Rates, fees and charges

Rates, fees and charges 2023–2024

Council's 2023 - 2024 rating structure and all other fees and charges collected can be viewed below.

The 2023-2024 Fees and Charges (including our rating structure) came into effect on Saturday, 1 July 2023 and was prepared following consideration of:

Cost of providing services
Recommended prices suggested by outside bodies or the Department
Importance of the service to the community
Any factors specified in regulations
Annual rate as determined by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.

How are rates calculated

Rates are calculated based on the land value of your property as supplied by the Valuer General NSW.

Land value

The land value of your property does not include the value of your home. If you own a strata title property, the land value of the entire site is divided by the unit entitlement (listed on your strata plan), to ascertain the land value for each unit.

Rates and charges

Rate in the dollar is a formula, based on land value and usage, which is reviewed by Council each year.

The 2023 - 2024 rates and annual charges for each type of land and service is:

Rate and Annual Charge	Amount
Residential Rate	0.000646557
Business Rate	0.00181728
Minimum Rate	$879.70
Domestic Waste Management Service Charge	$439 per annum for standard service
Stormwater Management Services Charge	Stormwater Management Charge: $12.50 residential strata; $25 non-strata residential property; $25 for every 350 square meters, or part thereof for a non-residential property; $5 business strata or part thereof by entitlement.

Stormwater Management Service Charge

Council is responsible for stormwater management within the local government area. Council provides and maintains infrastructure including kerbs, gutters, and stormwater pipes.

All rateable properties are levied an annual charge based on the land categorisation. A reduced levy applies to strata titled properties. The annual fees are currently:

$25.00 per residential allotment
$12.50 per residential and business strata allotment
For business, the charge is $25, plus an additional $25 for each 350 square metres or part of 350 square metres by which the area of the parcel of land exceeds 350 square metres.

The charge will be applied towards stormwater management services including:

Mainstream flood mitigation works
Local drainage and overland flow path upgrades
Urban drainage renewal
Water quality infrastructure
Stormwater maintenance
Enhanced pipe drainage maintenance.

Domestic waste management charges

Your rates notice includes an annual Domestic Waste Management (DWM) Charge to Council to manage and collect residential waste. This is authorised under Section 496 of the Local Government Act 1993.

This charge funds Council's household recycling service, green waste service, garbage collection and disposal, and bulky household waste service. It includes landfill tipping fees, as well as the NSW Government Section 88 landfill levy which increases each year as part of the NSW Government's strategy to reduce landfill.

Related items

Rates instalment due dates

Rates can be paid either in full or quarterly.

If you pay in full, your rates are due by 31 August 2023.

If you pay quarterly, the Local Government Act 1993 prescribes the following due dates:

1st Instalment - 31 August 2023
2nd Instalment - 30 November 2023
3rd Instalment - 28 February 2024
4th Instalment - 31 May 2024

Note: rates and domestic waste charges are exempt from GST.

Methods of payment

Online Payments

Visit our eservices webpage to make payments online.

This 'payments' page can be located from most pages within Council's website. Just go to the Quick Links section of your screen and select the Pay option.

Direct Debit

Download Council's Rates Direct Debit Authority Form to apply to pay your rates automatically from your bank account on the due date.

BPay

Contact your participating financial institution to make this payment from your cheque or savings account.

Pay at Australia Post

Just take your bill to any post office to pay by cash or cheque.

Credit Card Payments

Payments using a credit card may be made by dialing 1300 304 732. A service fee applies (Visa and Mastercard - 0.6%, AMEX - 1%). Payments may also be made via Council's website.

Payment in Person

Present the rate notice to:

Council's Customer Services Centre
- Located at 1a Marlborough Street, Drummoyne
- Business Hours: 8.30am-4pm, Monday to Friday
Council's Customer Services Desk
- Located at Concord Library, 60 Flavelle Street, Concord
- Business Hours: 9.30am-4.30pm, Wednesday only.

EFTPOS facilities are available for debit cards and the following credit cards:

Visa (0.6% Service Fee)
Mastercard (0.6% Service Fee)
AMEX (1% Service Fee)

Credit card payments attract a service fee.

Rates eNotices

You can register to receive your rate notice via email by signing up for your eNotice account here . Before you register, please make sure that you have eNotice registration reference number with you.

eNotice registration reference number can be found on the right bottom part of your latest rates notice.

