Rates

Rate Notices

Council will issue three (3) rates notices each year, with these notices having a 30-day payment time frame. 

• period 01 July 2025 to 31 October 2025 – will issue in July 2025
• period 01 November 2025 to 28 February 2026 – will issue in November 2025
• period 01 March 2026 to 30 June 2026 – will issue in March 2026

Land Valuations

The value of your land, along with the property characteristics, is the basis for the calculation of the General Rate.  The State Valuation Services sets this rateable value. For valuation enquiries please contact State Valuation Services (https://www.nrmmrrd.qld.gov.au/land-property).

Differential General Rates

There are 55 Differential General Rate categories determined for 2025/2026. These categories are detailed in the 2025/2026 Revenue Statement.  Every property in the region has been allocated one of these 55 categories. Each category has a ‘cents in the dollar rate’ and a ‘minimum rate’.  Differential General Rates are calculated by multiplying the rateable value of a property by the category’s ‘cents in the dollar rate’. The minimum charge applies when the resulting amount is below the set minimum Differential General Rate for the category.

Owner Occupier/Principal Place of Residence General Rate Category

To claim the owner occupier general rate category, you must complete a Principal Place of Residence Declaration and submit to Council for assessment. Your situation must satisfy the definition provided in the Principal Place of Residence Policy and this category is only available to residential properties owned by at least one natural person.

Principal Place of Residence Policy
Principal Place of Residence Declaration Form

Interest

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

Objection to Differential Rating Category

The Differential General Rate Category applied to your property is shown on page 2 of your rates notice and a full description is provided in the Rating Category Statement for the applicable financial year.  Section 90 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 provides that the only grounds a property owner may objection to their rates category is that their land should have been included in another rating category (based on the local governments rating categories). 

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

• give Council written notice of your objection within 30 days of the issue of the rate notice and;
• nominate the rating category the land should have been included in

If you lodge an objection the rates and charges levied continue to be due and payable by the due date.

If the Differential Category is changed as an outcome of the objection, a rates adjustment will be applied effective from the start of the billing period in which objection was made, and written advice will be issued.  If the Differential Category is not changed as an outcome of the objection, you will receive written advice from Council.  In accordance with section 92 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 if you are dissatisfied with Council’s decision, the landowner may appeal to the Land Court within 42 days of receiving the objection outcome from Council.  

Objection to Rating Category Form

Rating Category Statement and FAQ - 2025/2026

Objection to Differential Rating Category for a Principal Place of Residence (PPR)

A Principal Place of Residence (PPR) is defined as a residential dwelling or unit where at least one owner is a natural person and permanent resides on the property.  To claim the owner occupier general rate category, you must meet the definition of PPR set by Council and must have an approved Principal Place of Residence Declaration in place.  The full definition and criteria can be found in the below policy link.

To object to a non-PPR Differential General Rate Category and claim the owner occupier general rate category, you must:

• give Council written notice of your objection within 30 days of the issue of the rate notice and;
• nominate the rating category the land should have been included in and;
• complete and lodge a Principal Place of Residence Declaration with Council

If you lodge an objection the rates and charges levied continue to be due and payable by the due date.

Assessment of the Principal Place of Residence Declaration will be completed by Council and should further information be required to complete this assessment, this will be requested by Council prior to the outcome of any category objection being finalised.

If the Differential Category is changed as an outcome of the objection, a rates adjustment will be applied effective from the start of the billing period in which objection was made, and written advice will be issued.  If the Differential Category is not changed as an outcome of the objection, you will receive written advice from Council.  In accordance with section 92 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 if you are dissatisfied with Council’s decision, the landowner may appeal to the Land Court within 42 days of receiving the objection outcome from Council.  

Objection to Rating Category Form

Principal Place of Residence Declaration Form

Principal Place of Residence Policy

Rating Category Statement and FAQ - 2025/2026

To calculate the rates capping amount for 2025/2026 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 25/26 – 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 25/26 is $30.53

A capping adjustment of CR $30.53 will be applied to each cycle notice in 2025/2026 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

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 and return to Council.

To obtain Property Summary Application Form 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 2025/2026
Rating Category Statement and FAQ 2025/2026
Budget Adoption 2025/2026
Budget Meeting Minutes 2025/2026
Revenue Policy and Statement 2025/2026