Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council has raised concerns about proposed changes to how Commonwealth Financial Assistance Grants are distributed. Under the proposed method, the council's general-purpose allocation would fall from about $5.407 million to $3.577 million, a drop of almost $1.830 million, or 34 percent. A rise in the local roads allocation would not offset this reduction. Mayor Abb McAlister said the council wants further technical information, council-specific analysis and consultation before the method is finalised, and that it should not be introduced until its impacts are understood.
Balranald Shire Mayor Louie Zaffina says extra federal grant money for his council should not come at the expense of other regional areas. The NSW Local Government Grants Commission has dropped a proposed new funding method, so the existing one will continue. Mr Zaffina also welcomed a $325 million NSW Government commitment for the Sturt Highway, but asked for more detail on overtaking lanes and for work between Euston and Barooga. He said his council has had its performance improvement orders lifted.
Councils across New South Wales will avoid proposed cuts to Financial Assistance Grants. The NSW Local Government Grants Commission decided to keep the current funding method. The changes would have moved money to other councils from 1 July 2027, cutting Newcastle by $9.4 million and Lake Macquarie by $7.2 million a year. Newcastle Lord Mayor Gavin Morris said the decision protects funding for roads and community services. Lake Macquarie Mayor Adam Shultz called it a big relief that provides funding certainty.
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A proposed $16.1 million annual cut to grant funding for Wollongong City Council has been withdrawn. The NSW Local Grants Commission made the decision after most NSW councils opposed the planned changes to how funds are distributed. Wollongong's Lord Mayor, Tania Brown, said she was pleased the Commission had listened to councils' concerns. The Commission has not ruled out revisiting a revised model for the 2029-30 council term, if additional funding becomes available.
Almost half of NSW councils would receive less from untied federal Financial Assistance grants from 1 July 2027, according to the Local Government Grants Commission. Councils say the proposed method is volatile and lacks transparency. Bega Valley Shire Council faces a cut of 38.3 per cent, while Wollongong City Council faces a cut of more than 67 per cent. Council leaders say the overall funding pool is not enough. Feedback closed on 9 October and will be considered in the coming weeks.
Upper Lachlan Shire Council has lodged a formal submission challenging proposed changes to how the NSW Local Government Grants Commission distributes Financial Assistance Grants. The council says the draft method could cut its allocation from $7,076,569 to $3,871,794 a year. It argues that farmland value is a poor measure of rural ratepayers' ability to pay, and that disaster recovery funding could inflate its perceived capacity. The council has asked that the existing method stay in place until grants reach at least 1% of Commonwealth taxation revenue.
