FAQs

Rates are a tax levied on all rateable properties within the boundaries of the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale Municipality in accordance with the Local Government Act 1995. 

The overall objective of the proposed rates in the 2024/2025 Budget is to provide for the net funding requirements of the Shire’s services, activities, financing costs and the current and future capital requirements of the Shire, after taking into account all other forms of revenue. 

In Western Australia, land is valued by Landgate Valuation Services (Valuer General’s Office - a State Government agency) and those valuations are forwarded to each Local Government. 

Two types of values are calculated - Gross Rental Value (GRV) which applies to non-rural land; and Unimproved Value (UV) which generally applies to rural land.

The following are the proposed Differential General Rates and Minimum Payments for the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale for the 2024/25 financial year, to be effective from 1 July 2024.
 

The Shire continues to look for ways to achieve rating equity in the Shire and this rating strategy has been designed to address funding requirements in an equitable way.

The proposed rates will yield $31,788,176 in net rate revenue, which is a 3.4% increase on current year to date base rate calculations.  

In 2020 Council identified significant inequity in the application of rates within the district, an initial attempt to correct this inequity via a large scale “Change of Valuation Methodology” project was met with the then Minister for Local Government who requested it be discontinued due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

In 2021 Council adopted its first ever Rating Strategy which called for the reinstatement of a Residential and Commercial Unimproved Valuation Differential Rating Category which was subsequently implemented for the 2021/22 Budget. This resulted in the rates for over 8,000 residents declining for that financial year.

In 2022, after a review of the method of valuation used for rating purposes requested the Chief Executive Officer submit an application to the Minister for determination pursuant to Section 6.28 (1) of the Local Government Act 1995, to change the method of valuation of land to be used by a local government as the basis for a rate for 640 properties from Unimproved Value (UV) to Gross Rental Value (GRV) as the predominant use of the land for these properties had been determined to be non-rural and would experience a rate reduction if they were rated GRV. 

This financial year Officers reviewed another 407 properties and application to the Minister for determination pursuant to Section 6.28 (1) of the Local Government Act 1995 to change the method of valuation of land to be used by a local government as the basis for a rate from Unimproved Value (UV) to Gross Rental Value (GRV). Due to the predominant use of the land for these properties being determined to be non-rural and would likely experience a rate reduction if they were rated GRV.

Please refer to our Statement of Rating Objectives and Reasons which outlines the objective for each rating category and the reason.

Submissions received will be reviewed and considered by Shire officers. All submissions will be included as an attachment in a future report to Council where they will consider the draft 2024/25 Budget.