Rates

Rates and Charges Notices

Council issues three rate notices each year, and each notice allows 30 days for payment.

You can expect to receive your notices in:

• July 2026 – for the period 1 July 2026 to 31 October 2026
• November 2026 – for the period 1 November 2026 to 28 February 2027
• March 2027 – for the period 1 March 2027 to 30 June 2027

Understanding your Rates Notice, what you’re paying for and why is important. Charges that appear on your Rates Notice include:

• a general rate charge
• utility charges, separate charges and special charges
• any applicable concessions and/or rates capping

General Rate

Your general rate is calculated using the land valuation issued by the Department of Resources, multiplied by the applicable “cents in the dollar” for your property’s rating category.  If the calculated amount is less than the minimum rate for that category, the minimum rate will apply.

The general rate categories adopted by Council can be found in the 2026/2027 Rating Category Statement(PDF, 4MB).

Utility Charges

Utility charges are based on a user-pays approach, covering the cost of providing, operating, and maintaining water, wastewater, and waste management services.

Water Access & Water Consumption

Council has a two-part charging structure consisting of an annual access charge and a water consumption charge;

• an access charge for all land within the Water Service Area; and
• a charge for each kilolitre of water consumed

Wastewater Access

A Wastewater Access Charge will be levied on land, both vacant and occupied, that Council has or is able to provide with wastewater services

Waste Charges

Council will levy a waste charge on each property.  Depending on whether the land is within or outside of the waste collection area, the general rate category applied, location and the characteristics of the land, one or more of the following waste charges may apply:

• Standard waste service charge
• Additional waste service charge
• Combined waste service charge
• Individual waste service charge
• Commercial waste service charge
• K’gari garbage charge
• Waste Management Utility charge

A full list of charges can be found 2026-2027 Budget Adoption.

Separate and Special Charges

The Disaster Management and Resilience Levy has been set at $45.00 per rateable property and continues to be levied for the purpose of contributing to Council’s flood cameras, online disaster dashboard, community resilience building projects and the SES.

Concessions

A range of concessions are available including;

• Pensioner Concession on Rates
• Community Groups
• Conservation Areas
• Financial Hardship
• Economic Development
• Limit Increases in Water and Wastewater Charges
• Refurbishment Concession
• Water and Wastewater Charges Concession and Faulty Water Meters

Please refer to the specific Council Policy and Application form for each of these concessions by visiting https://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/About-Council/Policies-and-Publications.

Further levy types are detailed within Council’s Budget Adoption.

Land valuations are set by the Queensland Government’s State Valuation Service, and councils are required under state legislation to use these valuations to calculate rates.

Using land value provides a consistent way to share the cost of local services across the community.

Council then applies its rating system to determine how much each property contributes.

For valuation enquiries please contact State Valuation Services by visiting https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/title/valuation. 

To calculate the rates capping amount for 2026/2027 take the general rate charge from the previous financial year Cycle 3 Notice (less any Capping Adjustments showing on the Cycle 3 Notice) and multiply this by the limit on increase percentage for your general rate category of the current cycle. Add this amount to the previous financial year Cycle 3 general rate charge amount and this is the maximum general rate for each cycle this financial year.

Your rate notice will itemise the full general rate charge for your property on page 2 of the rate notice. The full charge is your property’s land valuation multiplied by the category’s cents in the dollar. Where the calculated amount is less than the minimum rate, the minimum rate is applied. This calculated amount is then divided by 3 and charged on each notice issued by Council for the financial year.

Any Capping Adjustment will be itemised as a separate charge line on page 2 of your notice and is the difference between the full general rate and the maximum general rate amount for the cycle.

Working Example:

General rate charged on Cycle 3 notice was $414.00 for Category 1a and the property did not have any previous capping credits

1. $414.00 x 10.5% = $43.47
2. Add Cycle 3 charge = $457.47
3. $457.47 is the maximum general rate that can be charged on each cycle notice for 26/27 – as this is limiting the increase of the general rate to 10.5% on the previous financial year
4. This property has a new land valuation of $175,000 and is in Category 1a, so the full general rate charge for Cycle 1 is $488.00
5. The difference between the Cycle 1 full general rate and the maximum general rate for 26/27 is $30.53

A capping adjustment of CR $30.53 will be applied to each cycle notice in 2026/2027 to ensure that the general rate increase is not more than 10.5% compared to last year. Should capping not have been applied, this example would have received a general rate increase of 17.8% based on the new land valuation.

