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Your rates

Income collected from rates and annual charges is used to pay for water and sewer infrastructure, waste operations and services for the community. The general rates cover costs for construction and maintenance of local roads and bridges, swimming pools and boat ramps, libraries and sporting fields.

These rates and charges are outlined in the Revenue Policy which forms part of Council's Operational Plan.

Rates are charged based on the category of your property. Council has three rating categories, Residential, Business and Farmland. This is known as the General Rate and you also pay an Environmental Levy.

The General Rate and Environmental Levy are made up of two parts:

  1. A base charge, which is the same for all ratepayers in all category.
  2. A variable 'rate in the dollar' amount that is based on your unimproved land value, that has been calculated by the NSW Valuer General.

These amounts are shown on your Annual Rates and Charges Notice issued annually in July. Your notice also includes any other annual charges you incur including water, sewerage and garbage collection.

2025-26 rates

The total amount of money Council can collect from all ratepayers is set by the NSW Government body, called the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).

This financial year the General Rate and Environmental Levy increased by 4.0% plus a new population growth factor of 0.1% as approved by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal. This brings the total rate peg for this year to 4.1%.

Rates and charges explained

Your rates contribute to a range of Council services from the construction and maintenance of local roads and bridges to swimming pools and boat ramps, libraries and sporting fields. Council's Operational Plan 2025-26 has a full list of what you can expect Council to deliver for the community this year.

Your 2025-26 rates and charges Notice shows the amount payable for your property, comprising the General Rate and Environmental Levy as well as charges for the delivery of water, sewer, waste and stormwater services. Details of what your rates and charges pay for are listed below.

For further details on this year's charges, refer to pages 84-93 of Council's Revenue Policy in the Operational Plan.

Services included in the General Rates include:

  • Road, bridge maintenance and construction.
  • Parks, reserves, playing fields and sporting facilities.
  • Paths and cycleways.
  • Swimming pools, libraries, youth and community centres, public halls.
  • Public litter collection.
  • Rescue units, flood mitigation, bushfire fighting.
  • Bus shelters, boat ramps and animal control.

The Environmental Levy covers:

  • Dune care, estuary management, foreshore protection and studies. These develop plans for the protection of our waterways and ecological systems.
  • Weed, pest control and environmental monitoring.

Residential general rates:

Your valuation  x 0.001202 + $624.00 = residential rate

Business general rates:

Your valuation  x 0.006059 + $624.00 = business rate

Farmland general rates:

Your valuation  x 0.000823 + $624.00 = farmland rate

Environmental levy (applies to all properties):

Your valuation  x 0.00004605 + $24.50 = environmental levy

Sewer access charge

This charge applies to all properties (including vacant land) that are connected to or within 75 meters of a Council sewer main. This charge is a contribution towards the construction and upgrading of treatment plants, pumping stations general operations and maintenance. Vacant land is charged because the infrastructure is available when you are ready to build.

Water access charge

All properties (including vacant land) that are within 225 metres of Council water pipe pay this charge. This charge is a contribution towards the construction and upgrading of dams, reservoirs and general maintenance of water pipes. Vacant land is charged because the infrastructure is available when you are ready to build.

The funds from this charge are used to improve the performance of the stormwater infrastructure that protects private property from discharge from public lands, this includes roads, ensuring the quality of stormwater harvested and discharged into waterways.

Garbage availability

This charge applies to all properties (including vacant land) within the domestic waste collection area. It covers maintenance, leachate testing at tips, supervision of garbage services, administration expenses and planning for future tips. Vacant land is charged because the tips are already operational and available.

Garbage collection service

This charge applies to all properties within the domestic collection area (not including vacant land) that are supplied with garbage bins by Council, this covers the cost of waste collection services. These services include weekly collection of an 80-litre garbage bin, a 240-litre recycling bin and a 240 litre garden organics bin. The annual hard waste collection is also included in this service. You can find more information on Council's waste and bin services webpage.

Waste management charge

This charge applies to all properties and covers the costs associated with providing and maintaining Council's waste management facilities, waste transfer station, waste minimisation programs and general waste transfer facility maintenance for waste not collected from the kerbside service.

  • If you are currently receiving a pensioner rebate it is shown on your Rates and Charges Notice.
  • If you move house, this rebate does not automatically transfer, you will need to reapply for the rebate at your new address.
  • If it is not on your notice but you think you might be eligible for the rebate for your property, please phone our rates team on 4474 1355 or drop in to Council's main administration building in Moruya.

To be eligible for the rebate you must own and live at the rated property and have one of the following:

  • A PCC (Pension Concession Card).
  • A DVA Gold Card embossed with ‘TPI’ (Totally Permanently Incapacitated).
  • A DVA Gold Card embossed with ‘EDA’ (Extreme Disablement Adjustment).
  • Be a war widow or widower or wholly dependent partner entitled to the Pensioner Concession Card.

If you are a war widow or widower or wholly dependent partner but do not have a Pensioner Concession Card, you should contact the Department of Veteran Affairs’ (DVA) to test your eligibility for the DVA income support supplement. Eligibility is subject to an income and assets test. Holders of cards other than those listed above are not eligible for the concession. For assistance from the DVA phone 133 254.

You can register to get your rates and water notices by email, via eNotices. This option also lets you link multiple properties, see your rates history, and add a second recipient for rates notices (like a managing agent for rental properties).

If you have moved it is important to update your address details with Council so that you will continue to receive your notices and any other important correspondence.

Please use Council's online change of address details form.

Contact us

  • If you have a question about your rates, please phone us on 02 4474 1355.
  • If you have a general Council question or request phone us on 02 4474 1000 or use our online feedback form.