Once subscribed, your future rate notice will be sent via email and you can also access your notices by logging into your own eNotice account.

If you are a property agent managing multiple properties and wish to receive rates notices in bulk via email, please contact Council’s rates team to create eNotice account for the managing agent.

Rating forms you might require

Rates rebates for pensioners

Council provides a rebate of up to $250.00 per year on rates payments to eligible pensioners.

You may be an eligible pensioner for the rebate if:

You are liable (either solely or jointly) for the rates on the property
The property is your sole or principal residence
You hold a current pensioner concession card issued by either Centrelink or the Department of Veteran's Affairs.

To be eligible for the $250.00 full year rebate, the date the person becomes an eligible pensioner must be prior to 1 July in any rating year.

New pensioners after 1 July will receive a rebate proportionate to the number of full quarters remaining in the rating year after the day when the person becomes an eligible pensioner (Local Government Act 1993, Section 575).

This is illustrated in the table below:

Date of pension being granted	Rebate within rating year
Before 1 July of rating year	Full rebate
Before 1 October	75% rebate
Before 1 January	50% rebate
Before 1 April	25% rebate
Between 1 April and 30 June	No rebate

When a person ceases to be an eligible pensioner, dies or sells the property, a proportion of the rebate granted for the year is written back as payable.This applies in the same manner as a granted rebate: the write back will equal the number full quarters remaining in the year.

To obtain a discount

Print and complete the following form:

Pensioner concession for rates form

and lodge one of the following ways:

IN PERSON AT:

Council's Customer Services Centre
- Hours: 8.30am-4pm, Monday to Friday
- 1A Marlborough Street, Drummoyne

BY MAIL TO:

City of Canada Bay, Locked Bag 1470, Drummoyne, NSW 1470

BY EMAIL TO:

council@canadabay.nsw.gov.au

You will need to provide a copy of both your current rates notice and Pensioner Concession Card.

To be eligible, the details on the concession card must match the property owner on the rates notice.

Have a question about your rates see our FAQ

Why do I have to pay Council rates and charges?

Council helps our local community to run smoothly. We administer various laws and regulations to help maintain and improve services and facilities for the community. These services include community services, sporting and recreation services, environmental planning, building regulation, public health, environmental protection and waste collection, treatment and disposal. The rates and charges you pay allow us to fund these services.

How does Council determine how much you have to pay in rates and charges?

Each council in NSW is required to determine the combination of rates, charges, fees and pricing policies needed to fund the services it provides to the community. This is called a revenue policy. The revenue policy contains a rating structure that determines which rates and charges you will have to pay and how they will be calculated. Charges are generally determined on either an annual basis or according to usage – or they may be a combination of both.

Councils can choose how they calculate and distribute rates among categories of rateable properties in the council area. In the City of Canada Bay, rates are calculated based on land value, but subject to a minimum amount. The land value is determined by Valuer General of NSW.

How does my land valuation affect my rates?

The NSW Valuer General is the statutory independent valuing authority in NSW. The valuation process is something Council cannot influence. Land is valued by the Valuer General under the Valuation of Land Act 1916. These valuations are carried out approximately every three years.

All Canada Bay Council properties were revalued as at 1 July 2022 and these new values must be used for rating from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2026. Ordinary rates are made up of a variable rate based on the land value of individual properties in proportion to the total value of all land in the Local Government Area. A minimum payable amount applies.

How does Council decide which category your property is in?

In NSW each parcel of land must be included in one of four categories for rating purposes – residential, business, farmland or mining. Council decides which category your property should be in based on its use. In the City of Canada Bay, people are charged rates under the residential or business categories. There is also a Mixed Development rating which allows for a property to receive a combination of residential and business rating categories (providing a form of rating relief - in most cases) due to the property having dual usage. Ratepayers must notify Council of any changes of Land use and may apply to Council for a review of the rating category.

Mixed Development rating

The Local Government Act, 1993 provides for Mixed Development rating. A parcel of land occupied, or used solely as one building comprising a residence and a business, may be considered for Mixed Development rating, if it can be separately occupied for both business and residential purposes.

