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.
Just want the plain-language version?
See what a typical household pays and roughly where the council's money goes — every number sourced.
Where your rates go →- 4.0%The maximum increase to the council's total rates income for 2025–26, set by IPART.
- How that compares (NSW, 2025–26)
- NSW councils' pegs ranged 3.7%–7.6%Shellharbour's 4.0% sits near the lower end of the state range.
- What the peg caps
- Total rates income — not your individual billIt doesn't cap waste, stormwater or water charges, which are separate.
- Why your bill can still change more (or less)
- Land revaluations shift bills between propertiesWhen land is revalued, properties that rose more in value pay more — even though the council's total rates income only rises by the peg.
- Overdue interest (2025–26)
- 10.5% per annumCharged on rates instalments not paid by the due date.
- 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. The council has flagged that capped rate income is not keeping pace with rising costs — see its Resourcing Strategy for 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.