Community & Business
15 June, 2024
Land valuations ‘not needed’
LANDOWNERS may be able to breathe a sigh of relief after Tablelands Regional Council advised the Department of Resources that it does not want land valuations done again this year.
The department seeks the views of councils each year as to whether they believe a valuation is necessary and got the same answer from TRC last year that new valuations were not needed.
The last revaluation implemented across the region came into effect on 1 July 2023.
Successive land valuations over the past few years have resulted in high increases, particularly for grazing and primary production properties, triggering significant rate rises for those landowners.
In a report, officers advised councillors that the last valuation that came into effect in July saw significant property valuation movements across the entire region.
“To alleviate some of the impact of these changes, council implemented averaging of valuations across three financial years in accordance with the averaging methodology outlined in the Local Government Regulation 2012,” the report stated.
“Due to this averaging, general rates are currently applied to the averaged value, not the full value determined by the Department of Resources.
“Should averaging continue to be applied, the full property value will not be reached and therefore not used for rating purposes until 1 July 2025.”
The significant movement in valuations prompted the council to raise several motions in relation to rates at last year’s Local Government Association of Queensland conference including that valuations be conducted every three years for rural local governments and that the value of a water licence be removed from the unimproved value of land.
