Rates Notice Schedule

Council rates help us deliver community services, including road maintenance, footpaths, cycleways, libraries, pools, and more.

We set these rates under the Local Government Act 1993. If you own a home or business property, you will pay rates to the council unless your property is a church, school, or hospital and is exempt from rates.

Each property in Lake Macquarie falls into one of four categories for rating: residential, business, farmland, or mining. Most properties are charged ordinary rates under the residential category.

If you are not satisfied with your category, you can apply to the Council for a review.

Council’s rating structure consists of two parts:

• A base amount, which is the same for all residential properties 
• An ad valorem component (amount in the dollar), which is calculated based on the value of your property's land.

Land value is the market value of your land only. It does not include the value of your home or other structures and improvements.  Land values for rating purposes are supplied by the Valuer General’s Office every three to four years. The most recent valuation took place in 2022/23 and has been used to calculate the 2024/25 rates. 

There is also a yearly fee for waste management services. This fee applies to all properties where the service is available, even if you don't use it, including vacant land.

Waste management charges fund litter collection, street cleaning, clean-up days, the illegal dumping program, waste processing, depot maintenance, waste education, administration, landfill rehabilitation, bulky waste collection, sorting, disposal service, and recycling.

Domestic waste management charge entitles each parcel of rateable land:

• one 240L fortnightly garbage collection service  
• one 240L or 360L fortnightly recycling collection service  
• one 240L weekly green waste collection service
• two bulky waste collections per year, per property

 Non-domestic (commercial) waste management charge entitles each parcel of rateable land

• one 240L weekly garbage collection service, per year, per property

There are several options available for you to pay your rates: 

• online at Rates Payment | Lake Macquarie City Council Credit card payments attract a merchant fee. 
• Direct debit - weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly or annual payments
• BPAY using our biller code, 7781, and your reference number on your rates notice
• Post Billpay call 13 18 16 and use your Visa or MasterCard to pay
• In person at any Australia Post Office or Agency. Remember to bring your rates notice with you.

Register online.

Registrations is not instant; you will be notified by email when your account is set up.

If your home is not connected to the sewer, you may have an on-site sewage management system, such as a septic tank, composting toilet, holding tank with pump-out or aerated system.  The end product, which is referred to as effluent, is then gravity-fed or pumped to an effluent disposal area.

In some cases, the effluent disposal area is absorbed into the land, pumped out to the sewage system, irrigated onto the land, or directed to a holding well and collected later by a tanker.  If collected by a tanker, there is a separate removal service fee by a private contractor.

Council is required to issue approvals for OSSM under Section 68 of the Local Government Act 1993, to ensure that the type of system installed meets the household's requirements and the constraints of the site and is managed by the Environmental Health Officer.   

The OSSM fee will be required to be paid by the owner of the property at the time of settlement.  The new owner will be issued with the approval fee when the Rates and Charges are levied for the following year.

Land value is based on factors such as recent sales, land use, zoning restrictions and nearby amenities. This is known as your unimproved capital land value. It does not include the value of a house or property improvements.

The Valuer General sends landholders a Notice of Valuation when council receives new land values.  If you're not happy with the land value assigned by the Valuer General's Office, you can get in touch with them directly at Property NSW by calling 1800 110 038 or at valuergeneral.nsw.gov.au.

Any objections or appeals regarding the valuation of the land value must be directed to the Valuer General's Office. Whether or not an objection is pending, the rates levied must be paid by the due date indicated on the front of your rate notice. 

Ratepayers in the Hunter catchment area pay a levy on all rateable land based on your property’s land value. This charge applies to a small number of properties in northern Lake Macquarie. 

The revenue generated from this levy enables Hunter Local Land Services to meet its legislative obligations under the Water Management Act 2000, as well as meeting resource condition and management targets in the Hunter LLS Local Strategic Plan.

Fees apply for copies of rates notices $25 per notice for any reason other than to pay the account.

You can view current and old rate statements if you register for your rates to be delivered by email. To sign up, you will need to enter your eNotices reference number. This unique number can be found on your latest rates notice.