What do land valuations mean for my rates?

Published on 10 February 2023

If you own property in Leeton Shire, you will have received a notice from the NSW Valuer General recently updating your land value.

While Council is not involved with the valuation process, we do use these new valuations for rating purposes, with effect from 1 July 2023.

To understand how it works, read on.

It’s IMPORTANT TO NOTE that the % increase (or decrease) in your land value does NOT automatically translate into an equivalent increase (or decrease) in your rates.

Remember, the amount of rates Council collects each year is set and capped by IPART – currently approx $8M per annum. That’s the full total Council is permitted to collect.

So, hypothetically, if every Leeton property was to double in land value, the rates for each property would remain unchanged and Council would still only receive $8M for a year.

If this has you scratching your head about how things work, read on.

Think of it this way - your new land value directly affects what PROPORTION of the Shire’s rates income you pay, not how much you will pay.

Your new land value certainly doesn’t grow the amount of rates Council can collect overall in a year as that total is set by IPART and capped.

To illustrate the point we’ve put forward some scenarios. If you are interested, please read on.

Only if your new land value increases more compared to everyone else’s increases, are you likely to see your rates go up relative to other years.

Or, if your property value has stayed a similar value as before but most others have gone up in value, you may find yourself actually paying less in rates.

We realise this is head spinning stuff but we really want you to know that your % increase in property value does not necessarily mean that your rates will go up (or down) by that same %.

Also, your land value increasing doesn’t mean Council will collect any extra rates overall - we can only ever collect the amount set each year by IPART. This is called rates capping.

To learn more about property valuation or to discuss yours, please contact the NSW Valuer General via the below details:

W: www.valuergeneral.nsw.gov.au
P: 1800 110 038

This information can also be accessed via the below interactive slideshow: