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 — but a council can also apply to IPART for a 'special variation' to go above the peg. Northern Beaches did, and IPART partially approved it. 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.
- 2025–26 rates (Northern Beaches)
- +12.1% totalAn IPART-approved special variation, which includes the 3.8% rate peg. It caps the council's total rates income, not your individual bill — IPART said this was about $42 per quarter (~$168/year) for the typical ratepayer.
- 2026–27 rates (Northern Beaches)
- +11.7% totalThe second year of the IPART-approved special variation (including the rate peg).
- How that compares (NSW, 2025–26)
- Standard rate pegs ranged about 3.6%–5.1%Special variations like this one are approved separately and sit above the standard peg.
- What the increase funds
- Long-term financial sustainability, infrastructure and servicesIPART required the council to report on how the extra income is spent and on productivity improvements through to 2031–32.
- 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).
- Concessions
- Eligible pensioners can receive a rebateCheck eligibility with the council.
IPART approved the first two years of the council's three-year special-variation request (12.1% in 2025–26 and 11.7% in 2026–27, each including the rate peg) and declined the third year. The variation limits the council's total rates income, not each household's bill; 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.