The rate peg is, in IPART’s words, the maximum percentage by which a council may
increase its general income for the year
. General income is mostly ordinary rates. It is a
cap on a council’s total rates take, not on any one bill, and it does not cover water,
sewer or waste charges. A council can levy less, or ask IPART for more through a special
variation.
Ballina: the peg is set, and superseded
In June IPART approved Ballina Shire Council’s application for a permanent special
variation of 26.25 per cent over four years, 6 per cent in each of 2026-27, 2027-28, 2028-29
and 2029-30. IPART’s own 2027-28 tables carry the rule that decides which number counts:
The rate peg applies to a council unless the council has an approved special variation to
exceed its rate peg in the 2027-28 year.
Ballina has one. Its 4.3 per cent is the peg IPART
calculated; 6 per cent is what the council may raise.
Byron: a 4.0 per cent assumption, a 4.8 per cent peg
Byron Shire is consulting until 30 October on a special rate variation of 12.0, 10.0 and 9.6 per cent in ordinary land rates from July 2027, and councillors decide on 3 December whether to apply to IPART. We set out that proposal on 10 October. Its first year is presented as an 8.0 per cent special variation plus a 4.0 per cent rate peg, the peg being the council’s assumption.
IPART has now set Byron’s peg at 4.8 per cent, the second highest on this coast and above 103 of the state’s 128 councils. On the council’s own way of presenting it, that leaves two simple readings. If the 12.0 per cent stays, 7.2 points of it would now be special variation rather than 8.0. If the 8.0 per cent stays, the first year becomes 12.8. That is our arithmetic on the council’s figures; which, if either, it chooses is for councillors on 3 December, and any application must reach IPART by early February 2027.
Byron’s peg is high for the same reason Clarence Valley’s is: growth. Both have
the lowest core peg IPART set this year, 3.7 per cent, and a large population factor on top.
IPART adds population growth less prison populations and less the change in supplementary
valuations
, the income a council already gains from properties added to its rating roll
during the year, mostly new development. Byron’s population grew 1.83 per cent against
supplementary valuations of 0.69, adding 1.1 points. Clarence Valley’s grew 1.25 per cent
and IPART’s spreadsheet records its supplementary valuations as zero, adding 1.2 and
making its 4.9 the highest peg in the region.
Kyogle down, Lismore shrinking
Kyogle is the only council here whose peg falls, from 4.4 to 3.9 per cent. Its population
grew 0.77 per cent, but its supplementary valuations grew 1.49, so its population factor went to
zero. Lismore’s population fell 0.25 per cent; it gets no population factor either, and
IPART says our methodology does not reduce council income when population falls
.
Richmond Valley’s 4.1 per cent compares with the 3.5 per cent peg its September council
report assumed. Its proposal to replace the stormwater charge with a
special rate, open for feedback until
4 November, is a separate question.
| Council | 2026-27 | Core | Pop. growth | Supp. vals | Pop. factor | 2027-28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarence Valley | 4.3 | 3.7 | 1.25 | 0.00 | 1.2 | 4.9 |
| Byron | 4.6 | 3.7 | 1.83 | 0.69 | 1.1 | 4.8 |
| Ballina | 3.4 | 3.7 | 0.97 | 0.33 | 0.6 | 4.3 |
| Tweed | 3.1 | 3.7 | 0.71 | 0.17 | 0.5 | 4.2 |
| Richmond Valley | 3.7 | 3.9 | 0.32 | 0.11 | 0.2 | 4.1 |
| Kyogle | 4.4 | 3.9 | 0.77 | 1.49 | 0.0 | 3.9 |
| Lismore | 3.1 | 3.9 | -0.25 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 3.9 |
How we worked this out
All pegs and components are from IPART’s per-council spreadsheets for 2026-27 and 2027-28. IPART publishes the core and final pegs rounded to one decimal place; we round the growth figures to two. The NSW median and the count of councils below Byron are our own, across all 128 councils. The population factor is the spreadsheet’s change in population less its supplementary valuations percentage, floored at zero and rounded. Ballina’s 6 per cent is the special variation IPART approved; whether the council levies all of it is its decision. The Byron 7.2 and 12.8 follow the council’s additive split of its 12.0 per cent (8.0 plus 4.0) and are illustrations, not council figures.
Sources
The working. AI read the documents and drafted this story, under rules people set and answer for, working from the primary sources below. How we work.
- IPART, Final rate pegs and components for all councils, 2027-28 (spreadsheet, 13 October 2026, read 14 October 2026).
- IPART, Final rate pegs and components for all councils, 2026-27 (spreadsheet, read 14 October 2026).
- IPART, Information Paper: Rate pegs for NSW councils for 2027-28 (13 October 2026, read 14 October 2026): the definition of the peg, the population factor, the rule that an approved special variation replaces the peg, and the early February 2027 application date.
- IPART, IPART Decisions on Council Special Variation Applications (media release, 2 June 2026, read 14 October 2026): Ballina’s approved 26.25 per cent over four years, 6 per cent a year.
- The Watershed Review, Byron Shire’s proposed special rate variation (10 October 2026) and Richmond Valley’s stormwater special rate (9 October 2026), each from the council’s own exhibited documents, including Byron’s assumed 4.0 per cent peg and Richmond Valley’s assumed 3.5.
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