Appendix D : Distribution of financial assistance grants to local government 2002-03

Introduction

Table D.1 shows the distribution of Local Government financial assistance grants and
some basic information, such as population, area and road length (as supplied by State Grants Commissions) for each council in Australia.

For the financial assistance grants, the table shows the actual total grant entitlement for 2002-03 and the estimated total grant entitlement for 2003-04. For each of these years, the components of the financial assistance grants (the general purpose grant and the local road grant) are also given.

Councils are listed under their category according to the Australian Classification of Local Governments (ACLG). Appendix F describes this classification system. Within each category, councils are sorted by the size of their population, starting with the smallest.

There are two ways to find a council in Table D.1. The first way is to consult Appendix F to obtain the ACLG category for the council, locate that category in Table D.1 and then locate that council in the category. Alternatively, use the Index for Local Governments at the end of this report to find the page in the table that includes the council and locate the council on that page.

To facilitate comparison, the general purpose grant per capita and the local road grant per kilometre are provided for 2002-03. Additional comparative information is provided elsewhere in this report. Table 2.9 provides the average general purpose grant per capita for councils, grouped by ACLG and by State. Table 2.10 provides similar information for the local road grant on an average grant per kilometre basis. Finally, the ranking of all councils for a State for both general purpose grant per capita and local road grant per kilometre is given in Appendix E.

Notwithstanding the capacity of the ACLG system to group like councils, it should be noted that there remains considerable scope for divergence within these categories, and for this reason the figures should be taken as a starting point for inquiring into grant outcomes. This divergence can occur because of factors including isolation, population distribution, local economic performance, daily or seasonal population changes, the age of the population and geographic differences. The allocation of the general purpose grant between States on an equal per capita basis and the local road grant on a fixed shares basis can also cause divergence.

Councils receiving the minimum per capita grant in 2002-03 are indicated with a hash (#) in the 'GP grant per capita' column. For further information on the minimum grant entitlement, see 'What is the minimum grant' and 'Councils on the minimum grant' in Chapter 2.

The source of the data is the relevant local government grants commission.

Key to symbols in Table D.1

C = City
S = Shire
DC = District Council
CGC = Community Government Council
M = Municipal
T = Town
B = Borough
RC = Regional City
Bd = Board

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Table D1 - Distribution of financial assistance grants to local government by classification and population, 2002-03 and 2003-04

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Table D1 Continued - Distribution of financial assistance grants to local government by classification and population, 2002-03 and 2003-04