Council rates alone no longer cover the cost of maintaining essential infrastructure and delivering community services. Some Hunter councils rely on grants for up to 60% of their revenue.
The Financial Assistance Grants have been a central part of Federal funding for local government since 1974, yet they have fallen from 1% of Commonwealth taxation revenue in 1996 to just 0.49% in 2026–27. Australia’s 538 councils are calling for these grants to be restored to 1%.
Along with the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) and Local Government NSW, we welcome Australian Labor Party commitment at their annual Conference over the weekend to increase Financial Assistance Grants and strengthen support for local government. We now look forward to similar commitments from other parties in the lead up to the next Federal election.
The announcement is consistent with years of advocacy from local government across Australia, including the collective voice of the region’s ten Mayors through the Hunter Joint Organisation. The next step is putting this into practice, to give councils the sustainable, long-term funding needed to plan ahead and continue delivering for their communities.
For the Hunter region, this announcement is an encouraging step towards addressing the long-term funding challenges facing regional councils. Earlier this year, we submitted a response to the Federal Inquiry into Local Government Funding and Fiscal Sustainability, highlighting the growing financial pressures facing regional councils, including cost shifting, increasing service demands, ageing infrastructure, disaster recovery costs, and called for the restoration of Financial Assistance Grants to at least one per cent of Commonwealth taxation revenue, to help ensure councils can continue delivering the infrastructure and services their communities rely on.
Every community deserves safe roads, reliable infrastructure and quality local services.
We look forward to continuing to work with all political parties to ensure this commitment translates into lasting funding reform that delivers stronger outcomes for the Hunter region and regional communities across Australia.
Read our full submission here