Rates & fees
Rates are the main way residents fund the council. Each year an independent regulator (IPART) sets a 'rate peg' — the maximum percentage the council can lift its total rates income; councils can also apply to IPART for a 'special rate variation' (SRV) to go above the peg. Bega Valley used an SRV in 2023–24 and 2024–25; for 2025–26 it stayed within the standard peg. Here's the current picture and the things that actually change your bill.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- Rate peg
- The cap on how much a council's TOTAL rates income can rise this year.
- Core peg
- The rate peg before the population top-up — the part driven by rising costs.
- Population factor
- An extra slice of the rate peg for fast-growing councils.
- Special Rate Variation (SRV)
- Permission for a council to raise rates by more than the peg.
- Land valuation
- Your land's value, set by the state, used to split the rates bill between properties.
- Pensioner rebate
- A discount on rates for eligible pensioners.
- Domestic waste charge
- A separate annual fee for your bins — NOT part of the rate peg.
- IPART
- Sets the rate peg and reviews council pricing.
- 2025–26 rate rise (Bega Valley)
- 4.9% (IPART rate peg)Councillors voted on 23 June 2025 to lift general rates by the maximum 4.9% permitted by IPART's rate peg for 2025–26 — no special rate variation this year. The peg caps the council's total rates income, not your individual bill.
- Recent special rate variation (2023–24 & 2024–25)
- Permanent SRV of 43.6% over two yearsIPART approved a two-year permanent special rate variation: about 24% in 2023–24 and 19.6% in 2024–25 (the increases stay in the rate base). This is why the average residential rate rose sharply over those years.
- Set by IPART — confirm the exact figureFor 2026–27 the council adopted a lower-cost long-term financial pathway ('Option C') without a new SRV, so the general rate is limited to IPART's rate peg. IPART's 2026–27 core rate pegs range from 2.5% to 4.2% across NSW; confirm Bega Valley's exact figure on IPART's information paper and the council's rates page below.
- What the peg caps
- Total rates income — not your billIt doesn't cap the waste, water and sewer charges, which are separate.
- Why your bill can still change more (or less)
- Land revaluations shift bills between propertiesYour share moves with your land value relative to other properties (NSW Valuer General).
- Overdue interest (2025–26)
- 10.5% per annumA NSW-wide statutory maximum set annually by the state government under the Local Government Act, applied by every council to overdue rates instalments.
- Concessions
- Eligible pensioners can receive a rebateCheck eligibility with the council.
The rate peg limits the council's total rates income, not each household's bill. Bega Valley's 2023–24 and 2024–25 special rate variation lifted the rate base permanently, which is why average rates rose well above the statewide average over those years; the council has said further increases may need to be considered in coming years. How your individual rates change also depends on how your land value moved relative to other properties at the latest revaluation.
Sources — check it yourself
Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.