Draft Revenue and Rating Strategy

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Consultation has concluded

Introduction

We invited community members to review and make submissions on our draft Revenue and Rating Strategy.

The updated strategy had been developed with input from a community working group, the findings of a community survey and consideration of State Government guidelines, better practice and legislative changes, including the Victorian Government’s 2020 Rating Review as well as the Local Government Legislation Amendment (Rating and Other Matters) Bill 2022.

As a result of the consultation, benchmarking, and review of state government guidance there had been a number of changes proposed in the draft strategy.

Proposed changes

Indigo Shire’s rating settings are not dissimilar to other rural councils and have served the Council well.

The community survey and community working group did not uncover any burning issues or significant weaknesses with the current settings.

However, this process has uncovered some areas that could be improved to make the system fairer. The main changes being proposed in this update are;

  • The ability for property owners (>2 ha) to apply for primary producer status and therefore have their rates calculated using the Rural 1 (75%) differential.
  • The increase in the automatic Rural 1 designation from 40 ha to 50 ha. This places more properties into the ‘rural living’ group (at 90% differential) unless they are genuine farming operations.

Overall, these changes align with Council’s principle of supporting farming, and the protection of viable farming land from inappropriate residential development.

The remainder of the strategy (vacant land, commercial, etc) was assessed and found to be appropriate.

What we heard

The draft strategy was endorsed for public exhibition at the April 2024 Council meeting for a period of nine weeks.

During the nine-week exhibition period, 13 written submissions were received in addition to a number of people contacting Council to discuss the strategy. 

The following changes were made to the final document as a result of the feedback received:

  • Primary producers on land between eight and 50 hectares can now apply for the Rural 1 differential (75%) compared to the current Rural 2 (90%). This is a significant improvement that will even-up the playing field for smaller farmers.
  • Farming properties over 50 ha will automatically receive the Rural 1 differential (75%).
  • Implementation of new valuation tools to better differentiate residential properties from primary production. This improves the equitable distribution of the rates across different property types
  • Support for property owners that have dedicated their property to the environment with a Trust for Nature covenant. Properties that are larger than eight ha and used exclusively for Trust for Nature can apply for the Rural 1 differential (75%). In doing this, Council is demonstrating that environment, biodiversity and native flora and fauna are a valued and important part of our landscape.

What happens next?

The strategy was adopted by Council at its July 2024 meeting. 

Click here to view the adopted document.

Introduction

We invited community members to review and make submissions on our draft Revenue and Rating Strategy.

The updated strategy had been developed with input from a community working group, the findings of a community survey and consideration of State Government guidelines, better practice and legislative changes, including the Victorian Government’s 2020 Rating Review as well as the Local Government Legislation Amendment (Rating and Other Matters) Bill 2022.

As a result of the consultation, benchmarking, and review of state government guidance there had been a number of changes proposed in the draft strategy.

Proposed changes

Indigo Shire’s rating settings are not dissimilar to other rural councils and have served the Council well.

The community survey and community working group did not uncover any burning issues or significant weaknesses with the current settings.

However, this process has uncovered some areas that could be improved to make the system fairer. The main changes being proposed in this update are;

  • The ability for property owners (>2 ha) to apply for primary producer status and therefore have their rates calculated using the Rural 1 (75%) differential.
  • The increase in the automatic Rural 1 designation from 40 ha to 50 ha. This places more properties into the ‘rural living’ group (at 90% differential) unless they are genuine farming operations.

Overall, these changes align with Council’s principle of supporting farming, and the protection of viable farming land from inappropriate residential development.

The remainder of the strategy (vacant land, commercial, etc) was assessed and found to be appropriate.

What we heard

The draft strategy was endorsed for public exhibition at the April 2024 Council meeting for a period of nine weeks.

During the nine-week exhibition period, 13 written submissions were received in addition to a number of people contacting Council to discuss the strategy. 

The following changes were made to the final document as a result of the feedback received:

  • Primary producers on land between eight and 50 hectares can now apply for the Rural 1 differential (75%) compared to the current Rural 2 (90%). This is a significant improvement that will even-up the playing field for smaller farmers.
  • Farming properties over 50 ha will automatically receive the Rural 1 differential (75%).
  • Implementation of new valuation tools to better differentiate residential properties from primary production. This improves the equitable distribution of the rates across different property types
  • Support for property owners that have dedicated their property to the environment with a Trust for Nature covenant. Properties that are larger than eight ha and used exclusively for Trust for Nature can apply for the Rural 1 differential (75%). In doing this, Council is demonstrating that environment, biodiversity and native flora and fauna are a valued and important part of our landscape.

What happens next?

The strategy was adopted by Council at its July 2024 meeting. 

Click here to view the adopted document.