It’s official – Gunnedah rates to increase by 37.67 per cent

Gunnedah Shire Council has been officially approved to raise rates by 37.67 per cent over two years.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) released its decisions on six NSW council applications for special variations to increase the council’s general income by more than the rate peg, and two applications to increase the minimum rates.

IPART Chair Carmel Donnelly said the Tribunal approved the special variation applications from Federation Council, Gunnedah Shire Council, Shoalhaven City Council and Upper Hunter Shire Council, partially approved the special variation application from Northern Beaches Council, and did not approve the special variation application from North Sydney Council.

The Tribunal also approved a minimum rate increase application from Gunnedah Shire Council and did not approve a minimum rate increase application from North Sydney Council.

“These decisions are based on our assessment against the Office of Local Government criteria, taking into account the issues raised by stakeholders during our submission period,” Ms Donnelly said.

“The councils with approved increases are encouraged to consult with the community to decide how best to implement the allowed increase.

“It’s important to note that elected councillors can choose when they implement the approved increase in rates income, including deferring any increases for up to 10 years and also how they set rates across the rating categories.”

IPART sets a rate peg annually for each of the 128 councils in NSW which caps each council’s increase in the income they collect from ordinary rates. For 2025-26, the core rate pegs range from 3.6% to 5.1% across NSW, and 72 of the 128 councils also received an additional allowance to reflect an adjusted population factor of up to 3.8 per cent.

Reports on each of the six council special variation decisions, two minimum rate decisions, and related documents are now available on the IPART website.

Special Rate Variation – Gunnedah:

In January, 2025, Gunnedah Shire Council endorsed a revised SRV proposal for a permanent cumulative 37.67 per cent increase to be implemented over two years. This increase includes the rate peg that would ordinarily apply. The revised SRV proposal caps the increase on Residential, Business and Farmland rate categories at 15 per cent, per year (32.25 per cent cumulative) with the balance to be sourced from the Mining rating category.

Gunnedah Shire Council Mayor Colleen Fuller said council had identified that a Special Rate Variation was needed to address council’s financial sustainability and maintain essential community infrastructure and service levels.

“Like the majority of councils across New South Wales, Gunnedah Shire Council has found the NSW rate peg, cost shifting and rapidly rising expenses has not allowed rates to keep pace with costs,” Cr Fuller said.

“To ensure the sustainability of our council and the services and infrastructure it provides, councillors voted to begin a conversation with our community about a potential rate variation in June last year.

“The proposed variation was amended to reflect the extensive community feedback and council committed to an application to seek a permanent Special Rate Variation in November 2024.”

The application was submitted to IPART, who undertook their own extended period of consultation. IPART received only 18 submissions relating to the Gunnedah Shire application, and 195 survey responses. For comparison, the Northern Beaches Council submission prompted 558 submissions and 2,685 survey responses. Federation Council, which has a slightly smaller population than Gunnedah Shire, received 129 submissions and 535 survey responses.

IPART also approved Council’s application to increase the maximum value of the Minimum Rate to be in line with increase proposed by the Special Rate Variation.