The council needs to charge rates to raise revenue so services and infrastructure can be provided to the community. Each year, as part of the budget process, Council decides the rates and charges for the financial year. Council must levy a General rate on all rateable land, however, Council also applies a number of different charges for different services and to account for a "User Pays" principle.
Rates and charges are issued via a rate notice. Council issues a number of rate notices each year depending on what services are provided to your property, when services commence or end and when changes occur to your property.
Click here to read more about Rate Notices.
Council offers a variety of payment options to pay rates and utility charges.
The council must levy a General rate on all rateable land. General rates are levied based on the unimproved value of the land and is expressed as a number of cents per dollar of valuation. Council also applies a minimum general rate - a minimum amount payable of a general rate regardless of the valuation and cents per dollar. This is to account for the minimum level of service the Council provides to each property.
General rates are for services, facilities, and activities that are supplied or undertaken for the benefit of the community. Council is required to raise an appropriate amount of revenue to maintain assets and provide services to the region as a whole. In deciding how the revenue is raised, Council considers:
Click here to read more about Land Valuations.
Council has a differential general rating scheme that recognises the diverse demographics of the region. This approach recognises land used for the following purposes:
Click here to read more about rating categories.
