Property valuation and your rates
Property valuations
Each year your property is valued by the Valuer-General Victoria. This $ value is used to work out your rates and land tax.
Property values are worked out by analysing property sales and rents, and looking at the features of a property. Data about a property is collected from inspections, building and planning permits and other public sources.
We use the valuation done in January 2023 to work out your rates for the year 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.
If your property has changed, an extra or supplementary valuation may be done. Examples of this include the construction, demolition or extension of a dwelling, or the subdivision of land.
Valuation amounts for your property
You will see 3 valuations on your rates and valuation notice:
- Capital Improved Value (CIV) – the market value of the land, plus buildings and other improvements. The CIV is the approximate amount you could expect to sell your property for on the open market. We use this value to calculate your rates.
- Site Value (SV) – the market value of the land (only). This is used by the State Revenue Office to calculate land tax.
- Net Annual Value (NAV) – prescribed or current value of the property’s net annual rent. We previously used NAV to calculate rates.
How we calculate rates
Step 1: We work out how much money we need to raise from rates to pay for the services we will deliver. The total amount cannot increase more than the Victorian Government rate cap each year.
Step 2: We add up all the valuations of every residential, commercial and industrial property in Port Phillip.
Step 3: We calculate the rate in the dollar for each type of property. Revenue ÷ value of properties = rate in the dollar
We've calculated we need to raise $131 million in rates income from properties with a value of $75 billion. In the 2023/24 budget, the differential rates for each property type have been set:
Resident rate payers will pay $0.001694 x Capital Improved Value in general rates.
Commercial rate payers will pay $0.002021 x Capital Improved Value in general rates.
Industrial rate payers will pay $0.002000 x Capital Improved Value in general rates.
Separate waste charges
Your rates bill includes a separate waste charge to help manage the costs of delivering essential and highly valued waste services. Many of our neighbouring councils have a separate waste charge. This year the Food and Garden Organic Waste (FOGO) service will expand to multi-unit dwellings.
All rateable properties will have the waste charge of $198.20. Properties which also have a kerbside FOGO collection will also pay $66 for this service. Use the FOGO look up service to find out if your house or townhouse will be getting one of these bins.
Read more about the separate waste charge.
Rebates
Properties with private waste collection services are eligible for a $68 rebate on the waste charge.
We offer a rebate of $80 for properties that switch to an 80 litre waste bin. There is a surcharge of $248 if you want a 240 litre waste bin.
How do rates compare in 2023/24
The rates cap this year has been set by the Victorian Government at 3.5 per cent. we have adopted a rate rise of 2.8 per cent this year, 20 per cent lower than the Victorian Government’s rate cap.
The 2.8 per cent rise does not apply to individual rate notices. This is the increase in total rates revenue we are raising in 2023/24 compared with 2022/23. Each property owner's rate notice is determined by the value of their property and all others in the same category.
This table shows the percentage of properties in each property type, that will see rates increase by less than 2.8 per cent.
| Property type | Percentage of properties with a rates increase lower than 2.8 per cent |
| Houses | 48% |
| Flats or units | 75% |
| Industrial | 48% |
| Retail or commercial | 68% |
Rate changes by neighbourhood 2022/23
This table has data for the median property for our nine neighbourhoods. It shows how the value of the median property and its rates and charges have changed over the last 2 years.
| Neighbourhood | 2021/22 Valuation | Rates and charges | 2022/23 valuation | Rates and charges | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Park | $1.65m | $3,150 | $1.8m (9% increase) | $3,171 | Increase of $21 or 0.7% |
| Balaclava | $0.6m | $1,145 | $0.63m (5% increase) | $1,194 | Increase of $49 or 4% |
| Elwood | $0.66m | $1,260 | $0.69m (5% increase) | $1,291 | Increase of $31 or 2.4% |
| Melbourne | $0.47m | $897 | $0.48m (2% increase) | $951 | Increase of $54 or 6% |
| Middle Park | $1.7m | $3,245 | $2.0m (18% increase) | $3,494 | Increase of $249 or 8% |
| Port Melbourne | $0.92m | $1,756 | $0.98m (7% increase) | $1,759 | Increase of $3 or 0.2% |
| Ripponlea | $0.58m | $1,105 | $0.61m (5% increase) | $1,161 | Increase of $56 or 4.9% |
| South Melbourne | $0.64m | $1,222 | $0.64m (no change) | $1,210 | Decrease of $12 or 1% |
| St Kilda | $0.48m | $916 | $0.50m (7.4% increase) | $984 | Increase of $68 or 7.4% |
| St Kilda East | $0.55m | $1,050 | $0.56m (2.9% increase) | $1,081 | Increase of $31 or 2.9% |
Port Melbourne and Middle Park are the only neighbourhoods where the median property has higher rates in 2022/23 compared with 2 years ago in 2020/21.
Objecting to a valuation
If you disagree with the value of your property, you may object within 2 months of the date of issue of the rates notice. Remember, your 2023/24 general rates are based on the value of your property on 1 January 2023.
You can lodge your objections on the Valuer-General Victoria Objection Portal.
For any general valuation queries, please contact us online or phone ASSIST on 03 9209 6777.
Municipal valuations are governed by the Valuation of Land Act 1960.
Contact the rates team
To talk to us about your rates send a direct message, or phone us on 03 9209 6777 during business hours Monday to Friday.