Rates Charges Explained

How your rates notice is calculated

Council charges rates to generate the revenue required to provide services and infrastructure to the community.  Each year, as part of the budget process, Council decides the rates and charges for the next financial year.  Council applies a general rate on all rateable land.  Council also applies various charges for services on a 'User Pays' principle.

Click here to access Council's current Revenue Statement (PDF 762.7KB)

Rates and charges are issued via a Rate Notice.  Council issues a number of rate notices each year depending on what services are provided to your property, when services commence or end, and when changes occur to your property.

Council offers a variety of payment options to pay Rates Notices.

General Rates

Council must levy a General rate on all rateable land.  General rates are levied based on the unimproved value of the land and is expressed as a number of cents per dollar of the Land Valuation. Council also applies a minimum general rate - a minimum amount payable of a general rate regardless of the valuation and cents per dollar.  This is to account for the minimum level of service Council provides to each property.

General rates are for services, facilities and activities that are supplied or undertaken for the benefit of the community.  Council is required to raise an appropriate amount of revenue to maintain assets and provide services to the region as a whole.  In deciding how the revenue is raised, Council considers:

  • The rateable value of the land
  • Relative valuation between different types of land
  • The approach to general rating adopted by the Southern Downs Regional Council for financial year
  • The demand that some land users place on Council provided services.

General Rate Categories

Council has a differential general rating scheme that recognises the diverse demographics of the region.  This approach recognises land used for the following purposes:

  • Residential
  • Commercial and general industrial
  • Primary production
  • Heavy industrial
  • Special Uses

Click here to read more about rating categories.

Charges

A separate rate or charge can be levied equally on all rateable land in the local government area to fund a particular service, facility or activity that benefits the entire community.  Special charges are applied for services, facilities and activities that have a special association with a particular property, eg. waste collection.  These charges may appear on your Rate Notice: 

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Payments & Services