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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. A council can also apply to IPART for a 'special rate variation' (SRV) to increase rates above the peg. North Sydney has done both — here's the current position, 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 →
4.0%Set by IPART. In May 2025 IPART did NOT approve the council's separate SRV application, so the standard peg applied for 2025–26. It caps total rates income, not your individual bill.
Special rate variation (SRV) — approved 2026
23% in 2026–27, then 14.58% (2027–28) and 8.32% (2028–29)IPART approved a permanent SRV of about 52.66% cumulative over three years from 1 July 2026 — this replaces the standard peg for those years. An earlier, larger application (about 87% over two years) was rejected by IPART in May 2025.
Minimum rate
Rising from $743.85 (2025–26) toward $1,216.79 by 2028–29IPART also approved increases to the minimum residential and business rate as part of the SRV.
What the SRV funds
Mostly infrastructure renewalThe council says about 87% of the extra income is earmarked for capital works to cut an infrastructure backlog it reports at ~$157m as at 30 June 2025 (buildings and stormwater).
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.

The rate peg (and the approved special rate variation) 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. North Sydney's SRV was approved by IPART after an earlier, larger application was rejected — the council's rates page and the IPART reports below set out the detail.

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.