Frequently Asked Questions
GENERAL
What is MyCouncil?
MyCouncil is an initiative of the Western Australian Government to strengthen local government accountability and performance.
The website provides a geographic, demographic and financial snapshot of each local government.
Data such as council expenditure by program, rates and other revenue and service delivery can be viewed for each council and compared with others.
The financial information presented in the website is provided by local governments to the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and the WA Local Government Grants Commission. Demographic data is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and local governments.
MyCouncil data will be updated annually in the first half of the calendar year.
Who do I contact?
More information is available by contacting the relevant local government.
Why do we need the MyCouncil website?
MyCouncil is a central place to access and compare information about Western Australia’s local governments.
The website is among a number of ways the State Government is helping to build the capacity of local governments and strengthen their accountability and performance.
Local government in Western Australia is a big business and growing.
Western Australia’s local governments receive more than $2 billion in rates and $280 million in Financial Assistance Grants each year.
The total value of local government assets is more than $40 billion.
MyCouncil enables access to important information to help you decide whether local councils are providing value for money.
How much does it cost local governments to report MyCouncil data to the State Government?
There is no additional cost to report this information. MyCouncil is populated with data obtained from local governments’ existing reporting requirements.
FINANCIAL
Financial Information
The requirement for financial ratios to be included in an annual financial report was removed from 1 July 2022.
This change applied for the 2021/22 financial year and future financial years.
MyCouncil has subsequently not been updated since September 2022, which was with 2020/21 financial year data.
New financial ratios are currently being considered, and once data validation for 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years has occurred, MyCouncil will be updated. This is expected to be finalised in 2025.
RATES
Why can’t I compare actual rates with other councils?
There is no comparable basis for determining rates.
All local governments calculate their rates by a rate in the dollar set by each local government and multiplied by the value of land, the ‘average’ rate per property, resident or type of property.
Local governments have significant autonomy in setting rates which can make comparisons difficult. They have the option of setting different rates depending on how land is used. This means local governments may levy different rates in the dollar for commercial, residential or other property uses.
Alternatively, local governments have the option of setting a flat rate for all land uses and levying additional fees for waste collection, or recovering the costs of rubbish collection through general rates.
SERVICES
My local government says it will stop a service or close the library if they don’t put up rates – is this true?
A local government’s annual budget is informed by its Strategic Community Plan which is developed with the community. Engaging with the community enables a local government to be responsive to community needs and ensures that expenditure and prioritisation of public funds is in line with community expectations.
Local governments have a responsibility to the community to provide services that are efficient and effective.
Councils are ultimately accountable to the public for their decisions at elections held every two years.
WEBSITE GENERAL
How frequently is the website updated?
The MyCouncil website was last updated in September 2022 with 2020/21 financial year data.
The DLGSC is currently reviewing the MyCouncil portal due to changes in financial reporting for local governments.
To ensure data integrity and in consideration of changes to financial ratios and financial reporting, a full review of how data is collated and displayed is being performed.
We are estimating that the MyCouncil website will next be updated in 2025.