Rates frequently asked questions
When will I receive my Annual Rates Notice?
Most properties will receive an Annual Rates Notice by post in the first week of August each year.
Rates ensure the City can continue to develop and maintain essential programs, services, facilities and infrastructure.
The City’s 2022/23 rate increase of 3.75 per cent is lower than Perth’s recorded April 2021 to March 2022 Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase to 7.6 per cent.
Rates contribute towards free services the City of Wanneroo provides for residents, including:
- beach, park and playground management and conservation
- children’s sports programs and activities
- libraries
- community transport
- community safety and health programs
- maintaining roads, cycle and walk ways and street lighting
- animal control services
- community facilities
- emergency management.
Rates enable the City to invest in community infrastructure and programs that support our local sporting clubs, community groups, not-for-profit service providers and businesses, and help make our community a better place for everyone to live, work and play.
Rates are calculated by multiplying a property’s Gross Rental Value (GRV) or Unimproved Value (UV) by the rate in the dollar set by Council, subject to minimum rates.
Gross Rental Value (GRV) is the fair rental value of your property as determined by the State Government (Landgate) Valuer-General and is an estimate of how much you could expect to receive if you were to rent your property.
Properties used for non-rural purposes e.g. urban residential, commercial etc. are valued using the GRV method.
Unimproved Value (UV) is the fair market value of your property as determined by the Valuer General’s Office and does not take into account any improvements on the land such as dwellings or outbuildings. Land used for rural purposes is valued using the UV method.
Landgate determines individual property GRV or UV. This has nothing to do with whether your property is rented or not - it is just an independent valuation of your property.
Learn more about how rates are calculated on the City’s website wanneroo.wa.gov.au/rates
How do housing prices affect property valuations?
Property valuations - Gross Rental Values (GRVs) and Unimproved Values (UVs) - are not directly linked to movements in the property market - only the value of your property in comparison with your neighbours. For example, someone with a two-bedroom home will pay a lesser share of rates than a neighbour with four bedrooms.
To find out more about property valuations, visit landgate.wa.gov.au
How is Gross Rental Value (GRV) calculated?
GRV is the fair rental value your property might reasonably be expected to earn annually if it were rented. When determining GRV of a residential property, the Valuer General (Landgate) considers several attributes and constraints including location, age, building area and construction materials, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and number of car shelters (garages/carports).
To find out more about GRV, visit landgate.wa.gov.au.
Is my property being re-valued this year?
The revaluation cycle is set by the State Government (Landgate), with GRV being revalued every three years and UV every year.
City of Wanneroo GRV rated properties were last valued in August 2018, with those valuations first applied to rates in the 2020/21 financial year. As it is a three-year cycle, new GRV valuations will not be applied to rates for the 2022/23 financial year.
UV rated properties in the City were revalued in 2022. Subsequent changes to property valuations in this category have been applied for the 2022/23 financial year.
To find out more about property valuations, visit landgate.wa.gov.au.
Can I object or appeal my property's valuation?
Your valuation (GRV or UV) is only one factor used to calculate your rates notice. The Valuation of Land Act 1978 (as amended) Part IV sets out the manner in which valuation objections and appeals may be lodged. A property owner may lodge an objection against the valuation of a property within 60 days of the date of issue of a rate notice.
For information on how your values are calculated and how to lodge an objection, please visit landgate.wa.gov.au/valuations, or alternatively call Landgate Customer Service on (08) 9273 7373.
Section 6.76 of the Local Government Act 1995 provides the grounds, time and the way individual objections and appeals to the Rates Record may be lodged. An objection to the Rate Book must be made in writing to the council within 42 days of the date of issue of a rates notice.
Section 6.81 of the Local Government Act 1995 refers that rates assessments are required to be paid by the due date, regardless of whether an objection or appeal has been lodged. In the event of a successful objection or appeal, the rates will be adjusted, and you will be advised accordingly. Credit balances will be refunded on request.
Why can’t the City of Wanneroo just cap the rate in the dollar?
Capping the rate in the dollar reduces the rates income available to the City and has a flow-on effect to the services and facilities that are available to the community.
Changes to the total GRV for the City of Wanneroo are not uniform across properties in the City – even if all property values go down, they will not all go down by the same percentage. As such the impact on individual properties varies, as does the effect on the rates. Capping the rate in the dollar means rates would not be fairly distributed across households and would disadvantage those who are most affected.
How are you supporting local businesses?
Support for local businesses is an ongoing priority for the City of Wanneroo.
Programs that directly support local business including the Enterprise Fund, business workshops and training, Cyber Check Me (providing cyber security support and awareness for business in collaboration with Edith Cowan University) and event attraction. The budget also includes targeted business support initiatives for specific industries, such as agriculture and tourism.
Work continues on the implementation of the Small Business Friendly Approvals Program, in collaboration with the Small Business Development Corporation, which aims to streamline the approvals process for small businesses.
Additionally, the City’s 2022/23 Capital Works Program includes $58.4 million of new works that contribute to supporting the economy by generating work for local businesses and creating local jobs.
Why are you funding capital works instead of cutting spending?
Stopping capital works would be short-sighted. As a growth council, the City of Wanneroo has a responsibility to deliver new community facilities and infrastructure for our growing population. Capital works projects stimulate our economy by creating local jobs and generating business.
