About your rates

Rates are our primary source of income and help us provide a diverse range of services and facilities that make the Port Macquarie Hastings region an enjoyable place to live, work and play. We collect rates so we can provide and maintain services and facilities for our community.

Payment by instalments

You can choose to pay the full amount in one payment by 31 August, or you can make 4 smaller payments during the year (quarterly). Notices are mailed out 30 days before payment is due.

Instalment number	Payment due date
First instalment	31 August
Second instalment	30 November
Third instalment	28 February
Fourth instalment	31 May

What do your rates pay for?

Rates and charges help pay for infrastructure and services we all use daily, like roads, bridges, water, libraries, sports fields, parks, playgrounds and more.

We manage over $3.7 billion worth of community assets, these assets support essential services and contribute to the liveability, sustainability and growth of our region.

Our services

Waste & Recycling: waste collection, recycling services, and street cleaning.
Water & Wastewater: treatment plants, reservoirs, mains, supply networks, pumping stations, and wastewater systems.
Roads & Transport: maintenance of local roads, bridges, footpaths, kerbs, gutters, signage, drainage, cycleways, bus shelters, and traffic management.
Parks & Recreation: parks, playgrounds, gardens, sports fields, aquatic facilities, skateparks, and public reserves.
Community Services: libraries, facilities and programs for seniors and youth, community festivals, arts and cultural support, and visitor information services.
Planning & Development: town planning, landscaping, development applications, building inspections, and construction certificates.
Public Safety: ranger services, including responsible pet management, food shop inspections, and traffic safety.
Environment: environmental management, noxious weed eradication, and sustainable land care initiatives.
Strategic Planning: shaping the future of our region through long-term planning and community consultation.

Our assets and facilities

From libraries to the environmental laboratory, roads and boat ramps, playgrounds to pumping stations, skate parks to stormwater networks, we manage more than $3.7 billion* of assets with annual operating expenses exceeding $150 million.
*Excludes plant, property and equipment value as at 30 June 2024.

(PDF, 59KB)

How we invest in our community

Our aim is to enhance the quality of life for our community of over 86,000 residents by offering a range of services and amenities. Here are some of the ways your rates are used to maintain and operate our existing assets for the betterment of our community.

Transport & traffic Roads and transport maintenance.	$19.8M
Waste management Waste management and education.	$27.2M
Wastewater Maintenance and design of wastewater system.	$17.6M
Water supply Catchment and management of captured resources, reclaimed water and system maintenance.	$15.5M
Parks, sports & recreation Maintaining three swimming pools, parks, playgrounds, fields and open recreation spaces and lifeguard services.	$13.3M
Environment & sustainability Management of natural resources including control of feral animals and weeds, bush and environmental restoration.	$3.0M
Stormwater, flooding and drainage Monitoring and maintaining our stormwater network.	$3.3M
Library Operations of three library locations, mobile lending services and our digital collection.	$2.4M
Community activation Creating vibrant, connected and inclusive communities and places through community advocacy and sponsorship of events.	$1.6M
Glasshouse For the Glasshouse cultural programs, community hire subsidy and back of house operations, as well as facility management and maintenance.	$3.8M

Information from Port Macquarie-Hastings Council Delivery Program 2025-29 and Operational Plan 2025-26.

Understanding your rates

The ordinary rate component increase is set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).

Charges for waste management, water, sewerage and stormwater services fall outside the rate peg and are determined yearly.

GST is exempt from Council rates.

How rates are calculated

Council collects rates to help fund essential services, facilities, and infrastructure for our community.

Total rates
Each year, Council calculates the total amount of rates revenue to be collected from all rateable properties based on the Rate Peg and associated land valuations in the Local Government Area.
Rate in the dollar
This total is divided by the total value of all rateable properties to determine the rate in the dollar. Your individual rates are calculated by multiplying the rate in the dollar by the unimproved land value of your property (as supplied by the NSW Valuer General). This ensures everyone pays a fair share based on their property’s value.

Important to know:

Council does not receive more money when land values rise, the total income is capped.
The only ways Council can increase its General Rate income is through:
- The annual rate peg (set by IPART), or
- An approved special variation, or
- Utilising any allowable increases in line with Section 511 of the Local Government Act

Service charges:

Your rates notice also includes charges for essential services such as:

Sewerage access
Waste management
Stormwater

Water usage and access charges are billed separately.

