West Wimmera 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 West Wimmera's 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. West Wimmera is in the LGPRF's 'Small 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): $1,709 (Victorian median $1,937)General rates and the municipal charge divided by all rateable property assessments — homes, farms and businesses together. Rural land makes up about 93% of the Shire's rateable value in the 2026–27 Budget.
Expenses per property assessment (2024–25): $6,869 (Victorian median $4,100)
Underlying result (2024–25): 11.2% deficit (Victorian median 0.56% surplus)The adjusted underlying result excludes capital grants and contributions.
Borrowings (2024–25): 22.3% of rates (Victorian median 13.2%)The council says it approved borrowings of $2 million in 2024–25, repaid $500,000 in April 2026, and has budgeted to repay another $500,000 in 2026–27. The 2026–27 Budget plans no new borrowing.
Rates as a share of revenue (2024–25): 30.5% of adjusted underlying revenue (Victorian median 57.8%)In the 2026–27 Budget, rates and charges are 36.84% of budgeted income and operating grants — mainly Commonwealth Financial Assistance Grants — are 35.75%.
2026–27 Budget: Capital works program of $8.27 million; forecast operating deficit of $4.115 millionAdopted on 17 June 2026. Budgeted income is $25.862 million, including $9.245 million in operating grants and $5.230 million in capital grants; depreciation is budgeted at $10.929 million. The council says 66% of capital works is for renewal of existing infrastructure and 14% for upgrades. Total rates and charges: $9.527 million.

Measure (2024–25)	West Wimmera	Victorian median
Adjusted underlying surplus (or deficit), as a share of adjusted underlying revenue	−11.2%	0.56%
Current assets compared with current liabilities	1.46×	2.17×
Unrestricted cash compared with current liabilities	1.31×	0.26×
Loans and borrowings compared with rates	22.3%	13.2%
Loan repayments compared with rates	0.0%	1.4%
Non-current liabilities compared with own-source revenue	2.3%	16.7%
Asset renewal and upgrade spending compared with depreciation	60.8%	94.9%
Rates compared with adjusted underlying revenue	30.5%	57.8%
Rates compared with property values	0.14%	0.28%
Expenses per property assessment	$6,869	$4,100
Average rate per property assessment	$1,709	$1,937

West Wimmera 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.

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.