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.
- 4.7%Set by IPART: a 3.7% core peg plus a 1.0% population-growth factor. It caps the council's total rates income, not your individual bill.
- How that compares (NSW, 2025–26)
- Core pegs ranged 3.6%–5.1%Wollongong's 3.7% core peg is near the lower end; the population factor lifts the final figure to 4.7%.
- What the peg caps
- Total rates income — not your 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 properties2025–26 rates use new land values as at 1 July 2024 (NSW Valuer General); properties that rose more in value pay relatively more.
- 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. How your individual rates change depends mostly 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.