Rates FAQs

Download: Mornington Peninsula Shire Rates Brochure 2025.pdf(PDF, 539KB)

Our 2026-27 rates brochure details how Council rates are calculated and how your rates support our community.

Rates are calculated using a formula that takes into account the cost of providing almost 100 council services for the local community to help fund our day-to-day operations and the services  such as maintaining parks, running community facilities and events, and more.

Council rates are not calculated solely on the basis of property valuation and rates do not automatically increase as property value increases. The value of the property is only used to calculate the percentage of the budget that residents need to pay to ensure that the Shire can continue to provide services.

Rates are apportioned across all ratepayers using the Capital Improved Value (CIV) for each property, to determine the share of Overall Rates payable against each rateable property (applied via a unit rate per Dollar ($) of valuation).

Your property's rates and charges may have increased or decreased by a different percentage for reasons such as:

• the valuation of your property relative to the valuation of other properties in the shire
• the inclusion of other rates and charges such as waste and recycling, and the Fire Services Property Levy.

You can learn more at How are My Rates Calculated?

Waste Charges

The Waste Service Charge is now separated into a waste collection charge and public cleaning charge.

The waste collection charge is applied to properties that receive a kerbside collection and is calculated as direct kerbside waste expenditure divided by the number of properties with a kerbside collection.

The public cleaning charge relates to indirect waste related expenditure, such as public bin collection, street sweeping and beach cleaning, and is applied to all rateable properties.

• Waste Collection Charge   $353.00
• Public Cleaning Charge     $154.00

NOTE: Victorian Government’s rates cap of 2.75% does not apply to the Wastes Charge or the Fire Services Levy.

Council rates are a property-based Tax. For 2026/27 the FGRS cap has been set at 2.75% as set by the Minister. They are apportioned across all ratepayers using the Capital Improved Value (CIV) for each property, to determine the share of Overall Rates payable against each rateable property (applied via a unit rate per Dollar ($) of valuation).

Learn more at How are my Rates Calculated.

On your rates notice you’ll observe both a Site Value (SV) amount in dollars ($), and a Capital Improved Value (CIV) amount in dollars ($).

The CIV amount is the TOTAL valuation of the dwelling and land (i.e., we do not add both figures together to calculate the overall valuation).

The property valuation is a relative measure. This means all properties, except that where significant capital improvement has been undertaken in the last 12 months (i.e., new housing development), will be apportioned a similar rateable charge to each other, as has occurred in previous years.

From 1 July 2025, the Fire Services Property Levy (FSPL) will be replaced by the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF).

It will help support a broader range of emergency services and for the first time include VICSES, Triple Zero Victoria, the State Control Centre, Forest Fire Management Victoria, and Emergency Recovery Victoria, as well as the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV).

Local Councils collect the Levy on behalf of the State Government. There is a flat $136 charge for residential properties and $275 for other properties, as well as a charge based on the CIV for all property types.

For more information call the ESVF support line 1300 819 033 or visit State Revenue Office | Emergency services and volunteers fund.

This Levy is based on the Australian Valuation Property Classification Codes (AVPCC) attributable to your property, and a set unit formula.

The AVPCC is a unique identifier defined by the state government, representing how you use your land, in conjunction with the overall valuation or CIV, and determines the actual amount payable per property. 

Learn more about different methods for paying your rates on our Rate payments and Rates Notices page.