Review of the rate peg to include population growth

Regional Cities New South Wales (RCNSW) made a submission to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) in response to the review of the rate peg.

IPART is reviewing the system for setting local council rate revenue, to consider including population growth.  This is to support the NSW Government’s commitment to allow councils to align their rates revenue with population growth, to cover the increased costs associated with growth.

 RCNSW has proposed a methodology that would apply to all councils, and accurately reflects the relationship between population growth and council costs. The reforms should maintain total per capita income over time and be based on the change in residential population for each council.