Where the money comes from
- 70% of income comes from rates and user fees
- The rest comes from government funding and grants
- Grants help reduce the burden on ratepayers
This engagement is an opportunity to learn more about Council’s Integrated Planning Framework and to share any feedback or questions you may have about the budget process.
Each year, the Annual Budget evolves from the Community Vision, Council Plan, Financial Plan, Revenue and Rating Plan, and Asset Plan, which are adopted at the commencement of each Council term (every four years). These documents are also influenced by the various strategies Council adopts, and all were shaped through significant community engagement.
In late 2024, almost 2,000 community members contributed to the development of the Community Vision, Council Plan, Financial Plan, and Asset Plan through surveys and drop-in sessions across the municipality. In early 2025, a deliberative Community Panel - the Ballarat Think Tank - was formed, made up of 43 randomly selected residents. The panel met across two and a half days, considering information, asking questions of Council staff, and working together to review the Community Vision and write a set of Council Plan principles. Their report refined the Community Vision and ensured Council’s long-term direction reflects what matters most to our community.
The budget is the financial expression of these documents. It shows how funds are allocated to deliver the services, projects, and priorities that matter most. The diagram below illustrates how the different elements of Council’s integrated planning framework fit together to guide the annual budget.
Council delivers 80+ services, including:
We focus on maintaining and upgrading assets to support Ballarat’s growth. Council manages over $2.5 billion in assets, including:
Expand the sections below to learn about the key factors that guide Council’s Annual Budget.
Why we have a Council Plan
Community needs and expectations change over time. A Council Plan ensures services, projects and priorities continue to provide value for money and reflect community expectations.
The current plan
The Council Plan 2025–2029 sets the City of Ballarat’s direction for the next four years. It translates the aspirations of the Community Vision 2025–2035 into clear goals, actions and measurable outcomes.
Link to the budget
The annual budget is how Council funds delivery of services, maintains existing assets and invests in new projects to support a growing city. Feedback received during the budget process helps ensure Council is aware of community priorities within the context of the Council Plan.
Ongoing engagement
Council regularly seeks community input through initiatives such as the Let’s Chat Expo and Councillor roadshows. This ongoing engagement helps inform the Council Plan and future budgets.
How the plans were shaped
Community engagement for the Community Vision 2025–2035 and Council Plan 2025–2029 began in October 2024. Council held a series of advertised sessions across the municipality, supported by hard copy and online surveys.
Community Panel
A randomly selected panel of 43 community members met over three sessions between February and March 2025. Their task was to help Council prioritise and balance services, infrastructure and finances to support Ballarat’s growth.

What the panel delivered
Why this matters for the budget
The Council Plan and Community Vision set the direction for Council’s work. The annual budget allocates funding to deliver on these priorities, meaning the budget already reflects extensive community input.
Where the money comes from
Council raises revenue through rates, user fees and government funding. Around 70% of income comes from rates and user fees, with Council actively seeking grants to help reduce the burden on ratepayers. This revenue is used to cover the cost of delivering services and funding capital works, ensuring a sustainable budget each year.
How the money is spent
Managing community assets
Council manages over $2.5 billion in community assets. The budget ensures these assets are maintained and upgraded, with a focus on core services and infrastructure that deliver the greatest benefit - such as roads, community hubs, sporting facilities, libraries and outdoor spaces.
Why it matters
In Australia, responsibilities are shared across three levels of government – federal, state and local. Each plays a distinct role in delivering services and managing resources that affect our daily lives.
What local government does
Local councils are responsible for community-level services and facilities such as waste collection, local roads, libraries, parks, kindergartens and sporting facilities. Councils also manage land use planning, local laws and community infrastructure.
How this links to the budget
The City of Ballarat’s annual budget focuses on funding the services and facilities Council is directly responsible for. State and federal governments may contribute grants or funding for specific projects, but local rates remain the main source of income to deliver everyday services.
Learn more
For a simple overview of how local government works and the responsibilities of councils, visit the Municipal Association of Victoria website here or the Parliamentary Education Officer here.

Rising costs
Like households, Council faces cost increases for goods, services and construction. The cost of delivering services and maintaining assets continues to rise.
Keeping up with growth
As Ballarat grows, Council must balance the community’s needs with the money available. Without increasing revenue, it becomes harder each year to maintain service quality and keep up with demand.