Please note: the limitation on increase will cease to apply from the start of the billing period following:

• The transfer of ownership of land, or
• The change to characteristics of the land which results in a change to the differential general rate category applicable to the land (excluding where the differential general rate category changes from non-owner to owner occupier and the ownership remains unchanged), or
• Increases resulting from a property inspection or internal audit, or
• Changes to the configuration of the Land Area resulting in a new registered parcel of land

What qualifies as your Principal Place of Residence?

Your property may be considered your Principal Place of Residence (PPR) if:

• It contains a single residential dwelling or unit; and
• It is owned by at least one individual person (not a company or trust); and
• You live in the property as your main home for at least 245 days per year

Only one property can be your principal place of residence at a time.  Properties owned solely by a company or trust do not qualify under Council’s policy.

How to claim the Owner Occupier Category

To be considered for the Owner Occupier General Rate Category, you must:

• Complete and submit a Principal Place of Residence Declaration Form with Council for assessment

If approved, the owner occupier category will be applied from the effective date determined by Council.

If your circumstances or property details change, you may be required to submit a new declaration to confirm your continued or new eligibility.

Principal Place of Residence Declaration Forms(PDF, 290KB)
Principal Place of Residence Policy(PDF, 202KB)

Interest charges will be applied to all overdue rates and charges under section 133 of the Local Government Regulation 2012.

Your property’s rating category is shown on page 2 of your rates notice. A full explanation of all categories is available in Council’s Rating Category Statement for the relevant financial year.

Under section 90 of the Local Government Regulation 2012, you can only object to your rating category if you believe your property should be included in a different category based on Council’s adopted categories.

If you think your property has been incorrectly categorised, you must:

•  Submit a written objection to Council within 30 days of the issue date on your rates notice; and
•  Nominate the category you believe your property should be included in

 Important: Lodging an objection does not change your payment obligations. Rates and charges must still be paid by the due date.

Objection for Owner Occupier (Principal Place of Residence)

If you believe your property meets the Principal Place of Residence (PPR) criteria outlined in the above heading but is not categorised as owner occupier, you can lodge an objection.

 You must:

•  Submit a written objection to Council within 30 days of the issue date on your rates notice; and
•  Nominate the category you believe your property should be included in
•  Submit a Principal Place of Residence Declaration to support your claim

Council will assess your declaration as part of the objection process and may contact you if further information is required.

Outcome of Objection

After your objection is assessed:

• If your category is changed, an adjustment will be applied from the start of the rating period in which the objection was lodged, and you will be advised in writing
• If your category is not changed, Council will notify you of the decision

If you are not satisfied with Council’s decision, you may appeal to the Land Court within 42 days of receiving your objection outcome (section 92 of the Local Government Regulation 2012).

There are currently no properties for sale/auction.

A property search contains detailed rates and charges information required for settlement purposes and information that the purchaser needs to know e.g. Current Financial Years rates and charges; including applicable issue periods, payments received and interest charged or accrued on the property account; etc.

• Urgent property search - provided in three (3) working days from receipt of application and payment.
• Standard property search - provided in five (5) to ten (10) working days from receipt of application and payment.

To obtain a property search, please complete a property search request form and return to Council with payment of the appropriate fee.

To obtain a written property search, please complete a property search / special water meter read application form(PDF, 2MB) and return to Council.

To obtain Property Summary Application Form(PDF, 409KB) complete and return to Council.

Payment is required on application. If submitting the form digitally, Council's Customer Service department will call you for payment via credit card.

General Ratepayers Information 2026/2027(PDF, 469KB)

Rating Category Statement and FAQ 2026/2027(PDF, 4MB)

Budget Adoption 2026/2027

Budget Meeting Minutes 2026/2027

Revenue Policy and Statement 2026/2027(PDF, 293KB)