Do I pay GST on my rates assessment?
GST is not payable on general rates, Waste Service charges, the Emergency Services Levy or the Pool Fence Inspection fee.
Why are pool inspection fees charged?
State Government legislation requires all private swimming pool enclosures be inspected at least every four years. The City charges pool owners an annual fee to recover the cost of all inspections over a four-year inspection cycle. All pool owners are required to properly maintain their pool enclosures for the safety of our community.
This is not a new charge. In light of increased costs to local landfill disposal in Western Australia, waste levy charges have been extracted from general rates to provide greater transparency of the cost of waste management and to ensure that waste costs are fully recovered, eliminating the need to subsidise this service through reductions in other projects or programs in the City.
How is the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) calculated?
The Emergency Services Levy (ESL) fee amount is not imposed by the City. It is set by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and funds Western Australia’s fire and emergency services, including Career and Volunteer Fire & Rescue Service brigades.
ESL charges are calculated based on numerous factors, including the ESL category your property falls under and your property's Gross Rental Value (GVR) or Unimproved Value (UV).
The City collects these funds on behalf of DFES through its annual Rates notice and passes on all ESL money collected to DFES in full.
Go to our online payments page to pay online.
Can I make a payment arrangement?
Yes - please complete our rates payment arrangement form or contact Rating Services on 9405 5000 to request an arrangement.
Payments can be made on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis.
Please note that all payment arrangements are subject to interest and administration fees.
Do instalment options accrue interest and admin fees?
Yes, instalment options and any additional charges are detailed on the front of your Rates Notice.
Instalment options include an administration charge of $5 for instalments two, three and four, and a lost potential interest rate of 3% p.a.
Overdue instalment amounts will incur late payment interest of 5% for general rates and 7% for the Emergency Services Levy.
Failure to make the third or fourth payments by the due date will result in the cancellation of any payment arrangement in place and the remaining balance of your Rates Notice will then be due in full.
Any amounts outstanding after the due date may be recovered by legal action. Any legal action undertaken by Council may result in additional expenses being incurred by the ratepayer.
Eligible pensioners are exempt from additional charges on their rebate portion only. The rebate is funded by the Government of Western Australia.
I paid for an instalment of my rates, but I now have a final notice. Why is this?
If the exact amount of the rates first instalment was not paid in full (in one transaction) by the due date, the owner will not have automatically been placed on the instalment option.
Please complete our rates payment arrangement form to request to pay by the four instalment option.
I've lodged an objection to my rates and have received a final notice. Do I have to pay?
Yes, rates must be paid as assessed by the due date regardless of whether an objection has been lodged. Any reduction in rates as a result of a successful objection will be refunded. Interest will accrue on rates if they are not paid in full. The City will charge daily interest of 5% per annum on overdue amounts of general rates, service charges and legal fees outstanding, and daily interest of 7% per annum on overdue amounts of Emergency Services Levy (ESL).
I'm a pensioner, should my rates be discounted?
If you are a pensioner or senior, you can apply to receive a State Government Rebate on charges for local government rates and Emergency Services Levies (ESL).
For information about eligibility requirements and how to apply visit ConcessionsWA.
I can't afford to pay my rates. What can I do?
If you are experiencing financial hardship, please call the City on 9405 5000 to discuss your eligibility for the City’s Financial Hardship Policy.
It is the responsibility of the owner to advise Rating Services when a change of address takes place that would prevent the effective service of the Rates Notice.
Please notify Council of your change of residential and/or mailing address by completing the Change of address form.
What if the property changes ownership?
Under the provisions of Section 9.68 of the Local Government Act 1995, written notice must be given to the City within 21 days, whenever any person sells or otherwise disposes of any rateable land. Details of the description of the land and then name and address of the purchaser must be stated.
If you have not engaged a Settlement Agent/Conveyancer to effect the sale or disposal of your property, please notify Council of any changes to ownership of your property in writing by:
- Contact us via our Change of address form; or
- Mailing a letter to City of Wanneroo, Locked Bag 1, WANNEROO WA 6946; or
- Hand deliver a letter:
- Civic Centre, 23 Dundebar Rd, Wanneroo. Mon-Fri between 8:30am and 5pm
- Clarkson Library, 27 Ocean Keys Bvd, Clarkson. Mon-Fri between 9am and noon & 12:45pm and 5pm
Can I get a copy of my rates notice?
Yes, you can request a copy of your Rates Notice. Your current Rates Notice will be provided free of charge. An administration charge of $27 per notice applies to previous years’ Rates Notices.
Please note: if you require figures for tax purposes, we can provide these over the phone.
Request a copy of your rates notice
What happens if I don’t pay my rates?
If rates remain unpaid after a final notice and a final letter of demand has been issued to you, your account can be referred to an external debt recovery agent.
The external debt recovery agent will contact you in an attempt to obtain payment, either in full or by an agreed payment plan.
If neither of the above occurs, a General Procedure Claim may be issued through the Magistrates Court which will result in legal costs being incurred. If in the event a General Procedure Claim does not result in payment of the account the City may proceed with a property seizure or sale order to obtain the costs owed.
The City may also proceed to sell the land if rates have been outstanding for a certain period, or alternatively if the property is rented the City may seize the rent in order to clear the outstanding balance.