Rates Frequently Asked Questions

Download: 2023 - 24 Rates Brochure(PDF, 1MB)

This details how Council rates are calculated and where we spend them.

Rates are calculated using a formula that takes into account the cost of providing almost 100 council services for the local community to help fund our day-to-day operations and the services  such as maintaining parks, running community facilities and events, and more.

Council rates are not calculated solely on the basis of property valuation and rates do not automatically increase as property value increases. The value of the property is only used to calculate the percentage of the budget that residents need to pay to ensure that the Shire can continue to provide services.

Rates are apportioned across all ratepayers using the Capital Improved Value (CIV) for each property, to determine the share of Overall Rates payable against each rateable property (applied via a unit rate per Dollar ($) of valuation).

Your property's rates and charges may have increased or decreased by a different percentage for reasons such as:

• the valuation of your property relative to the valuation of other properties in the shire
• the inclusion of other rates and charges such as waste and recycling, and the Fire Services Property Levy.

You can learn more at How are My Rates Calculated?

Waste Service charges are reviewed and increased annually; it is intended to recoup the full cost of waste services for the community which includes:

• all waste collections (including public waste clearing from parks, reserves and foreshores)
• disposals
• street sweeping
• footpath sweeping
• street and drain litter collections (across the municipality)
• future works landfill areas (rehabilitation works).

The charge is therefore a recovery of all waste costs, not just bin collection and street cleaning immediately adjacent to your property.

Waste services, whether in the street or home, benefit everyone in the community. As such the waste service levy is placed against all rateable properties on the Peninsula.

Council rates are a property-based Tax. Average rate is increased by the rate cap (3.5% for 2023/2024) as set by the Minister. They are apportioned across all ratepayers using the Capital Improved Value (CIV) for each property, to determine the share of Overall Rates payable against each rateable property (applied via a unit rate per Dollar ($) of valuation).

Learn more at How are my Rates Calculated.

On your rates notice you’ll observe both a Site Value (SV) amount in dollars ($), and a Capital Improved Value (CIV) amount in dollars ($).

The CIV amount is the TOTAL valuation of the dwelling and land (i.e., we do not add both figures together to calculate the overall valuation).

The property valuation is a relative measure. This means all properties, except that where significant capital improvement has been undertaken in the last 12 months (i.e., new housing development), will be apportioned a similar rateable charge to each other, as has occurred in previous years.

The Fire Service Levy is payable against all land in Victoria, unless it is exempt. Exempt properties include land such as Commonwealth-owned land and some State Government land. There is a formula set by the state government for calculating the Fire Services levy. This is based on the Australian Valuation Property Classification Codes (AVPCC) attributable to your property, and a set unit formula.

The AVPCC is a unique identifier defined by the state government, representing how you use your land, in conjunction with the overall valuation or CIV, and determines the actual amount payable per property.

Learn more about the Fire Service Levy. 

Learn more about different methods for paying your rates on our Rate payments and Rates Notices page.

• Waste vouchers are only issued on the Annual Rates & Valuation notice, sent every year mid-August to the owner of the property at the time.
• You will find your 4 vouchers located at the bottom of the Annual Rate Notice. One voucher = 1 cubic metre of hard or green waste taken to the Waste Depot. If you order hard waste collection, then 1 voucher = half a cubic metre.
• Waste Vouchers are not issued on the instalment rate notices.
• Waste vouchers expire 30 September, for example vouchers received in August 2023 for the 2023/2024 financial year will expire on 30 September 2024.
• If you receive your rate notices electronically? No worries! Our Resource and Recovery Centre gatekeepers can scan your vouchers from your smart phone or device, or you can print them off and use the paper copy (if you are booking a hard rubbish collection, you will need to print them)
• Cannot find your Annual Rates Notice with the vouchers? Visit our page to apply for a reprint to be emailed or posted out.
• Once your four waste vouchers have been used, any further copies become void (included on your Annual Rates & Valuation Notice).
• Please call 5950 1020 and ask for our Waste Services Team if you are unsure whether your vouchers have been used.