← Walcha Council
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. Walcha is also one of the councils that has been through a special rate variation: IPART approved a permanent increase above the peg in June 2023, phased over three years to 2025–26, so recent rate notices reflect that as well as the peg. Here are the current figures, the instalment dates, 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 →

Rates at a glance

4.1%Set by IPART — a core peg of 3.4% (base 3.0%, plus a 0.5% ESL catch-up adjustment, less 0.1% productivity) plus a 0.7% population factor. It caps the council's total rates income, not your individual bill.
3.9%IPART's rate peg for Walcha for 2025–26.
Special rate variation (SRV)
Approved June 2023 — 57.74% cumulative over three years, retained permanentlyIPART approved Walcha Council's application for a permanent special variation of 57.74% over three years: 36.5% in 2023–24, 8% in 2024–25 and 7% in 2025–26 (each figure includes the rate peg for that year). It allowed the council to raise up to an additional $4.5 million in total general income above the peg across the three years, and the increase stays permanently in the rate base. From 2026–27 the ordinary rate peg applies again.
~$772 / year (2024–25)About 36% below the NSW average of ~$1,203 (OLG time-series data). This is the second year of the approved special variation.
Instalments
Four equal instalments — 31 August, 30 November, 28 February, 31 MayOr pay in full by 31 August. There is no interest-free period: interest accrues daily on anything outstanding after a due date.
Overdue interest (2026–27)
9.5% per annumThe statewide maximum set by the Minister for Local Government for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 (cash rate plus 6%, rounded to the nearest half per cent), applied by every NSW council to overdue rates. The council's own Rates Information page still shows 9.0% — check with the council which rate is on your notice.
Concessions
Eligible pensioners can receive a rebateThe council's page says you must be the registered owner of, and solely reside at, the rated property both when rates are issued and when you apply, and hold a Pensioner Benefits Card or a letter from the Department of Veterans' Affairs declaring eligibility; War Widows pension recipients may be eligible subject to a state means test. Rebates granted in a previous year, where circumstances have not changed, usually carry over automatically; otherwise lodge a Pensioner Concession Application Form with the council's Rates Officer.
What the peg caps
Total rates income — not your billIt doesn't cap the domestic and rural waste management charges, or water and sewer charges, which are separate.

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 NSW Valuer General 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.