Local Council outcomes report 2025
Our 2025 report on the outcomes of rate capping in Victoria identifies any impacts or trends that might be emerging across the local government sector.
The outcomes report provides information about councils' service, infrastructure and financial outcomes.
You can download information related to your council and view our over-arching report.
The report looks at council rates and related emerging trends
This is our fourth outcomes report. It updates on our 2023 report, including new insights and data covering 2022–23 and 2023–24 financial years.
The report looks at changes in the rates and charges paid by Victorian ratepayers. It also looks at the revenue, expenditure, services and financial position of the Victorian local government sector.
The report focuses on the local government sector as a whole - that is, all 79 councils in Victoria combined.
We have also prepared fact sheets for each council and each of the five council groups. These fact sheets include graphs and data about revenue, expenditure and financial sustainability.
We have also published the fact sheet data in an online dashboard. This is available through the 'Interactive dashboard' tab near the top of this page.
View the 2025 Outcomes report
You can also read our media release about this report.
View your local council's fact sheet
Your local council's fact sheet includes information about its revenue, expenditure and finances:
- use the tabs near the top of this page to find your local council.
- download your council's fact sheet and the related council group fact sheet. You can use the group fact sheet to compare your council to a group of similar councils.
- view our reader's guide to council fact sheets. This will help you understand the data and interpret the fact sheets.
View an online version of your council’s fact sheet in the 'Interactive dashboard' tab near the top of this page. You can use this online version to see data for any period between 2015–16 and 2023–24. You can also use it to compare one council’s data against the average for the council group or another council.
You can also download an excel spreadsheet containing the data in all the council fact sheets.
Key findings from our 2025 outcomes report
Ratepayers have benefitted from rate capping
Ratepayers have benefitted from low rate increases and high levels of compliance with the rate cap. Over the last four years, the Minister for Local Government has set the cap between 1.5 and 3.5 per cent - well below the 6 per cent average rate increases seen before the introduction of rate capping.
The amount of outstanding rates debt has increased
The proportion of unpaid rates as a percentage of total rates and charges revenue has increased from 5.7 per cent in 2018–19 to 10.7 per cent in 2023–24. The increase highlights the importance of councils having well-functioning financial hardship policies and proactive practices in place.
In general, the financial health of the sector remained sound
The sector's financial position remained steady, with most councils in good financial health. Nearly all councils reported sufficient cash reserves and the sector continues to hold low levels of debt.
What happens next
We will continue to monitor the outcomes of rate capping and expect to release our next report in 2027. Our 2027 report will include results from 2024–25 and 2025–26.
We will continue to work with the sector and other government agencies over time to improve the quality and consistency of available data.
Other useful resources
If you'd like more information on rates, you can view:
- your council’s annual report, budget and website
- Local Government Victoria's website
- the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office's audit report of council financial results
- the Victorian Government’s Local Government Performance Reporting Framework website which gives you consistent information about the performance of local councils across Victoria.
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