There are two types of rates levied by council: ordinary rates and charges.
Ordinary Rates
Ordinary rates (also referred to as Rates) are used to provide essential services such as the road network, street lighting, street cleaning, footpaths, parks, sport and recreation facilities, environmental planning and conservation, city rangers, pest control, libraries, town planning and building control, community services, and much more.
It is mandatory for Council to make and levy an ordinary rate for each year on all rateable land in its area. Ordinary rates are made up of a variable rate based on the land value of individual properties in proportion to the total value of all land in the Local Government Area.
The type of Ordinary Rate depends on the rating category (or sub-category) applied to your property.
For Residential Categories, the Ordinary Rate is calculated using a rate per dollar multiplied by the property's land valuation (a minimum rate applies).
For Business Categories (or sub-category) - The Ordinary Rate is calculated using a rate per dollar multiplied by the property's land valuation (a minimum rate applies).
Visit Council's page on How rates are calculated for more information.
Charges
Charges are levied according to the service being provided. Council determines the cost of providing services such as domestic waste management and stormwater management and simply divides this by the number of account holders that will benefit from the service.
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Domestic Waste Management: The Local Government Act 1993 requires councils to levy an annual charge for domestic waste management services on all parcels of rateable land for which the service is available, whether or not it is actually used. All property owners should contribute to the current and future provision of waste services. Charges for this service include the supply of waste, recycling and green waste collection bins, collection and disposal costs. Also included in this annual charge are other costs such as the bi-annual household clean-up kerbside collection service and education programs conducted by Council. Vacant residential land is charged a vacant land charge. These charges are applied on a cost recovery basis.
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Stormwater Management Charge: This contributes to the cost of providing new or additional stormwater services across the local area. These activities may include:
- stormwater pollution prevention,
- flood mitigation,
- rainwater and stormwater harvesting,
- community education programs and stormwater drainage systems operations and maintenance.
The maximum amount that a council can charge is $25 for an average residential block, and the charge can only be levied on properties where council provides a stormwater management service.
The yearly charge for residential landowners is $25 while strata unit owners pay $12.50.
Business land owners pay $25 for each 350sqm or part of 350sqm, up to a maximum of $1,500. Business strata units pay $5 or $25 per 350sqm (or part thereof) of land area that would apply to the land subject to the strata scheme divided on a pro-rata basis between the lots, not less that $5 for any individual lot.
Certain land may be exempt from the charge, such as Crown land, rural land, vacant land containing no impervious surfaces, and land belonging to charities and public benevolent institutions.
Council levies other charges for additional services such as additional waste collection bins.