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Council rates in Victoria, 2026–27: how they are worked out

Short answer: a Victorian council multiplies the value of a property by its rate in the dollar, then adds any fixed charges it levies, such as a municipal charge and a waste charge. The rates notice also carries a state levy, the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund. Pick a council below, enter the value from the rates notice, and see an estimate from that council’s published 2026–27 figures.

Council rates estimator

Figures for 77 of 79 councils, each from the council’s own 2026–27 budget or rates page, with the date we checked it. It is an estimate: the council’s rates notice is the authority.

The capital improved value is on the rates notice. Enter a whole-dollar amount.

Choose a council and enter the value to see an estimate.

What council rates are

Council rates are the annual charge a council levies on each rateable property to fund its services. A rates notice for a home in Victoria usually has up to four parts:

  • General rates: the property’s value multiplied by the council’s rate in the dollar for its rating category (residential, for a home).
  • A municipal charge, if the council levies one: the same fixed amount on each rateable property, towards the council’s running costs. Of the councils we checked, 35 levy one for 2026–27.
  • Service charges, most often for kerbside waste. Many councils price these by bin size, so the charge depends on the bins at the property.
  • The Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) levy. This is a state levy, not a council rate: the council collects it on the rates notice. It replaced the Fire Services Property Levy from 1 July 2025. For a residential property in 2026–27 it is $139 plus 17.3 cents per $1,000 of capital improved value, less any concession, such as the $50 reduction for an eligible pensioner’s home.

Each council’s total rate revenue is limited by the state’s rate cap. For 2026–27 the Essential Services Commission states that average council rate rises are capped at 2.75 per cent. The cap limits a council’s average increase in general rates and municipal charges, so one property’s bill can still rise by more or less.

The value a council rates on

The Valuer-General Victoria sets three values for every property each year, as at 1 January, and they apply from 1 July:

Capital improved value (CIV):
the market value of the land and everything built on it.
Site value (SV):
the value of the land alone.
Net annual value (NAV):
for a home, 5% of the capital improved value.

Each council picks one as its rating basis. In our 2026–27 capture, 73 councils rate homes on capital improved value and 4 on net annual value (Glen Eira, Melbourne, Whittlesea, Yarra). A rate in the dollar on net annual value is about twenty times one on capital improved value for the same bill, so rates on different bases cannot be compared directly.

How to estimate a property’s rates

  1. Find the council for the address, and the value it rates on (capital improved value or net annual value). Both are on the rates notice.
  2. Multiply that value by the council’s residential rate in the dollar. Example: $650,000 × 0.0021537786 (City of Casey) = $1,399.96.
  3. Add the municipal charge, if any, and the waste charge for the bins at the property.
  4. Add the ESVF levy: $139 plus 0.0173% of the capital improved value, for a home in 2026–27.
  5. Check the figure against the latest rates notice. Councils can apply differential rates, rebates or concessions that an estimate cannot see.

Comparing councils? The 2026–27 comparison table lists every council’s rate, basis and fixed charges, with a CSV download.

Councils A–Z

B

C

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F

I

K

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P

Q

S

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Y

No record in named source: We could not read an adopted 2026–27 residential rate from the council’s own budget or rates page. The council’s rates notice has the figure.

Sources

General information, not financial or legal advice. To see the planning zone and overlays on a particular block, use the free address check. How we research and correct these pages: editorial policy.