Our Special Rates and Charges Policy follows the Local Government Act 1989. 

The tables below, developed with input from community focus groups, explain how we generally calculate and share costs:

Calculating community benefit – footpaths

• Arterial Road - High-capacity road designed to move large volumes of traffic between areas, often at high speeds and facilitating long-distance travel.
  
• Collector Road - A road that primarily serves to move traffic from local streets to arterial roads. Collecting and distributing traffic between local and arterial roads.
  
• Local Road/Street - a road in a built environment that has all kinds of properties beside it which can be accessed from the road.
  
• Neighbourhood Precinct - A group of connecting roads.
  
• Activity Centre - A place where people shop, work, meet, relax and live.
  
• Park /Reserve - A public area of land, often with grass and trees, designated for recreation and relaxation, usually in an urban setting.

Calculating community benefit – roads, shoulders and streetlighting

• Arterial Road - High-capacity road designed to move large volumes of traffic between areas, often at high speeds and facilitating long-distance travel.
• Collector Road - A road that primarily serves to move traffic from local streets to arterial roads. Collecting and distributing traffic between local and arterial roads.
• Local Road/Street - a road in a built environment that has all kinds of properties beside it which can be accessed from the road.
• Laneway - A narrow road.
• Unformed Road Reserve - a designated area of land, typically for a public road, which has not been physically constructed or developed.
• Neighbourhood Precinct - A group of connecting roads.

Calculating community benefit – Kerb and channel

• Arterial Road - High-capacity road designed to move large volumes of traffic between areas, often at high speeds and facilitating long-distance travel. Only considered where the kerb would be a council asset under the Road Management Act designation of responsibilities.
  
• Collector Road - A road that primarily serves to move traffic from local streets to arterial roads. Collecting and distributing traffic between local and arterial roads.
  
• Local Road/Street - a road in a built environment that has all kinds of properties beside it which can be accessed from the road.

Calculating community benefit – Drainage

• Easement Drain - A legal right that allows a local council or water authority to access and use a portion of your property for drainage purposes, such as stormwater management.
• Road Drain - Infrastructure designed to manage and remove excess rainwater from paved surfaces like roads, parking lots and footpaths. They play a crucial role in preventing flooding, ensuring road safety, and protecting infrastructure from water damage.
• Network/Trunk Drain - Large-scale stormwater management system.

Amounts to be recovered from benefitting properties owners under SRC schemes will become due and payable at a date set by the City, regardless of the payment option chosen.

Benefitting property owners will be sent a method of payment form where they will be able to select from four payment options.

The payment options are:

• Pay in full within 28 days interest free.
• Pay in two quarterly instalments over six months interest free.
• Pay in eight quarterly instalments over two years.
• Pay in twenty quarterly instalments over five years.

Interest will not be charged in the first six months provided owners adhere to their chosen payment plan. After that, interest will be charged quarterly on the remaining balance. The interest rate will vary in line with the City’s overdraft rate. If owners do not adhere to their chosen repayment plan interest will be charged.

Within 12 months of the scheme being Declared, invoices will be sent to property owners.

Financial hardship

We understand that significant hardship can be experienced by members of our community.

The City will consider an application for financial hardship relief confidentially and objectively based on the information provided by the person in the application and will advise of its decision in writing after receiving the application and all supporting information.

You can apply for financial hardship online.

Apply for financial hardship

Estimating the cost of works

All schemes are competitively tendered to ensure the best cost achieved, until then, we rely on estimated costs provided by engineers. If we choose to move forward with the project, we prepare detailed plans and cost estimates. We then inform benefitting property owners about the expected costs and start date of the project.