Council
4 August, 2026
Secret deed reveals gallery funding approved six months early
The Southern Wire exclusively reveals a previously undisclosed legal agreement which illustrates that Wingecarribee Shire Council considered and approved funding to the Ngununggula Regional Gallery six months before the review date specified in its own funding deed.
The Southern Wire exclusively reveals a previously undisclosed legal agreement which illustrates that Wingecarribee Shire Council considered and approved funding to the Ngununggula Regional Gallery six months before the review date specified in its own funding deed.
The revelation comes as Wingecarribee Shire Council grapples with a structural deficit while pursuing a series of rate increases, following the adoption in June of significant rises in water, sewer, fees and charges.
A previously undisclosed nine-page Deed of Variation, marked "Version Date 20 September 2024", specifies a review date of 31 August 2026 for the funding arrangement between Council and Ngununggula Regional Gallery.
The deed committed Wingecarribee Shire Council to provide the gallery with an additional three years of funding worth $500,000 per year from 2025 to 2027 - a total commitment of $1.5 million.
The agreement is a legally binding contract between Wingecarribee Shire Council and NgununggulaRegional Gallery.
However, on 18 March 2026, Council considered the gallery’s future funding and resolved to provide funding from 2028-2033, around six months before the review date specified in the deed. The motion was carried 6-2 with Cr Nicole Smith absent from the chamber after declaring a conflict of interest.
By conducting the review in March, council avoided a review in August 2026, at a time when the council's finances are a hot topic.
The decision increased council’s total funding commitment to the gallery to more than $6 million.
As previously reported by The Southern Wire, the gallery held approximately $2 million in cash reserves, according to reports lodged with the charity regulator.
The deed was obtained by The Southern Wire through a Government Information (Public Access) application and has not previously been released by Council. The deed is available here. https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:AP:5e998e06-b7bc-496b-a644-d0309e88f2e3
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Disclosure. The publisher of The Southern Wire has a close personal relationship with a councillor at WSC.
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