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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. Here's the current figure, how it compares 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 →
3.8%Set by IPART. The council applied the full peg to general rates for 2025–26; waste charges also rose 3.8%, water 5.5% and sewer 7%.
3.10%The council approved the full IPART peg at its 29 June 2026 meeting. Councillors noted MidCoast hasn't had a community-approved Special Rate Variation since 2016, and that the peg alone doesn't cover rising costs.
How that compares (NSW, 2026–27)
Core pegs ranged roughly 2.5%–4.2%MidCoast's 3.10% sits around the middle of the NSW range.
What the peg caps
Total rates income — not your billIt doesn't cap the domestic waste, water or 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) — the council's total rate revenue stays fixed at the pegged amount regardless.
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. How your individual rates change depends mostly on how your land value moved relative to other properties at the latest revaluation. MidCoast has flagged a $24 million-a-year federal-funding shortfall as a pressure on its budget separate from the rate peg — see the Budget & finances page.

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.