Rating categories and components

Each parcel of land must be included in one of four categories for rating purposes - residential, business, farmland or mining. We decide which category your property should be in based on its characteristics and use.

If you would like to request a change in category of land for rating purposes, complete the Change in Category of Land Application Form(PDF, 147KB) and submit to us for consideration.

Component	Detail
General rate	This is based on the value of the land (ad valorem rate), so this will be different for each property.
Base amount	This is a flat fee according to your rate category i.e. Residential, Residential Other, Business (CBD Other), Farmland or Mining.
Environmental base amount	A set fee that applies to all properties - the income is used for various environmental projects such as: rehabilitation of existing green belt areas general support for Landcare, Clean Up Australia and Stream Watch programs development of vegetation mapping to allow for better assessment of environmental issues and planning prevention of acid sulphates.
Stormwater charge	A set fee that is levied on any property located within an urban area (city, town or village) that is rated residential or business. It was introduced by the NSW Government in 2006 to enable Council to increase the level of stormwater management services.
Wastewater availability	A set fee for the provision and maintenance of sewer facilities. If there are 2 or more residences on a property, such as granny flats or units that are not strata, then customers will also be charged wastewater and this will appear on their water bill.
On-site sewage (septic) management fee	A set fee (approved to operate) for the annual renewal of an approval to operate a sewage management facility.
Waste management service	These fees cover the collection of waste and contribute to the operational costs of our waste management facilities. Domestic waste services include red, yellow and green bins. This fee is determined by the size and frequency of the red bin. If no bin services are utilised but a domestic collection service is available to the property, the minimum charge will apply as per our fees and charges.

Land values

Land in NSW is valued by the Valuer General under the Valuation of Land Act 1916. We use land values to distribute rates across our local government area and this is done by using a combination of the land value of the property and a fixed amount per property. A change in land value does not necessarily lead to a similar change in rates. To find out more about how land values affect your rates visit the Valuer General website here.

Manage your rate accounts

Update your details

Name change

Provide your original or notarised copy of your Marriage Certificate or change by Deed Poll.

Note: You will need to contact the NSW Land Registry Services separately to change your details on their records. For more information visit the NSW Land Registry Services website or call 1300 052 637 or email generalenquiry@nswlrs.com.au.

Address Change

If you are the property owner, you will need to complete our update customer details form.

If you are renting the property, a managing agent can send us a signed contract or authorisation from you stating the change of address details by either post or email to council@pmhc.nsw.gov.au.

Note: We cannot accept change of address notifications over the phone.

Rebates

If you are a pensioner and you meet the following criteria, you may be eligible to receive concessions on your rates:

the rated property is your sole or principal place you live
you are responsible for paying the rates on the property (as per the Local Government Act (section 560)
you have a Pension Concession Card issued by either Centrelink or Department of Veterans Affairs
you have a Department Of Veterans Affairs Gold TPI or EDA Card.

Complete an application for pensioner concession(PDF, 245KB) and return to council with a copy of your concession card by visiting one of our Customer Service Centres or emailing to council@pmhc.nsw.gov.au.

If you are a war widow or widower, you will need to complete the war widow/widower concession attachment form(PDF, 251KB) in addition to the pensioner concession form.

Refunds

You can request a refund of overpaid rates and water accounts by completing our online form.

Request a refund

Overdue accounts

Council uses an early intervention approach to make debt management easier, supporting customers to meet their payment obligations early and avoid situations where debts become difficult to manage.

Any amount remaining unpaid after the due date is considered outstanding, and debt recovery action may be initiated on overdue rates, water charges, and sundry debtor accounts.

As part of this process, Council issues reminder notices for rates and water accounts with outstanding amounts of $500 or more, issued after 10 days from the due date.

Council also engages an external debt recovery agency, Recovery & Reconstruction Pty Ltd, to assist with the recovery of overdue amounts when required.

These practices contribute to the long-term financial sustainability of Council while supporting fair and consistent account management for the community.

For further details, please refer to Council’s Debt Recovery Policy.

Your rates at work

(PDF, 771KB)

When we send out rates notices, we include an additional page with community updates and information about projects funded by your rates. This is either mailed in the same envelope or attached as a separate document with your online notice.

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