Rating Information

General rate notices are issued during July/August and January/February and reflect the cost of services, facilities and activities that are supplied or undertaken for the benefit of the community. We're required to raise an appropriate amount of revenue to maintain assets and provide services to the shire as a whole. From the date of the notice, you have 35 days to pay or enter into a payment agreement with us. A 10% discount will be allowed on gross Council rates and charges, excluding any charge specifically excluded from discount entitlement (refer to Council’s Revenue Statement for a full list of excluded charges).

In deciding how the revenue is raised, we consider:

• The rateable value of the land;
• Relative valuation between different types of land;
• The approach to general rating adopted by Council for the financial year;
• The demand and/or need to provide a diverse range of facilities and services in the Livingstone Shire, such as:  

• looking after our beaches, parks and sporting grounds; 
• collecting waste; 
• maintaining our roads;
• supplying water and sewerage services to some properties; 
• running and maintaining our libraries; community centres and halls; and
• disaster management, community education, support programs and initiatives.

Livingstone Shire Council  issues Water Usage Notices following the completion of each quarterly meter read. Notices are addressed to the owner of the property. Residents are encouraged to assist in making this process as efficient as possible by properly maintaining access to their water meter. Notices are issued quarterly, generally in January/February, April, July/August and October. You can find more information regarding water meters by clicking here.

Council offer a number of payment options, including pre-payment of your rates using periodic direct debits. Annual Land Valuations are issued by the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy in accordance with the Land Valuation Act 2010. The most recent valuations that effect local government rating, state land tax and state land rental purposes are effective from 30 June 2020. If you any queries or would like any further general valuation information, please visit: QLD government Statutory Land Valuations page

A landowner may object:

1. only to the categorisation of the land; and
2. on the sole ground that, having regard to the description decided by Livingstone Shire Council by which rateable land is categorised, the land should have been included, as at the date of issue of the relevant rate notice, in another rating category.

The objection must be made by giving notice of the objection to the Chief Executive Officer, Council’s nominated Rating Decision Maker. The official objection form is available at Council’s Customer Service Centres or alternatively can be downloaded from Council’s website or via this link Notice of Objection Against Categorisation.

The notice of the objection must:

1. be given on the approved form within 30 days after the date of issue of the rate notice or any further period allowed by Livingstone Shire Council;
2. be addressed to The Chief Executive Officer, Livingstone Shire Council, PO Box 2292, Yeppoon QLD 4703;
3. nominate the rating category in which the owner claims the land should have been included; and
4. specify the facts and circumstances on which the claim is based.

On receipt of an objection the Chief Executive Officer or delegated officer will, within 60 days after the end of the period within which the objection had to be made:

1. consider the categorisation of the land;
2. consider the facts and circumstances on which the claim is based;
3. decide to:
   • allow the objection; or
   • disallow the objection; or
   • decide that the land should be included in another rating category; and
   • give written notice of the decision to the owner, stating the reasons for the decision.

If the owner is not satisfied with the decision an appeal may be started by filing a notice of appeal in the Land Court registry within 35 days after the owner received notice of the decision or failure, in a form approved by the Land Court. Note that:

• the sole ground on which an owner may object is that Council has miscategorised the land with respect to the criteria for the category in which the land has been included as at the date of issue of the relevant rate notice;
• giving a notice of objection will not, in the meantime, affect the levy and recovery of rates (the rates as issued must be paid by the due date); and
• if an owner’s land is included in another rating category because of the objection, an adjustment of rates will be made.