Current Rates

City of Newcastle provides services and facilities for the whole community such as footpaths and roads, cycleways, playgrounds, libraries, and waste management.

Your rates help us fund all of this.

Did you know:

• About 50% of Council’s income is made up of rates and the other 50% comes from grants, user fees and charges, development contributions and interest on investments.
• The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal sets the maximum amount NSW Councils can increase their total rates by. For the period 2021/22 City of Newcastle increased total rates by 2.0%
• Every 3 years the Valuer General is required to revalue all land within the Newcastle Local Government Area. The most recent valuation took place during 2019/20. These land values have been used to calculate the 2021/22 rates.

A typical residential rates notice is made up of the following charges:

1. The Ordinary Residential Base Amount is the same for every property. This year it is $807.45.
2. The Ordinary Residential Rate is related to your property's land value. Higher value properties pay a greater rate while lower value properties pay a smaller one.
3. The Hunter Catchment Contribution is a rate that’s collected by us on behalf of the NSW Local Land Services. The amount is based on your property’s land value.
4. The Stormwater Residential Charge is a flat annual charge of $25 per property and $12.50 per strata unit.
5. The Domestic Waste Management Service Charge is a flat charge of $400.52 for all properties.

A typical business rates notice is made up of the following charges:

1. The Ordinary Business Rate is related to your property’s land value. Higher value properties pay a greater rate while lower value properties pay a smaller one. This rate is subject to a minimum of $1,094.00. In some cases, large-scale industrial and commercial businesses will pay an Ordinary Business Rate based on a subcategory. Full details of these are outlined in Our Budget.
2. The Hunter Catchment Contribution is a rate that’s collected by us on behalf of the NSW Local Land Services. The amount is based on your property’s land value.
3. The Business Stormwater Charge is calculated based on the area of your land but cannot exceed $1,000.
4. The Business Waste Management Service Charge is a flat charge of $267.41 per each business property.
5. For some business properties special rates also apply. These special rates as outlined in Our Budget.

For Farmland properties the Ordinary Farmland Rate is payable. This is related to your property’s land value but is subject to a minimum of $1,094.00. The Hunter Catchment Contribution and the Domestic Waste Management Service Charge as referenced above are also levied on farmland properties.

Rate assistance

If you are experiencing financial difficulties there are a number of ways we can help including:

• Negotiation of special arrangements to pay rates and charges
• Write-off of accrued interest
• Deferral of rates and charges
• Financial assistance through one of four local welfare agencies we have partnered with who provide $65 vouchers towards rate payment

For further information or to discuss any of these options please contact our Debt Management Team on 02 4974 2307 or rates@ncc.nsw.gov.au