Regional ratepayers hit hardest by rate hikes and extra council fees
The dreaded council rates bills are on their way. Check out our handy calculator to see how much you could pay.
Victoria
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Some Victorian homeowners will be slugged up to 20 per cent more in council property tax and hundreds extra in administration fees despite a state government cap designed to ensure ratepayers get a “fair go”.
The Herald Sun can reveal the average bill for residential ratepayers at more than half the state’s 79 councils will exceed the 3 per cent rate cap set by the state government for 2025-26.
Regional ratepayers are facing the steepest hikes including a whopping 20 per cent or $200 more for Pyrenees ratepayers in Victoria’s west.
In metropolitan Melbourne, Yarra and Maribyrnong homeowners will be hit with some of the biggest increases in metropolitan Melbourne after their average residential rates rose by $102.23 and $77 respectively.
Pyrenees Shire Council chief executive Jim Molan said the increase was partly due to a change in the way different classes of land were rated.
Councillors voted to reduce the general rate for vacant non-farm land less than 2ha by 35 per cent and the general rate for vacant non farm land between 2ha and 40ha by 26 per cent.
Mr Nolan said the move aimed to achieve “a more equitable distribution of rates across the municipality”.
He added the shire was also one of the lowest rating councils in Victoria.
In the state’s southwest, Golden Plains residential ratepayers will also be slugged an average of $200 extra or 13 per cent more than last year.
A Golden Plains council spokesman said more rates revenue would be collected from residential properties due to changes in property valuations.
More new development also meant there would be extra residential properties paying rates than in previous years, he said.
Meanwhile, South Gippsland homeowners will have to pay $137 more in rates on average after the council voted to alter its differential rating structure.
A council spokesman said farmers would be charged only 65 per cent of the general rate – a reduction of 5 per cent – and owners of vacant rural land would be charged 150 per cent instead of 200 per cent of the general rate.
The move was initiated “to support our farmers during difficult drought conditions” and prepare for future impacts to primary producers as a result of the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund.
Wangaratta council has also changed its rating structure to ensure “more equitable treatment of landowners” based on land use, value, and the benefits received from council services.
The new structure, combined with property values increasing, has contributed to an average increase of $117 for residential ratepayers.
Maribyrnong Council chief executive Celia Haddock the 3 per cent rate cap represented the total increase in rates any local government area could collect.
“Individual properties rate changes will vary based on their relative valuation, and are rarely exactly reflective of the rate cap, meaning that some will be higher and others will be lower than the rate cap,” she said.
Yarra Council has been contacted.
Meanwhile, Hepburn and Indigo shires have been granted approval for a higher cap of 10 per cent and 7.54 per cent respectively.
The higher cap will add an average of $184 onto rates bills for Hepburn Shire homeowners and residential ratepayers in Indigo Shire will pay $100 more on average.
Hepburn mayor Don Henderson said the higher cap would generate about $1.36m extra revenue for the shire and help address an annual $4 million cash shortfall.
It came after the council spent millions maintaining multiple town halls and lost more than $5m in a debacle involving The Rex theatre in Daylesford.
“In positive news for ratepayers, waste service charges and kerbside collection fees will remain unchanged in 2025/26, and residents using the food and garden organics service will benefit from a $40 annual reduction in their charges,” Mr Henderson said.
Indigo mayor Sophie Price said the shire was transferring its Environment Management Charge (EMC) into general rates and the higher cap was a revenue neutral move.
“I want to make it absolutely clear to our community that this does not represent additional revenue for council,” she said,
“The separate EMC charge will be removed from rate notices, resulting in no overall increase in council revenue beyond the standard three per cent rate cap.”
But not all councils have chosen to hike rates by the maximum 3 per cent allowed under the cap.
Bayside and Ballarat voted not to raise their general rate while Melbourne City Council proposed a rates rebate that involved adding the 2025-26 rate increase to the capped amount allowed in 2026-27.
Other local government areas elected to stay well below the 3 per cent cap.
Ararat is raising its general rate by 1.5 per cent, East Gippsland and Greater Geelong voted for a 2 per cent increase and Mansfield kept its general rates rise under the cap at 2.75 per cent.
