low liquidity (unrestricted current ratio 0.80×) and own-source revenue of 44.3%; rates outstanding (11.2%) also just exceeded the <10% rural benchmark. Consistent with this, the council has said it needs to address a core deficit in its General Fund, and IPART approved a permanent Special Rate Variation of 10% a year for three years from 2025–26 (see 'Rates & fees'). The OLG's 2024–25 time-series shows the infrastructure ratios moving: backlog 2.2%, asset maintenance 185.4%, renewals 133.4%. Note the average residential rate is around 20% below the NSW average. 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.