Report snapshot: Long-term financial planning in local government

18 June 2026
Local Government
Planning

Overview

This audit assessed whether Port Stephens Council and Armidale Regional Council are developing and monitoring their Long-Term Financial Plans (LTFP) to ensure their strategic goals can be achieved sustainably.

Port Stephens Council

The LTFP complies with all requirements except scenario modelling

Port Stephens Council’s LTFP includes most of the essential elements set out by the Office of Local Government (OLG). While the 2024–34 and 2025–35 LTFPs did not include the required scenario modelling, the draft 2026–36 LTFP includes this modelling.

The LTFP is incorporated with other Integrated Planning and Reporting documents

The Council’s LTFP is incorporated with most of the other Integrated Planning and Reporting (IP&R) documents, including the Delivery Program, the Strategic Asset Management Plan and the Workforce Management Strategy. 

The Council uses reliable data and modelling to develop its LTFP

The Council uses relevant data from reliable sources to develop its LTFP. However, there are some inconsistencies between the assumptions documented in the LTFP and the assumptions used for the financial model.

Armidale Regional Council

The LTFP complies with requirements but financial modelling is limited

Armidale Regional Council’s LTFP includes the essential elements set out by the OLG. However, the sensitivity analysis and scenario modelling lack detail.

The LTFP is not incorporated with other Integrated Planning and Reporting documents

The Council’s LTFP is not used to develop its Operational Plan and Delivery Program. The LTFP does not incorporate the full costs of the Council’s infrastructure plans or Workforce Management Strategy. This limits the completeness of the LTFP as it does not fully reflect the Council’s planned expenditure.

There are deficiencies in the asset data used to inform the LTFP

Deficiencies in the Council’s asset data limit the reliability of operational and capital expenditure forecasts in its LTFP. The Council has not taken action to address these deficiencies, such as regular asset inspections and investing in an asset management information system.

Recommendations

The report makes 3 recommendations to Port Stephens Council and 5 recommendations to Armidale Regional Council to improve their long-term financial planning processes.

Key insights into good practice

Effectively developing a Long-Term Financial Plan is supported by:
 
  • integration of the LTFP and other key IP&R documents
  • ensuring that the data used to inform the LTFP, including asset data, is reliable
  • designing and testing a variety of scenarios that may have a material impact on financial performance
  • using the LTFP and the Delivery Program as part of annual budget planning 
  • determining the level of financial risk that a council is willing to accept and ensuring that mitigations are designed so that the residual risk is within the target
  • documenting key decisions relevant to development of the LTFP.

Further information

Please contact Renee O'Kane, Chief of Staff, on 9275 7347 or by email.

Long-term financial planning in local government