Meanwhile, Frankston council has introduced a new rate for vacant land in the Frankston Metropolitan Activity Centre and along Nepean Highway in a bid to discourage land banking and encourage development.
The new rate means the council can limit the average increase for residential and commercial ratepayers to 2.24 per cent and 1.12 per cent respectively.
“We’ve trimmed the fat, not the muscle, to find savings without sacrificing the community services our residents count on, or the public works that keep Frankston City moving forward,” Frankston Mayor Kris Bolam said.
Frankston ratepayers will also receive free vouchers to the local pool, art centre, a discount for on-call hard rubbish collection and a free Indigenous tree sapling.
Meanwhile, homeowners from a handful of council areas across Victoria can expect to pay a little less in average residential rates, compared to 2024-25.
The biggest cut will be enjoyed by Melton residential ratepayers who will see an average decrease of
Swan Hill residential ratepayers – who had the biggest average increase in Victorian in 2024-25 – are likely to pay an average of $37.44 or 2.3 per cent less.
A Melton council spokesman said to meet the 3 per cent rate cap the municipality’s general rate had been adjusted, resulting in a decrease in rates for the average residential property.
Rate caps are applied across local government areas, not individual properties.
Council rates are calculated using the Capital Improved Value (CIV) or total market value of a property including land and all improvements, such as buildings.
Properties are valued every year by the Valuer General.
At least 38 Victorian councils have also chosen to charge all ratepayers a municipal fee.
The amount varies across the councils from $70 in Wyndham in Melbourne’s southwest to $390 in Moira in the state’s northeast.
A municipal charge is a flat fee charged to all rateable properties within a municipality to help cover the administrative costs of running a local council such as asset management, information systems, human resources and governance.
The total amount a council can collect via a municipal fee cannot be more than 20 per cent of the total raised from the combination of municipal charge and general rates.
But the fee does not fall under the rate cap allowing councils to raise it beyond the 3 per cent limit mandated for 2025-26.
Moira Shire chief executive Matthew Morgan said the charge gave councils the choice of raising a portion of the rates by a flat fee for all properties, rather than sole use of the Capital Improved Value (CIV) valuation method.
He said 40 per cent of rateable properties in Moira were large land holdings including farms and the charge was a mechanism to “equitably distribute a fixed portion of the rating burden across the rate base”.
Towong’s $347 municipal charge is one of the highest in the state.
A council spokesman said the fee aimed to share the council’s administrative costs evenly, per property.
“It is common that small rural councils that cover large geographical areas with small populations charge a municipal charge,” they said.
A Wyndham spokesman said its $70 municipal charge helped the council recover the cost of governance and administration including customer service, rates processing, IT systems, and general operations.
Originally published as Regional ratepayers hit hardest by rate hikes and extra council fees
Gout Gout Glasgow-bound in bitter blow for Victoria
The teen running sensation will join Aussie stars including swimmer Ariarne Titmus and long distance runner Jessica Hull at next year’s Commonwealth Games in what’s been described as “a massive missed opportunity’’ for Victoria.
Roadblock in Melbourne’s bid to host 3D ABBA spectacular
Will Melbourne finally get to host the ABBA Voyage virtual concert? It all comes down to money, money, money.
Machete and crowbar used by masked thugs in terrifying crime spree
Multiple offenders are on the run after a series of armed robberies at supermarkets in Wonga Park and Chelsea Heights.
‘Exactly what the government has asked to stop’: Magistrate hits out
A 14-year-old boy nearly lopped a man’s hand off with a machete in a shopping centre mugging, prompting a children’s court magistrate to issue a rebuke of knife crime.
Synagogue arson accused faces court as new details emerge
Details of the charges of an alleged arsonist, accused of lighting the East Melbourne Synagogue on fire while 20 people were inside, have been revealed for the first time.
Doctor suspended from practice amid allegations he filmed Austin staff in toilets
A junior doctor has had his medical registration suspended after being charged with secretly filming colleagues using a hidden camera in the staff toilets at the Austin Hospital.