FiscalStar Services Pty Ltd was established in 2006 to develop and implement a system of financial sustainability ratings applying to local government authorities in Australia and New Zealand. FiscalStar’s mission is to increase awareness within local government regarding the meaning and measurement of financial sustainability, and to create incentives for associated improvements over time in local government financial reporting and governance.

FiscalStar's analysis of individual councils is undertaken at arms' length from each council, and primarily uses publicly-available council data. FiscalStar does not advise councils, and its opinions do not provide policy advice to councillors or their management teams. FiscalStar aims to fund its activities solely through the support of external stakeholder groups such as regulators (State departments or offices of local government), debt providers and ratepayer organisations.  

TreEnt has a minority shareholding in FiscalStar.

TreEnt has assisted FiscalStar with the development of technical aspects of FiscalStar's system of financial sustainability ratings, and with the drafting of State-wide reports on local government financial sustainability such as that published annually by FiscalStar in NSW.  

TreEnt also has a non-exclusive licence to use FiscalStar's methodology and algorithms when it comes to assessing the state of a council's finances on behalf of – and with the involvement/input of – the council. In this way, councils can be informed about the possible consequences of alternative policy scenarios upon their financial sustainability prospects in a manner not available from FiscalStar itself.

Further information on FiscalStar and its role can be found on its website (click here).