FAQs for Rates

Council is legally required to levy rates (under the Local Government Act 1993). Rates income is vital for the delivery of a wide range of services which benefit the community. This includes managing and maintaining infrastructure such as local roads, libraries, sports complexes, sporting grounds, childcare centres, parks, playgrounds and street lighting. Council also provides services such as planning and development assessment, waste collection and economic development

Councils can choose how they calculate and distribute rates among categories of rateable properties in the council area – see the Office of Local Government website for details. For each category or subcategory, rates can be calculated in one of three ways. They can be based:

They can be based:

Option 1 – entirely on the land value of the property (known as an ad valorem rate)

Option 2 – on a combination of the land value of the property and a fixed amount per property (known as a base rate plus ad valorem rate)

Option 3 – entirely on the land value, but subject to a minimum amount for land values under a certain threshold (known as ad valorem with minimum rate).

Council continues to evaluate the impact of rates and seeks to ensure the system we use to calculate rates is the most equitable for the whole LGA. The total amount of rates collected by Council remains the same regardless of changes to land values; it’s the rating structure chosen that determines how rates are shared across all property owners

Council uses Option 2 as we believe this to be the most equitable for the whole LGA.

How much each owner pays depends on the rating category for their property and the value of their land.

Council is required to categorise each parcel of land for rating purposes according to their dominant use

If you believe your rating category is incorrect, you can ask us to review your category at any time. If you disagree with Council’s determination after the review, you may appeal to the Land and Environment Court under Section 526(1) of the NSW Local Government Act 1993 within 30 days of the declaration.

If your rating category changes, you must advise Council within 30 days.

• RESIDENTIAL – dominant use as residential accommodation or for vacant land the land is zoned for residential purposes.
• BUSINESS – where the dominant use is for commercial or industrial use, or cannot be categorised in one of the other three categories
• FARMLAND – dominant use is for a significant and substantial farming business which is engaged in for the purpose of profit and is continuous or repetitive.
• MINING – where the owner has rights to mine coal or metals from land

View Rate Category Maps

Business-Urban(PDF, 6MB)
Business Power Station(PDF, 10MB)
Business Other(PDF, 10MB)

Residential Urban(PDF, 7MB)
Residential Other(PDF, 11MB)

Farmland(PDF, 11MB)
Mines(PDF, 10MB)
Quarries(PDF, 10MB)

Farmland Rating

Council is required under the Local Government Act to categorise all land for Rating purposes. Section 515 of the Local Government Act 1993 provides;

“Categorisation as farmland

(1)     Land is to be categorised as farmland if it is a parcel of rateable land valued as one assessment and its dominant use if for farming (that is, the business or industry of grazing, animal feedlots, dairying, pig-farming, poultry farming, viticulture, orcharding, bee-keeping, horticulture, vegetable growing, the growing of crops of any kind, forestry or aquaculture within the meaning of the Fisheries Management Act 1994, or any combination of those businesses or industries) which;

a)       Has a significant and substantial commercial purpose or character, and

b)       Is engaged in for the purpose of profit on a continuous or repetitive basis (whether or not a profit is actually made).

(2)     Land is not to be categorised as farmland it is rural residential land

(3)     The regulations may prescribe circumstances in which land is or is not to be categorised as farmland.”

In order to continue to be rated as Farmland, Residents must submit a Farmland Application for review 

Farmland Application - Online Form

Farmland Application - PDF Printable

Land values assigned for rating purposes are supplied to Council by the Valuer General’s Office and are made every three years.  If you do not agree with the valuation of your land, you must direct any objections to the Valuer General’s Office.  Whether or not an objection is pending, the rates levied must be paid by the due date indicated on the front of your rates notice.

For more information please visit the website of the Valuer General’s Office.

Each year the NSW State Government through the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) approves a maximum percentage increase in the total income a council can receive from rates (known as rate pegging), thereby limiting the amount of income a council can charge for rates each year.

The rate peg applies to Council’s total allowable rates income and not to each individual property owner’s rates, so an individual ratepayer’s actual increase may be above this amount, particularly if there are new valuations in use for the first time or if Council is required to catch up rates lost in previous years due to valuation objections.

Councils can apply to IPART for a special variation from this rate pegging increase (known as a Special Rate Variation or SRV). These SRV applications are assessed against criteria listed in the Office of Local Government’s Guidelines. These include undertaking long term financial planning, ensuring community awareness of the need and extent of the proposed increase in rates, and consideration of the impact on ratepayers. In addition, councils must meet criteria related to productivity improvements.

In addition to council rates, urban property owners must also pay a Stormwater Management Service Charge that contributes to the cost of providing new or additional stormwater services across the local area.

The following stormwater charges will be levied on all residential and business properties within identified urban areas (except those, which are vacant, land). 

Stormwater levy charges are as follows:

Residential property owners are also required to pay an annual domestic waste service charge. See the Domestic Waste Services for more information about the different options available