Tasmanian Council Data Dashboards

The Local Government Board has published the Tasmanian Councils Data Dashboards to support the community to engage with the Future of Local Government Review.

The Dashboards provides information on some of the key activities and operations of Tasmanian councils using publicly available data sets. Data in the Dashboards is drawn from four main sources – the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the annual council Consolidated Data Collection, councils’ own audited financial reports, and the Tasmanian Electoral Commission.

There are two Dashboards, each with a different focus and objective.

Dashboard 1, published during Stage 1 of the Review is a simple, interactive tool designed to help people understand the diversity of Tasmanian councils and the communities they serve. It includes a local community ‘snapshot’ for each of the State’s 29 councils, as well as data from the last five financial years covering:

  • Financial and asset management
  • Infrastructure
  • Rates and other revenue
  • Government grants
  • Planning and other regulatory activities
  • Governance and representation
  • Workforce

Dashboard 2, published early in Stage 2, presents a more detailed picture of key financial trends across Tasmania’s councils over the past 10 years. It allows the community to see how the overall financial position of councils has changed over time, including where their income has come from (e.g. rates, grants and other sources) and which services and functions they have been investing in.

Important information about the Dashboards

Instructions for using Dashboard 1 is provided here. Dashboard 2 instructions are included as part of the information sheet for that Dashboard (see link below).

You can find out more about each of the data items in the Dashboard, including how they are calculated, what they show, and where the data has been sourced from by reading their respective information sheet:

The Dashboards allow you to look at and compare data on a council-by-council basis. The Dashboards also allow comparisons on a regional basis (North West, North, and South).

Caution should be exercised when comparing councils with very different characteristics – for example when comparing urban councils with large populations with rural councils with small populations. To see how a council compares with other similar councils, you can use the Dashboards to compare councils that fit within the same group under the Australian Classification of Local Governments (see below).

The Dashboards show clearly the significant differences between some Tasmanian councils in terms of the services they provide, the needs of their residents, and their sources of revenue. The data needs to be considered in that context, and no single data item should be used to make judgments about council performance and sustainability. The main objective of the Dashboards is to allow the community and councils themselves the chance to look at trends to help build collective understanding about the current shape and state of the Tasmanian local government sector.

There are a small number of data points where relevant data has not been reported by some councils. Where this is the case, a ‘nil result’ may be shown in some graphs.

The Board will continue to collate additional data on a range of topics to help it make decisions about potential areas for reform, and may revise, update and/or augment the Dashboards as the Review progresses. To stay informed about new data releases from the Board, you can sign up to receive the Review newsletter.

Please note, if viewing the Dashboards on tablet or mobile device, view in landscape mode.

Australian Classification of Local Governments

Dashboard 1: Tasmanian Council Profile

Dashboard 2: Tasmanian Council Financial Trends

Disclaimer

Please note that the Dashboards rely on data provided by councils and other entities. The Local Government Board does not guarantee that data from particular sources is correct. Additionally, while the Board has used its best endeavours to provide complete data sets for all items presented in the Dashboards, there are a small number of instances where data is not available in a given year because it has not been reported by the relevant council.