Wodonga Council — Your rates

Why do you pay rates?

Wodonga Council collects rates to provide a wide range of services and to deliver important building projects and services that our growing community needs now and into the future.

Each year, your rates are used to provide essential services, including:

Emergency management services such as response and recovery;
Transport and infrastructure services such as roads, footpaths and cycle paths;
Planning and building services such as land use planning, economic development and environmental conservation;
Environment services such as sustainability and natural resource management;
Health services such as immunisation sessions and food regulations; and,
Social and community services such as disability support and early childhood services like preschools and maternal and child health.

How does the council calculate rates and charges?

Your rating valuations are displayed on your council rates notices, just below the property details.

Please refer to the understanding your rates notice document for further details regarding information on your rates notice.

To calculate the ordinary rates to be paid for each property, the council uses the following method:

Capital improved value × rate in the dollar = rates charge

What is a valuation?

All councils are require to have all properties valued. The most recent valuation is effective from January 1, 2024 and apply for the rating for the 2024-2025 rating period.

The valuation is listed on the rates and valuation notice. Values are now conducted annually by the Valuer-General Victoria (VGV)’s contracted property valuers.

Only qualified valuers from the Valuer-General Victoria (VGV) that hold recognised tertiary qualifications and with the required practical experience, can perform municipal valuations.

Definitions of some of the key valuation terminology

Capital Improved Value – the value of all land, buildings and improvements on a property
Site value – the value of the land only
Net annual value – the expected annual rental return (CIV divided by 20)
Objection forms are provided by the VGV for residential, commercial/industrial and rural should you wish to lodge an objection.

If you disagree with the rating valuations or the AVPCC (Australian Valuation Property Classification Code) as shown on your rate notice (or on other grounds as specified in the Valuation of Land Act 1960), you may lodge an objection.

Objections must be lodged within two months of the date of notice as shown on your annual rate notice or supplementary valuation notice, and should be submitted on the prescribed form. Please note that the land use classification as shown on your rate notice is determined under the provisions of the Fire Services Property Levy Act 2012. The land use classification allocated to a property for levy purposes is a non-reviewable decision:in other words, you may object to the AVPCC as shown on your rate notice, but not to the land use classification.

For further explanation of what the AVPCC on your rates notice means, you may download a list of the current AVPCCs.

These forms need to be returned to us in person in Hovell St or posted to:

Wodonga Council,
PO Box 923,
Wodonga, VIC 3689

Domestic waste charges

Waste management services provided by the council include general waste, recycling and green waste collection.

Approximately half the charge is allocated against all households and businesses for the provision of community waste services for example street bins and operation of the Waste Transfer Station.

The remainder covers the contract costs for the collection of the bins.

The properties that are subject to a residential or rural garbage and recycle collection will have the two transfer station vouchers as a cut-off section on the notice.

Ratepayers please ensure these vouchers are kept in a safe place until there is a need to use them. The two vouchers will have the rate assessment number as a barcode on them for monitoring purposes.

All other properties will be issued with a notice without the vouchers.

Fire Property Services Levy

Wodonga Council ratepayers will receive their rates notices which will now include the Fire Services Property Levy, collected by the council on behalf of the State Government.

Following a recommendation from the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission the Fire Services Levy will be removed from insurance premiums from July 1, 2013 and instead collected with council rates. All funds collected by councils go to supporting Victoria’s fire services.

Differential rating

Wodonga Council uses the application of differential rates to raise the general rate.

The council considers that differential rates will contribute to the equitable and efficient carrying out of council functions. Differential rates are declared for that rateable land having characteristics specified below in which characteristics will form the criteria for the differential rate.

Residential occupied land
Any land that is used primarily for residential purposes; or on which there exists a building obviously adapted for use for residential purposes as defined under the provisions of the Wodonga Planning Scheme.
Commercial occupied land
Any land that is used primarily for commercial purposes; or on which there exists a building obviously adapted for use for commercial purposes as defined under the provisions of the Wodonga Planning Scheme.
Industrial occupied land Any land that is used primarily for industrial purposes; or on which there exists a building obviously adapted for use for industrial purposes as defined under the provisions of the Wodonga Planning Scheme (including but not limited to a factory or workshop).
Rural – farming
Land that is “farmland” within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Valuation of Land Act 1960 paragraphs (a) and (b) and other criteria as defined by Council (c) hereunder:
(a) not less than two hectares in area; and
(b) that is used primarily for grazing, dairying, pig-farming, poultry farming, fish farming, tree farming, bee-keeping, viticulture, horticulture, fruit growing or the growing of crops of any kind or for any combination of those activities, and
(c) being a primary producer as evidenced by a current ATO assessment;
(d) geographic location, anywhere within the council's municipal district, which is wholly or partially within one or more of the playing zones, farming zones (FZ) and urban growth zone (UGZ).
If you believe your property satisfies these criteria and wish to have your property to be classified in the rural farming rate differential category, please arrange for the following to be submitted to the council:-
1. A letter from your accountant or registered tax agent OR a statutory declaration duly signed by the owner/ratepayer declaring that “the property is currently used for the purpose of primary production business” within the meaning of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997; or,
2. A copy of the most recent income tax return evidencing your primary producer status.
This evidence must be returned to the council within 60 days of the issuing of your annual notices notice and will then be required to be provided every four years as part of the Rating and Revenue Plan.
Rural – non farming
Land which is:-
(a) greater than eight hectares in size; or
(b) less than eight hectares in size and due to reasons of inappropriate subdivision is generally vacant, low valued land that has little utility to owners because the land is restricted to no development in its current form; and
(c) not rural – farming land, nor development use land.
Development use land
The valuer responsible for the returning of the general revaluation or any supplementary valuation may classify any land (or a portion of that land) that is in the process of being developed into the category of development use land (DUL).
Classification to development use land will be at the valuer’s discretion and based principally on the basis of applications and/or approvals for rezoning and/or development.
Vacant land
Any land on which there does not exist any building obviously adapted for human habitation and which does not have the characteristics of development use land.
Society/social club land
Any land which is not subject to the Cultural and Recreational Lands Act 1963; and used primarily for the activities of a club or society which are carried on for the benefit of its members or their guests.

Differential rates: Types of property vs Differential compared with type of property

Property type	Differential
Residential occupied	1.00
Residential vacant	2.00
Commercial occupied	1.60
Commercial vacant	2.00
Industrial occupied	1.60
Industrial vacant	2.00
Rural farming	0.70
Rural non-farming	1.00
Social clubs/society	0.93
Development use land	2.05

Your rates

Your rates

Why do you pay rates?

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