Future Ready Cabonne
Council staff will be attending a number of upcoming community events as part of our commitment to engaging with residents and increasing awareness of the Future Ready Cabonne initiative.
These events provide an opportunity to meet Council staff, learn more about the opportunities and challenges facing local government, and share your thoughts on how Council can continue to deliver the services, infrastructure and facilities our communities rely on into the future.
Council's Environmental Services team will also be available to answer questions about waste and resource recovery, including the planned introduction of the Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) service, which is scheduled to be rolled out across Cabonne in 2028.
Visit the Cabonne Council marquee between 10am and 2pm at the following events:
Upcoming Events
- Canowindra Show – Saturday, 26 September
- Australian National Field Days – Friday, 23 October
Whether you're interested in learning more about Future Ready Cabonne, discussing local issues, or finding out how FOGO will work in your household, we encourage you to stop by and have a chat with the team.
Council is also inviting residents to attend a series of community consultation sessions to help shape Cabonne's future. During these sessions, Council will reflect on key achievements from the past year, discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead, outline the work currently being undertaken, and share plans for the future. Most importantly, residents will have the opportunity to ask questions, provide feedback and contribute to the conversations that will help guide Council's future direction.
The first round of sessions will be held in Manildra, Mullion Creek, Canowindra, Lewis Ponds/Ophir/Byng and Nashdale/Borenore. Additional sessions will be held in other towns and villages early next year. Residents are welcome to attend any session, regardless of where they live (Cabonne based only).
- Manildra – Tuesday, 13 October, 6pm to 8pm, Manildra Soldiers Memorial Hall
- Mullion Creek – Wednesday, 14 October, 6pm to 8pm, Mullion Creek Hall
- Canowindra – Thursday, 15 October, 6pm to 8pm, Canowindra Services Club
- Lewis Ponds/Ophir/Byng – Tuesday, 20 October, 6pm to 8pm, Orange Clay Target Club
- Nashdale/Borenore – Wednesday, 21 October, 6pm to 8pm, Nashdale Hall
To RSVP for catering purposes, visit: https://www.cabonne.nsw.gov.au/Community/Events-Tourism-and-Culture/Community-Consultation-Sessions(External link)
If you are unable to attend a session, you can still share your feedback through the online forum or by emailing council@cabonne.nsw.gov.au(External link).
Understanding Your Rates
You may notice your rates notice looks a little different this year. We've refreshed the design to make it more modern, easier to read and simpler to understand.
To help explain what's included on your rates notice, we've also launched a new page on our website:
Understanding Your Rates. The page provides a clear guide to the different sections of your notice, including rates, charges, land values and payment information.
This initiative forms part of our Future Ready Cabonne program and our commitment to Increasing the Understanding of Council services, processes and decisions.
Increasing the Understanding
Council has found it increasingly difficult to achieve financial sustainability and meet the integrated Planning and Reporting (IP&R) Guidelines.
Cabonne Council, like many rural and regional councils across New South Wales and Australia, is facing a structural financial sustainability challenge that cannot be resolved through short‑term measures alone. These challenges arise from long‑standing constraints on revenue growth, increasing service delivery costs, and the ongoing responsibility to maintain a large and ageing asset base in a geographically dispersed local government area.
Council’s audited financial results for the period 2021 to 2025, together with forward modelling in the Long‑Term Financial Plan (LTFP) 2026–2036, highlight persistent operating deficits before capital grants, asset renewal investment below sustainable benchmarks, and a growing funding gap under existing rate‑pegged revenue settings. Without intervention, these trends will continue to place pressure on Council’s financial capacity and its ability to maintain services and infrastructure at acceptable and equitable levels.
Why aren't council proceeding with making a decision regarding a Special Rate Variation proposal at this point in time?
At the time of preparing the business paper for the 28 April 2026 Ordinary Council Meeting, council was acutely aware of the significant upheaval and instability currently affecting global, national, and regional economies, largely driven by conflict in the Middle East and the resulting energy market shocks. At present, it remains unclear whether these impacts will be short‑term disruptions, medium‑term economic disturbances, or longer‑term structural challenges with potentially severe consequences.
Given this context of heightened and ongoing uncertainty, council chose not to proceed with an application to the NSW IPART in 2027 and postponed making this important decision regarding a Special Rate Variation (SRV) for a further eighteen months for a potential 2028 application to the NSW IPART. While council’s financial sustainability challenges are both serious and pressing, it is critical that council ensures the community has a clear and thorough understanding of the implications of both proceeding with an SRV or alternatively if council were not to pursue any rate increase. This includes the likely impacts on council’s medium- to long-term service levels and the condition of its assets. This would likely be extremely complex and difficult at the present time with such economic uncertainty.
Extending the consultation and information sharing phase over a longer period will assist in improving community understanding of council’s financial challenges. It will also provide council with greater capacity to balance its decision making against the currently unknown medium- to long-term economic impacts of the conflict in the Middle East. This includes consideration of council’s own ability to operate, maintain, and renew assets and deliver services during this period of economic uncertainty.
To view all Future Ready documentation such as FAQ's, timelines, videos and to join the conversation, visit Have Your Say Cabonne.
Have Your Say Cabonne