The cost of providing waste services has risen and will continue to rise for all Victorian councils. To ensure Yarra City Council's ongoing financial sustainability, Council has resolved to separate the cost of providing waste services from general rates.
The cost of providing waste services has been impacted by an increase to the Victorian Government's waste levy of 90% over the past three years. Council is also required to introduce a standardised four-stream bin service. This includes the delivery of a food and garden organics service by 2030.
These changes made by the Victorian Government are an important step towards developing a circular economy, but they come at a cost that all councils must manage in a sustainable way.
The decision to separate waste service charges from general rates was made to manage the financial risks caused by these escalating costs. These are costs Council has limited control over.
The cost of providing waste services will be removed from general rates. These costs will then be itemised on to the Annual Rates Notices. Ratepayers will not be charged for waste services twice.
Yarra City Council is the last council in Victoria to commit to separating the cost of providing waste services from general rates.
Beginning in 2023/24, City of Yarra rates notices will show the following charges:
- General rates
- Public waste service rate
- Kerbside waste service rate (if you receive a Council waste collection service)
Properties that do not receive a kerbside waste collection service from council will not be charged the kerbside waste service rate.
In the first year, 86% of properties (properties valued between $200,000 and $2 million) can expect to see an impact to their rates notice ranging between $12 and $115 in their total Annual Rates Notice due to this change. For the remaining 14% of properties, some will have higher or lower rates depending on property value. The total amount of an individual's Annual Rates Notice will also be impacted by changes in property value.
In future years, waste service charges won't be subject to the rate cap. However, the waste service charge would only be used to recover the cost of providing waste services to the community and nothing more. This is a requirement by law.
By making this change now, Council is being proactive to ensure we can continue to provide the services to our community now, and into the future.
No changes were made to kerbside collections as part of this decision.
Every council in Victoria shares these challenges. All other councils in Victoria have taken this into consideration of their financial future and have either separated or made the decision to separate waste services charges, irrespective of their financial circumstances. Yarra is the last Council in Victoria to make this decision.
For more detailed information on these changes, and to find information about our in-person events on this topic, please visit our dedicated Your Say Yarra webpage.
Waste and recycling pop-up events
To chat to our friendly team about Yarra's waste and recycling and how the separate waste charge affects you, head to one of our events:
- Depot Open Day Saturday 1 April
- Abbotsford 'waste station' community event Tuesday 4 April
- Fairfield pop-up Saturday 29 April
- Fitzroy North 'waste station' community event Wednesday 3 May
- Richmond 'waste station' community event Saturday 6 May
- Carlton North pop-up Tuesday 9 May
- Clifton Hill pop-up Thursday 11 May
- Cremorne pop-up Monday 15 May
Support in other languages
Our Waste Station events will be attended by Greek, Italian, Vietnamese and Chinese-speaking staff members, and translated materials will be available. At our pop-up events, residents who speak a language other than English will be able to record their details with a view to receiving a follow up in-language at a later date.
