The NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has approved Blacktown City Council’s Special Rate Variation which will see a 37% rate rise applied over three years.
Council says the Special Rate Variation will help it to maintain local services, renew ageing infrastructure, and investing in roads, footpaths, parks, drainage systems, sporting facilities, libraries and community spaces residents and businesses.
Mayor, Brad Bunting said the decision would help Council plan responsibly as Blacktown City grows, with more people, more facilities and increasing demand for local services.
“Blacktown City is continuing to grow rapidly, and our community expects safe roads, reliable drainage, quality parks, well-kept sportsgrounds, modern community facilities and public spaces that are well looked after,” Mayor Bunting said.
“The vital additional revenue the Special Rate Variation will provide, will help Council look after ageing infrastructure, operate new and upgraded community facilities and make sure our staff have the spaces and systems they need to serve a growing city.”
The Mayor said Council has continued to review spending, improve efficiency and seek external funding opportunities, saying rising material costs, inflation and increasing demand for services have placed growing pressure on Council’s long-term financial position.
Council will consider the IPART determination, along with all community feedback on its draft 2026/27 plans and budget, at its Ordinary Meeting on 29 June. At that meeting, Council will adopt its budget for the coming year. Any approved rate increase will be included in rate notices issued from July.
Meanwhile, Hawkesbury City Council welcomed the determination of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to support its Special Rates Variation application in full.
Council applied to raise the total amount of rates it can collect by 8.66% per year over the next four years. It says the additional rates raised will be spent exclusively to improve and maintain City roads and infrastructure, with a particular focus on roads.
“We understand that no one likes to see their bills go up, but this rise was carefully considered to balance the community’s desire and need for improved roads and services, with what is fair and achievable for our ratepayers,” the Council said in a statement.
The Council says Hawkesbury residents were the most informed and engaged per capita out of all councils that applied for an SRV this year, with 705 formal submissions and 510 survey submissions to IPART. This followed an extensive two month awareness and community consultation campaign by Council which included 25,000 letters and 10,950 community newsletters sent to ratepayers, online awareness campaign via social media and website and email, four well-attended in-person and online community information sessions, and a Capacity to Pay analysis. Council received more than 2,300 formal submissions in response, as well as a statistically valid survey of 400 residents.
