The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has set council rate pegs for the 2026-27 financial year.
Tribunal Chair Carmel Donnelly said IPART sets a separate rate peg for each of the State’s 128 local government areas and core rate pegs range from 2.5 per cent to 4.2 per cent.
“The rate peg allows councils to increase income from rates to keep pace with increased costs, while limiting the increase to what is necessary to maintain services,” Donnelly said.
“This helps councils keep providing services that ratepayers rely on.
“The rate peg reflects changes in council operating costs. The Tribunal has also included an adjustment to smooth the impact of local government election costs for ratepayers.
“83 councils will also receive an additional population growth factor to reflect their increasing population, so council’s total rates income per capita keeps pace with population growth.”
The rate peg only applies to a council’s ‘general income’, which is mostly from rates and makes up around a third of councils’ total income on average. Councils receive revenue from multiple sources other than rates, including grants and user fees and charges.
It is now up to each council to decide whether rates will rise. The rate peg doesn’t automatically change the rates notice people receive from their council. Each elected council will decide whether to increase rates, which categories of rates to change, and what concessions apply to people in need of financial assistance.
“We encourage any ratepayers facing difficulty paying their rates bill to get in touch with their council for information on concessions and other assistance options.”
An information paper, which includes the rate peg for each council, is available from IPART’s website.
