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Rates & fees

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. Dungog also carries the effect of a special rate variation approved by IPART for 2019–20 to 2023–24, which lifted its general income above the peg over five years and is retained permanently in the rate base. Here are the current figures, how they compare across NSW, 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.
See the full explainer, with formulas →

Rates at a glance

4.0%Set by IPART — a core peg of 3.0% plus and minus council-specific adjustment factors netting to 3.3%, plus a 0.7% population factor. It caps the council's total rates income, not your individual bill.
4.1%IPART's rate peg for Dungog for 2025–26 — a base peg of 3.6% plus council-specific adjustments.
~$1,646 / year (2024–25)About 37% above the NSW average of ~$1,203 (OLG time-series data). In 2023–24 it was ~$1,580 against a NSW average of ~$1,140. A separate domestic waste charge (~$589 in 2024–25) applies.
Special rate variation (SRV)
Five-year SRV completed in 2023–24 — increase retained permanentlyCouncil applied for a seven-year variation raising general income by a cumulative 97.8%. IPART partially approved a five-year variation for 2019–20 to 2023–24: a cumulative 76.0%, made up of 15.0% per year in 2019–20 and 2020–21 and 10.0% per year in 2021–22, 2022–23 and 2023–24 (each figure inclusive of the assumed rate peg for that year). The approved increase is retained in the council's general income base permanently. The IPART instrument of approval and the council's June 2024 SRV update are on the council's SRV page.
Instalments
Four instalments — due 31 August, 30 November, 28 February and 31 MayNotices are issued in the last two weeks of July, October, January and April. Payment by BPAY, BPAY View, direct debit, Australia Post or at the council's administration office; rate notices can be delivered by email via Payreq.
Overdue interest (2026–27)
9.5% per annumA NSW-wide statutory maximum set annually by the state government under the Local Government Act (Reserve Bank cash rate plus 6%, rounded to the nearest half per cent), applied by every council to overdue rates instalments. It was 10.5% in 2025–26.
Concessions & hardship
Eligible pensioners can receive a rebate; hardship relief can be applied forPensioner Concession Application Form and a Hardship Rate Relief Application Form are available on the council's Rates Payments page. The council asks residents having difficulty meeting instalments to contact its rating section before the due date.

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 Valuer General 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.