Please note, this consultation is now closed. Please refer to Engage Victoria for further details.

Engage Victoria is consulting on the mechanism for determining a property's value for rating purposes.

Across Australia, local government rates are primarily based on property values. In Victoria, the State Government’s valuation authority, the Victorian Valuer-General, conducts valuations of properties across the state every year. Councils use the most up to date valuations when setting rates for the forthcoming financial year, though they set their own methodologies regarding how these are used through the application of uniform rates, differential rates, and municipal charges.

The Victorian Government completed a review of the local government rating system to ensure local government rates are fair for all the community. A recommendation of this review was to consider the merits of a Valuation Averaging Mechanism for local government rates. This was to address circumstances when a large movement in individual property values led to large changes in rates – making it difficult for some ratepayers to plan accordingly.

Local Government Victoria is seeking feedback from the public regarding the application of a Valuation Averaging Mechanism in Victoria.

A Valuation Averaging Mechanism at its simplest would entail a number of previous years of valuations of the property (e.g. 2 or 3 years) being averaged to determine a property’s valuation for rating purposes. Any model would have to apply to all properties in a municipality.

This is a great opportunity for the public to provide feedback on the Valuation Averaging Mechanism. The consultation closes on Thursday 31 August 2023. To see further information and access the external survey please click here.

To find out more about rates in Moonee Valley please click here.