The Valuer General's Department supplies Council with a Mixed Development Apportionment Factor (MDAF), for land subject to Mixed Development rating. Rates and charges are apportioned according to the MDAF. If, for example, a parcel of mixed development land has an MDAF of 60%, rates and charges would be apportioned as Business 60% and Residential 40%.

What if you don’t agree with the land value of your property?

Council doesn't determine your land value. Land is valued by Valuer General of NSW. Valuations are carried out approximately every three years and property owners receive a valuation notice after it is done.

If you don’t agree with the land value, you have 60 days to object. For details please contact Valuer General NSW on 1800 110 038 or visit their website valuergeneral.nsw.gov.au. Even if you lodge an objection, you must still pay your rates while your objection is being considered. Whatever the Valuer General decides about your objection, they must advise you in writing. If you are not satisfied with the determination of your objection, you have the right to appeal the decision in the Land and Environment Court of NSW within 60 days. The response sent by the Valuer General will explain the final date for an appeal.

Who decides whether rates will increase?

Each year the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) set a limit on the total amount of income that every council can raise from rates. This is called the rate-peg. Council’s rates revenue cannot increase by more than the percentage increase approved by the Minister unless the Minister approves a special rate variation. For the 2023-24 financial year and the following three years, IPART has approved Council’s application for a Special Rate Variation (SRV) which provides for ordinary rate income to increase by:

2023-24 – 15.49%
2024-25 - 4.81%
2025-26 – 4.69%
2026-27 – 4.58%

The cumulative increase of 32.53% over the four year period will allow Council to strengthen its financial sustainability, cover the costs of services for a growing population and provide funding for enhanced services requested by the community.

Can your rates increase by more than the SRV percentage?

Yes. The SRV percentage applies to Council’s overall general income and not to rates on individual properties. Within the SRV it may be possible for some individual rates to increase by more than the SRV percentage. A combination of Council’s rating structure and valuation changes determine what happens to rates on an individual property.

Why have my rates increased by more than the IPART approved 15.49%?

If your property valuation percentage increase between 1 July 2019 and 1 July 2022 is higher than the LGA average percentage increase over that period, it may result in an increase to your rates of more than 15.49% in 2023-24.

The 2023-24 rates are based on new land values provided by the Valuer General. Individual property valuation changes relative to the total land valuation increase determine the % rate increase for each property. Individual land value increases of more than the local area average will result in rate levy increases of more than 15.49%. Individual land value increases of less than the local area average will result in rate levy increases of less than 15.49%.

Whilst some properties will have rates increases greater than 15.49% and others less than 15.49% overall, Council’s rate increase is no more than 15.49%.

Additional/enhanced services funded by the SRV in 2023-24

Additional income from the SRV will be used to:

Improve Council’s financial sustainability.
Maintain infrastructure service standards for the growing population.
Provide service improvements identified through community engagement over previous years.

These service improvements include:

An expanded biodiversity and climate program
An enhanced and expanded town centres beautification program
A renewed greenspace and sportsfield program
More resources for maintaining and managing our growing tree canopy
An expanded community services team and resourcing to deliver our new cultural plan
Infrastructure and local asset renewal such as roads, foreshore, footpaths and buildings
Reducing processing times for Development Applications
Increased resources for strategic land use planning with a focus on our revitalisation precincts.

Are all rates, charges and levies increasing by 15.49%?

Charges for waste management have increased by 2% and the stormwater management charge remains unchanged.

Do you have to pay a domestic waste management service charge if you don’t use the service?

Yes. The Local Government Act requires Council to apply an annual charge for providing domestic waste management services on all parcels of rateable residential categorised land for which the service is available, whether or not it is actually used. In this way, all property owners contribute to the current and future provision of waste services equally.

What if you cannot afford to pay your rates?

City of Canada Bay has a range of options under Council’s Rates and Annual Charges Hardship Policy to support ratepayers in hardship. These options include flexible payment plans and waiving interest on overdue rates.

If you are having difficulty in paying your rates, you should contact Council as soon as possible to discuss your options.

Refer to Council’s Hardship Policy for more information.

Can you be exempt from paying council rates?

There are some parcels of land that are exempt from rates and charges. These include parcels of land within a national park and land that belongs to, for example, a religious body or school. Unless you meet the exemption criteria outlined in the Local Government Act, you cannot be exempt from paying rates.