Every council collects rates from residents and businesses in its municipality to help fund local infrastructure and services. Bass Coast uses the independently assessed property values as the basis for distributing the rating burden across the municipality.

Calculating how much each property owner pays in rates involves determining the total amount of rate revenue required and dividing this across the total value of all rateable properties to establish a rate in the dollar.

The rate in the dollar is then applied against each individual property value to calculate how much each property owner pays.

All Victorian Councils are required to collect this levy on behalf of the Victorian Government and must pass the full amount on to the State Revenue Office.

The Fire Services Property Levy will continue to appear as a separate charge on your Council rates.

This replaces the fire services contributions which residents and businesses previously made through their insurance premiums on their properties.

In broad terms, the total amount of money to be raised in general rates is divided by the total value of all rateable properties in the municipality. The resulting figure is called ‘the rate in the dollar’.

The council determines the amount to be paid in rates by applying the rate in the dollar to the assessed value of each property. For example:

If council plans to raise the total rate revenue of $10 million, and the total Capital Improved Value of all rateable properties in the municipality is $2.38 billion, then the rate in the dollar is calculated by dividing $10 million by $2.38 billion = 0.0042 cents in the dollar.

When the total value of all properties goes up, the council reduces the rate in the dollar to compensate.

A property’s rates are calculated by multiplying the valuation of the property by the rate in the dollar. For example, if the Capital Improved Value of a property is $250,000 and the council rate in the dollar is set at 0.0042 cents, the rate bill would be $1,050 ($250,000 x 0.0042).

Your rate notice will provide specific details on how your rates are calculated.

Your property’s valuation will directly affect your rates. If your valuation increases by more than other properties within the Shire, your rates will generally be higher.

Councils do not collect extra revenue as a result of changes in property valuations. Valuations are simply used to help calculate the rates payable for each individual property.

Differential rates are where councils set different rates in the dollar for different categories of rateable land. Bass Coast has a differential rates for farmland.

Differential rates are usually used to achieve greater equity or efficiency.

Sometimes a Council will levy special rates or special charges. These are different from general rates and charges because they are levied for particular works or services and they are levied on a limited number of ratepayers.

Councils are able to levy a special charge to help pay for any council service or activity that will be of special benefit to a particular group of property owners.

Common examples of special rates or charges include schemes for constructing footpaths, roads, kerbs and channels or drains.

Councils must comply with the provisions of the Local Government Act when setting special rates or charges. Special rates and charges must be levied in proportion to the special benefits to which they relate. Before a council proposes a special rate or charge, it must estimate the proportion of the benefits of the proposed works or services that will be of benefit to the people who are liable to pay.

For example, before a council proposes a special charge for a road construction scheme it will calculate what share of the benefits of the road construction will provide for the adjoining properties (improved drainage, reduced dust, better access, and so on) compared with general benefits to other people (for example, other drivers using the road). The council will limit the total proportion of costs to be paid by all the property owners to their combined share of the benefits.