Council rates go towards important assets we all use, from footpaths and roads to parks, playgrounds, sports facilities, public seating and libraries.
Rates also help fund projects and initiatives in the areas our community has told us to focus on – from the environment to community facilities, green spaces to heritage. All these initiatives work to make Boroondara a better place now and into the future.
In line with the Victorian Government’s rate cap, the City of Boroondara’s Budget 2023–24 includes a 3.5% rate increase to the total rates Council requires to operate and provide services to the community.
Depending on any changes to their property value as assessed by the Valuer-General, some ratepayers may see no increase to their rates, while some rates will either decrease or increase in line with both the rate cap and movement in valuations of the individual properties.
Ratepayers experiencing financial hardship should contact Council to access support.
How we spend money across services
We have broken down how we spend money across the main services we deliver. These figures include an allocation of corporate services, governance, risk management, building maintenance and public lighting across these service areas.
For every $100 we spend:
- $35.41 is for Capital works and priority projects
- $14.28 is for Environment and waste management
- $9.65 is for Parks, gardens and sportsgrounds
- $8.48 is for Health, aged community and family services
- $6.61 is for Library, arts and cultural services
- $5.53 is for Planning and building
- $5.43 is for Local laws enforcement
- $4.64 is for Roads, footpaths, safety and drainage
- $3.96 is for Communications and customer service
- $2.34 is for Engineering and traffic
- $1.67 is for Rates and property services
- $1.06 is for Leisure and recreation and civic centres
- $0.94 is for Economic development.
In addition to the operational expenditure of $4.64 per hundred dollars on roads, footpaths, safety and drainage, Council invests an additional $4.56 per hundred dollars in capital works expenditure to renew road infrastructure across the municipality. This is included in the Capital works and priority projects category.
Make the switch to eNotices
Ratepayers can expect to receive their property’s annual valuation and rates notice, and information on what rates help to pay for, from late July by email or post.
If you’d like a more convenient way to access your Council rates notice you can switch to email notices. Rates eNotices are becoming increasingly popular and it’s easy to sign up.
For more information on rates, including how to pay them and how to sign up to email notices (instead of post), visit our Pay your rates page.