FAQs

Council uses its revenue from rates to deliver over 80 quality services and infrastructure that benefit the Baw Baw Shire community, from family and children’s services, community safety, open space, waste management, environmental sustainability, roads, and community infrastructure; to matters concerning business development, planning for appropriate development, and ensuring accountability for Council’s budget.

This broad range of community services and infrastructure supports the sustainability, health and thriving prosperity of our region, in line with the Community Vision and the strategic objectives.

Council uses an established rating structure common to most local governments, which is made up of two key elements:

• Property values, which reflect capacity to pay based on Capital Improved Value (CIV)
• Differential rates in the dollar to reflect the usage of services provided by Council by different property types, for example, commercial, residential, vacant land and more.

Striking a proper balance between these elements provides equity in the distribution of the rate burden across residents. The importance of rate income as a funding source has been balanced with community sentiment towards rate increases and its capacity to pay.

The video below from the Municipal Association of Victoria explains how rates are calculated. 

In 2023/24 Council implemented a plan, design, deliver approach in response to economic pressures such as rising inflation, La Nina weather events and contractor shortages that impacted project and service delivery.

This approach ensured Council could deliver an ongoing series of high-impact projects while undertaking planning and design work for upcoming projects simultaneously. 

Rates are an important source of revenue for Council. Rates help to fund the delivery of important services and community infrastructure such as roads, footpaths, maternal child health services, and much more. 

Rates are a property-based tax. Therefore, the rates you pay are based on the value of the property you own. 

Council also applies for and receives funding from State and Federal Governments to help it deliver the infrastructure needed to meet the needs of a rapidly growing community. 

Baw Baw Shire is made up of different types of land, used for different purposes. For the purposes of rates, all land is categorised as either:

• Residential 
• Commercial and Industrial 
•  Vacant Commercial and Industrial Land 
• Farm 
• Residential Vacant Land 
• Urban Living 
• Residential Development

To ensure that the overall rate revenue Council receives is distributed equitably across the various property categories, Council’s uses differential rates, which are structured in accordance with the requirements of Section 161 of the Local Government Act.

The Act allows Council to set a percentage figure that when applied in addition to each properties Capital Improved Value determines their final rates figure. 

Differential Rates allow undeveloped commercial and vacant residential land to be rated at a higher rate than residential land to encourage development. 

It also allows farmland to be rated at a lower rate to better represent the benefits of large holdings, open space and, traditionally, generally less demand upon Council services per land area held.