Sustainable budget
To stay financially sustainable, the budget must fund Council’s core services and deliver on the priorities in the Council Plan. This means considering:
There are several ways you can share your views and get more information during the Annual Budget
Other ways you can get involved more broadly with Council include:
Take our short survey to share your views on Council's budget process and priorities.
| Phone | 5320 5500 |
|---|---|
| info@ballarat.vic.gov.au | |
| Website | www.ballarat.vic.gov.au |
| In writing | The Phoenix |
The City of Ballarat acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land we live and work on, the Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung People, and recognises their continuing connection to the land and waterways. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging and extend this to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
This site is owned and operated by City of Ballarat using software licensed from Social Pinpoint. For details on how City of Ballarat collects and protects your personal information, refer to their Privacy Policy. For details of how Social Pinpoint may access personal information, please refer to Social Pinpoint’s Privacy Policy.
The following Terms and Conditions govern the use of MySay (“the site”). The software platform is owned by Social Pinpoint Pty Ltd and operated by us, City of Ballarat.
By accessing and using this site, you are choosing to accept and comply with the Terms presented throughout this agreement as well as the Privacy Policy and Moderation Policy. These Terms apply to all visitors and users of this site. Linked sites, affiliated services or third party content or software have their own Terms that you must comply with. If you disagree with any of the Terms presented in this agreement, you may discontinue using the site immediately.
If you are under 18 years old, please ensure that your parent or guardian understands and accepts these Terms and Conditions (including the Privacy Policy and Moderation Policy).
What are the conditions with a user’s account?
While using the site, you must not violate any applicable laws and regulations. It is our duty to protect the confidentiality of content you provide on our site in accordance with our Privacy Policy. When you create an account with us, you must always provide us with accurate information. Failure to provide accurate information violates the Terms, which may result in immediate termination of your account on our service. You are responsible for protecting your own password you use for this site and for any activities done under that password. Unauthorised use of your password or account must be immediately reported to us. In some cases, we or our agents may require access to your user accounts to respond to technical issues.
We are not responsible for the content on the site that has been provided by the users of the site. Any content posted by you is subject to the rules of our Moderation Policy. Your contribution to the site may be edited, removed or not published if we consider it inappropriate (refer to Moderation Policy). Contributors should also be aware that their posts may remain online indefinitely. Where practical, you may choose not to identify yourself, deal with us on an anonymous basis or use a pseudonym.
What do we require from our users?
You must understand and agree that, without limitation:
Can your account be suspended or terminated?
We may terminate or suspend access to your site and/or account immediately, without prior notice, including without limitation if you breach the Terms. We may immediately deactivate or delete your account and all the related files and information in your account. After your account has been terminated, the content you have posted may also remain indefinitely on the site.
If you want to terminate your own account, please send an email to info@ballarat.vic.gov.au.
Governing Law
These Terms shall be governed in accordance with the laws of Victoria, Australia, without regards to its conflict of law provisions.
Indemnification
City of Ballarat, its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, licensors and other partners are not responsible for any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including legal fees, made by any third party due to or arising from a breach of this agreement and/or any breach of your representations and warranties set forth above.
What content do we own?
This website contains the copyrighted material, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and other proprietary information (“Intellectual Property”) of City of Ballarat and its suppliers and licensors. City of Ballarat owns and retains all proprietary rights in the intellectual property. All intellectual property in the content of this site including without limitation to text, software, source code, pages, documents and online graphics, photographs, sounds, audio, video and other interactive features are owned by or licensed to us.
Any original content that you submit or post on our site may be made available to the public and allows users to share your content (with the end user acknowledging your contribution) under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Australian License.
Except for Intellectual Property which is in the public domain or for which you have been given written permission, you may not copy, alter, transmit, sell, distribute any of the Intellectual Property on this site.
We are not responsible for your communications or dealings, including payment and delivery of goods or services, with a third party found via our website. Any loss or damage incurred from those communications or dealings are solely between the user and the third party.
Disclaimer and Warranties
Users must agree that you use of the site is at your own risk. We make no warranty that the site will meet your requirements or be uninterrupted or error-free. Any material that the user downloads through the site is done at their own risk and are responsible for any damages to their computer system or loss of data.
What happens if these Terms change?
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time without notice. The most recent version of the Terms can be seen on this page. By continuing to access or use our site after those revisions become effective, you agree and will comply to the revised terms. If you do not agree to the revised terms, please discontinue using our site.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at info@ballarat.vic.gov.au
Enter your email address below. We will send you instructions to reset your password.
Back to Log in
Creating an account keeps you up to date on engagement projects across Ballarat and helps us better understand the needs of the community.
Already have an account? Log in now
Thank you, your account has been created.
Completing the questions below helps us better understand the diverse range of people who contribute their ideas. The questions are optional.
You’re using an outdated browser.
Some features of this website may not work correctly. To get a better experience we strongly recommend you download a new browser for free:
Would you like to follow this project to receive email updates?