Budget

The 2026-27 Budget balances responsible financial management with continued investment in essential infrastructure and services. It delivers significant capital works, supports disaster recovery, creates a debt-free position, and ensures Council remains financially sustainable into the future.

Council has adopted a general rate increase of 4.7%, which aligns with the Queensland Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March 2026. However, in reality Council faces cost increases that are often higher than CPI as a significant portion of outgoings relate to construction costs.  As an example, Non-Residential Construction in Queensland rose 7.1% in the 12 months to March 2026.  Council aims to set rates that consider economic conditions being experienced by property owners but also ensure Council can fund rising costs and continue to deliver essential services and infrastructure.

Water utility charges will increase by 8.75% to support Council’s cost recovery principles and ensure it can meet the ongoing costs of maintaining and operating the water network.

Waste utility charges will increase by 4.7%, in line with the Queensland CPI, to support Council’s cost recovery principles and ensure it can meet the ongoing costs of maintaining landfills and waste collection service.

No. Sewerage utility charges will remain unchanged for 2026-27. This marks the third consecutive year that sewerage charges have been frozen.

Yes, Council has revised its early payment discount structure for rates and utility charges.

Discount is offered as an inducement for ratepayers to pay the rates and charges by the due date.  By granting a discount, Council sets gross rates and charges at a higher price to factor in the discount expected to be granted and in 2025-26 the amount of discount granted totalled $1.7m.  However not all ratepayers are able to pay in full by the due date and currently 20% of rate accounts are not paid on time. To provide a more equitable scenario that maintains an incentive for ratepayers but doesn’t put undue pressure on those that are unable to pay the account in full, on time, Council has set the following discounts for the 2026-27 financial year:

• 5% discount for differential rating categories 1–9, 15 and 27–30
• 3% discount for all other differential rating categories
• 5% discount for non-rateable residential properties
• 3% discount for non-rateable non-residential properties 

Council has increased the pensioner remission cap by 4.7% in line with the general rate increase, providing additional assistance to eligible pensioners to help manage cost-of-living pressures.

The Queensland Government's rating guidelines state that local governments may use rate caps to transition significant increases in general rates.

Rates capping is intended as a temporary measure to assist a small number of property owners that will experience a significant increase in general rates in one year, however it’s not intended to be applied in perpetuity. 

For 2026/27:

• The 20% cap has been removed from categories 13, 26 and 27
• The cap for categories 1–12, 14, 15 and 23 has increased from 10% to 60%

These changes ensure that parcels of similarly valued land which are used for the same or similar purposes and receive similar services should be levied similar general rates in accordance with Council’s adopted differential rate categories.

Council has committed $28.4 million towards capital projects across the region during 2026-27, supporting infrastructure upgrades and investment in community assets that provide essential services.

Council will continue delivering $67.8 million in Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) road network recovery works, restoring and strengthening roads impacted by natural disasters.

Yes. Council has maintained sufficient cash reserves throughout its 10-year financial forecast to support ongoing operations and future investment needs.

From 2026-27 all existing debt will have been paid off and Council has no planned debt across its 10-year financial forecast.

Council will follow its Rates and Charges Debt Recovery Policy provisions, including charging interest on overdue accounts as prescribed by section 133 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 by an annual rate not more than prescribed by the State.  This ensures that the costs of managing outstanding accounts is not borne by those ratepayers who pay by the due date. 

Council has published a Financial Strategy that outlines the assumptions, opportunities and risks affecting its finances over the next 10 years. This provides transparency around how Council will remain financially sustainable while continuing to deliver services and infrastructure.