NSW · Capital Region (Canberra district) · Local council, made simple
Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council
A large Capital Region council that wraps around the eastern side of the ACT — about 66,900 people across the city of Queanbeyan and rural towns like Bungendore, Braidwood and Captains Flat, with fast-growing new suburbs such as Googong and Jerrabomberra on the Canberra border. The council runs the local services you use every week — waste, roads, water, libraries, parks, development — and sets your rates. Here's the snapshot, then the stuff that affects your week.
Everyday essentials
The things people actually need from the council — fast.
Get to know your council
The basics, in one tap — open any card for key facts and a link to the official source.
This year's rate rise, how it compares across NSW, and why bills differ.
2025–26: rate peg 3.9% + Special Rate Variation
Open →Budget & financesHow financially healthy the council is, measured against official benchmarks.
Meets 6 of 9 OLG financial benchmarks
Open →Crime & safetyQueanbeyan-Palerang's recorded crime rates, side by side with the NSW average.
All 12 major offences below the NSW rate
Open →Mayor & councillorsWho represents you — and where to read their official profiles.
Mayor: Kenrick Winchester (elected by councillors)
Open →Elections & votingWhen the next council election is, and how voting works.
Next election: Sat 9 Sep 2028
Open →Contact & servicesHow to reach the council and report a problem.
Customer service: 1300 735 025
Open →City profileThe basics: how many people live here, how big the area is.
Population: ~66,900 (2023–24)
Open →What's happening
3 updatesRecent items from Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council's public channels, in plain language.
- Policy
Draft Waste Management Strategy flags local FOGO processing
A draft Waste Management Strategy 2025–2045 sets out the potential benefits of processing the region's food-and-garden organics (FOGO) locally instead of transporting it out of the area.
What this means for you: If adopted, the strategy could change where your green-bin (FOGO) waste is processed and shape the council's waste services over the next two decades.
Source: About Regional — Council draft plan flags benefits of processing waste locally
- Policy
Final year of the Special Rate Variation lifts 2025–26 rates income 18%
For 2025–26, the final year of QPRC's IPART-approved Special Rate Variation, total rates income rose 18% (inclusive of the 3.9% rate peg), the last of three annual 18% increases from 2023–24.
What this means for you: This is why QPRC's average residential rate sits well above the NSW average; the multi-year SRV concludes after 2025–26, after which the ordinary IPART rate peg applies.
Source: Queanbeyan-Palerang — Statement of Revenue Policy 2025–26
- Election
Winchester re-elected Mayor, Livermore Deputy Mayor
Following the September 2024 election, Queanbeyan-Palerang councillors re-elected Kenrick Winchester as Mayor (7–4) and Esma Livermore as Deputy Mayor (7–4) at a special meeting on 9 October 2024.
What this means for you: The council's Mayor is chosen by the elected councillors, not by popular vote; Winchester and Livermore lead the council for the two-year mayoral term.
Source: Region Canberra — Mayor and deputy re-elected to leadership roles
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