Ipswich City Council to hit ratepayers with infrastructure levy for first time in 2025 budget

Ipswich residents will have to pay a special levy to fund infrastructure in the July 1 budget as construction costs soar far ahead of state government funding.

Ipswich residents will pay a special infrastructure charge for the first time following this year’s budget. Picture: Liam Kidston

Ipswich residents will have to pay a special $55 levy to fund infrastructure in the July 1 budget as construction costs for the booming city soar far ahead of state government funding.

It comes after the Gold Coast slapped a special Cyclone Alfred levy on residents in its recent budget to pay for damage to beaches.

About 99 per cent of ratepayers would pay $55 with the remaining one per cent – those

whose land was valued at more than $900,000 — to pay more.

Expenditure using the levy would be “transparent’’, Mayor Teresa Harding promised.

City of Moreton already charges a $93 transport and stormwater levy, Gold Coast City Council slugs ratepayers $210 for its transport levy, while Noosa, Sunshine Coast and Moreton councils impose $30-$47 transport levies.

Ipswich residents will pay a special infrastructure charge for the first time following this year’s budget. Picture: Liam Kidston

Queensland Transport roads and investment program spending on Ipswich is second lowest of any southeast council, just ahead of bottom-ranked Redlands,

But the road and bridge infrastructure construction index, which measures building costs, has soared 50 per cent in the past 14 years.

Council said the levy, which had bipartisan support from Labor and LNP-aligned councillors, was needed to address “neglect’’ by both the state and federal governments which had created a predicted billion-dollar infrastructure funding gap over the next decade.

Ms Harding said council had been significantly underfunded for years.

“Under the Queensland Government’s own growth projections in its Shaping SEQ plan, Ipswich’s population is set to double by 2046,” Ms Harding said.

“The money we do collect is not going as far and infrastructure is costing more to construct and maintain than ever before.

“As an example, our 2025 Financial Assistance Grant from the Federal Government has increased by 14 per cent since 2016.

“Over the same period, Brisbane’s CPI has increased by 31 per cent.’’

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding.

Southeast councils have been crying poor in recent years, with Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner saying councils received only three cents of every $1 in taxpayer revenue, which was why he was asking for help to upgrade the crumbling Story Bridge.

Ms Harding said Ipswich received the equivalent of $25 in ratepayer out of a funding pool of $1000 per ratepayer for the region.

“The Local Government Association of Queensland last year issued a report calling for an urgent review of the gap between infrastructure charges and increasing construction costs,’’ she said.

“The report said that, across southeast Queensland councils from 2024 to 2028, that gap would be $1.5bn.’’

Ms Harding said the State Government cap on what councils could charge developers was on track to cause a billion-dollar gap infrastructure gap for Ipswich over the next decade.

Ipswich City councillor Paul Tully. Picture: Richard Walker

The cap had not been reviewed or consistently indexed since 2011, she claimed.

“In that period infrastructure construction costs had soared 44 per cent,’’ she said.

Ms Harding said the levy would raise $5.4m in the 2025-2026 financial year and be used to help fund delivery of strategic infrastructure projects.

Ipswich finance committee chair Councillor Paul Tully, who is aligned to Labor, supported the levy.

“At a minimum, this money will be used to help deliver infrastructure for growth which is identified in council’s Local Government Infrastructure Plan,” Mr Tully said.

“It would also be used to help fund major roads and open space networks, such as upgrades, extensions and intersections to accommodate our growing community.

“The levy won’t cover these project on its own, but will be used strategically to supplement the infrastructure charges collected from development, as well as grants and other sources of funding.’’ 

He said in the past 30 years council had introduced only two dedicated citywide levies – the Enviroplan levy in 1996 and the Rural Fire Separate Charge in 2020.

Originally published as Ipswich City Council to hit ratepayers with infrastructure levy for first time in 2025 budget