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Rates & fees

Rates & fees

Rates are one way residents fund the council — a smaller share here than in most of NSW, because Central Darling's rate base is small and most of its income comes from grants. Each year an independent regulator (IPART) sets a 'rate peg', the maximum percentage a council can lift its total rates income. Here's the current figure, how average bills compare across NSW, and the other charges on a Central Darling notice.

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.
See the full explainer, with formulas →

Rates at a glance

4.8%Set by IPART — a core peg of 4.2% (a 3.0% base cost change plus a 0.5% emergency services levy factor and a 0.8% ESL subsidy catch-up adjustment) plus a 0.6% population factor. The council's adopted 2026-27 Operational Plan states the same 4.8% figure. The peg caps the council's total rates income, not your individual bill.
5.3%IPART's final rate peg for Central Darling for 2025-26 — a core peg of 4.8% plus a 0.5% population factor.
~$332 / year (2024-25)About 72% below the NSW average of ~$1,203 (2023-24: $356 against a NSW average of ~$1,140). This is among the lowest average residential rates in NSW. Rate levels reflect land values and the council's rating structure, not the level of service provided. (OLG time-series data.)
How rates are struck
A $130 base amount per property plus an ad valorem amountThe council's Land Rates page publishes a $130.00 base amount for each of its three categories — Farmland, Residential and Business — with a different ad valorem rate in the dollar for each. Land values used for 2026-27 have a base date of 1 July 2025 and are set by the NSW Valuer General.
Overdue interest (2026-27)
9.5% per annumThe maximum allowable interest on overdue rates and charges for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, determined by the Minister for Local Government under section 566(3) of the Local Government Act 1993. The council's own Land Rates page publishes the same figure.
Instalments
Not published on the council's rates pagesNSW rates are ordinarily payable in four quarterly instalments under the Local Government Act 1993. The council's website does not list its instalment due dates — check your rates notice or call 08 8083 8900. Rates and water notices can be received by email through the council's Go Paperless sign-up.
Concessions
Eligible pensioners can receive a rebateAvailable on residential rates and charges where the property is your sole or principal residence and you hold a current Centrelink or eligible Department of Veterans' Affairs concession card. Each applicant must lodge a separate signed declaration with a copy of the card.
Waste and water charges are separate
Waste Management Service $756 (2026-27); water and sewer charges vary by townThe rate peg does not cap these. Water usage charges in 2026-27 are $4.14/kL at Wilcannia, $4.61/kL (filtered, rateable) at Ivanhoe and $4.51/kL at White Cliffs.
Special rate variation (SRV)
None publishedThe council does not publish a special rate variation, and Central Darling was not among the councils whose SRV applications IPART determined on 2 June 2026. The ordinary IPART rate peg applies.

The rate peg limits the council's total rates income, not each household's bill. How your individual rates change depends mostly on how your land value moved relative to other properties at the latest revaluation. A low average rate is a function of land values and rating structure and should not be read as a statement about the level of service.

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.