The peak body for NSW councils has acknowledged this week's announcement of the rate pegs for the 2026-27 financial year. In NSW, any increases in council rates are capped by the State Government via a "rate peg" imposed on each individual council.
The NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has set core council rate pegs ranging from 2.5% to 4.2%. The rate pegs including the population factors range from 2.7% to 5.7%.
Local Government NSW (LGNSW) President Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM said the outcome was broadly sensible and reflected IPART's improved rate peg methodology.
"While lower than last year, this reflects a lowering in inflation and this year's rate peg range is slightly above the latest annual inflation figure," Mayor Miller said.
"The decision to continue the practice of not imposing a maximum increase in the Domestic Waste Management Charge is welcome. This is a practical approach as councils work towards the Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) mandate and will ensure innovation and better practice in resource recovery, avoiding waste going to landfill," Mayor Miller said.
Mayor Miller said the inclusion of existing adjustment factors for the Emergency Services Levy and population growth remained important in ensuring the rate peg better reflects the cost pressures faced by councils.
"The adjusted rate peg also includes a factor for election costs, smoothing this expense over four years. This should mean councils are better able to fund the rapidly escalating costs of elections," Mayor Miller said.
However, Mayor Miller said the inclusion of a new adjustment for the dams safety levy would simply transfer the costs of this new NSW Government tax onto local communities in several council areas.
"The Dam safety regulator is a NSW Government function and this responsibility should continue to be funded directly by the NSW Government, not passed onto ratepayers," Mayor Miller said.
More broadly, almost a year ago the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the ability of local governments to fund infrastructure and services made multiple sensible recommendations to address the financial sustainability challenges impacting councils.
Local Government NSW and councils stand ready to work with the NSW Government to implement these important recommendations which will benefit communities across NSW.
Separate rate pegs have been determined for each NSW council, with the rate for each individual council area included in the IPART information paper here.
