Your Rates Explained

Rates Notices for the 2026/27 financial year will be issued in July 2026.

This year is a little different because three major things happened at the same time.

1. Council adopted a new Annual Plan and Budget
2. Council adopted a new Rating Strategy
3. Every property received a new valuation from the Office of the Valuer General

Each one helps determine what you pay.

How did we work out your rates?

Step 1 – We worked out how much money Council needs for the year.

Every year Council works out how much it will cost to provide services and look after things that the community uses every day.

This includes things like looking after our roads and bridges, collecting rubbish and recycling, looking after parks and playgrounds, maintaining community buildings, stormwater, public toilets, community events and economic development.

Like every household and business, Council needs to budget for rising costs like fuel, materials, insurance, electricity, wages and inflation in running the organisation.

Once all of this is added together, Council knows how much money is needed for the year.

This becomes part of the Annual Plan and Budget.

Step 2 – We then work out how much needs to come from rates.

Rates aren't the only source of income Council receives. Council also receives income from:

• government grants
• fees and charges
• interest and other income

Think of it like organising a community BBQ.

If the BBQ costs $100 to run, but sponsorships and fundraising have already provided $30, only the remaining $70 needs to be collected from everyone attending.

Council works in much the same way.

Once all other sources of income have been worked out, Council knows how much still needs to be funded through rates.

Step 3 – We decide what’s a fair way to share the cost

Once Council knows how much money needs to be raised through rates, it needs to decide how that bill is shared fairly across the community.

This is called the Rating Strategy.

The Rating Strategy doesn't decide how much money Council collects.

Instead, it decides how the total rates bill is shared between different classes or category of properties. For example, residential or primary production.

This year Council introduced a new Rating Strategy.

Most properties are still rated the same way they have been for many years, using what's called Assessed Annual Value (AAV). This is the standard rating method used by most Tasmanian councils.

The biggest change this year is that a small number of property categories are now rated differently. The idea is simple. If some types of properties place greater demands on Council infrastructure, they may contribute a larger share towards maintaining it.

Who decides what my property is worth?

This year every property in Circular Head received a new valuation - which affects the property's AAV.

These valuations are completed by the Office of the Valuer General.

Council does not value properties and can’t change your property's value.

Council receives the property values from the Office of the Valuer General and uses them to calculate each property's share of the rates.

This year, property values didn't all move in the same direction. In general, residential and commercial properties increased in value while many primary production properties decreased, which changes how the total rates bill is shared.

If you think your property's valuation is incorrect, you can object directly to the Office of the Valuer General.

Summary

Your rates notice is the result of these three steps:

1. Council works out how much money is needed.
2. Money from grants, fees and charges is taken off the total.
3. Council decides how the remaining cost will be shared using the Rating Strategy and the Assessed Annual Value (AAV)

Still have questions? Please call, email or visit us at the Council Office and we can help.