Shire rate hike turns out to be twice inflation figure
Council budget
Douglas Shire rates and charges are set to go up an average of 8.4 per cent this year, double Australia's annual inflation rate across the past year of about 4.2 per cent.
Councillors are expected to rubber stamp the new 2026/27 budget at a special council meeting this morning - they have already taken part in two behind-closed-doors workshops to decide on the rate hike.
While individual rates notices are set to vary widely depending on a range of factors, which include a restructure of the DSC rating system and a long-awaited revaluation of many Shire property values by the State Government Valuer General, the council is budgeting to make more than $4m out of rates and utility charges than was made last financial year.
Rates and other charges, such as water bills and rubbish collection, are expected to bring in about $52.4m in 2026/7, up from about $48.4m in 2025/6.
In a statement accompanying the rate-hike announcement, the council outlines a series of figures to help justify the big average rise.
“62 per cent of all residential properties (principle-place-of-residence) increasing in rates by $81 or less – or $1.55 per week,” the report states.
“78 per cent of all investor properties (non-principle-place-of-residence) increasing in rates by $117 or less – or $2.25 per week.
“66 per cent of all commercial properties increasing in rates by $174 or less – or $3.35 per week.”
Of course, this also means 38 per cent of people’s home rates will increase by more than $81 this financial year, 22 per cent of investment-property rates will increase by more than $117, and 34 per cent of commercial rates will increase by more than $174.
The council has completely scrapped the residential rate category for homes with land values worth less than $700,000 and increased the minimum yearly rate any Shire homeowner has to pay to $1400.
For homes with a land value worth more than $1.3m, the minimum rate is now $8812, the minimum rate for investment homes worth less than $1.3m is now $1755, and the minimum rate for investment homes worth more than $1.3m is $10,172.
“(Consultant) Mead Perry Group was engaged to undertake an independent and extensive review of Council’s Differential General Rates model,” the report states.
“Amendments included the rationalisation of rating categories, cents in the dollar were reduced, and the minimum differential rate adjusted, to ensure equity for ratepayers and that Council is financially sustainable.”
Queensland rates are decided by individual councils setting a rate in the dollar for different categories such as homes, investment properties, commercial properties and farmland, then multiplying that by the value of the land as decided by the State Government Valuer General’s department.