Part 2Part 2 Limit of annual income from rates and charges
This Part applies to:(a) general income, that is, income from ordinary rates, special rates and annual charges, other than:(i) water supply special rates and sewerage special rates, and(ii) charges for water supply services and sewerage services, and(iii) annual charges for waste management services, including annual charges for domestic waste management services, and(iv) annual charges referred to in section 611, and(v) annual charges for stormwater management services, and(vi) annual charges for coastal protection services, and(b) annual charges made and levied towards the cost of providing domestic waste management services, and(c) annual charges made and levied towards the cost of providing stormwater management services.
506 Variation of general income
The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette specify the percentage by which councils’ general income for a specified year may be varied.
507 Variation of annual charges for domestic waste management services
The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette:(a) specify the percentage by which the amounts of annual charges made by councils for domestic waste management services for a specified year may be varied, and(b) impose conditions with respect to the variation of those charges.
508 Orders under secs 506 and 507
(1) The year specified in an order under section 506 or 507 may be the year in which the order is published in the Gazette or a later year.(2) The Minister may, by instrument in writing given to a council:(a) specify the percentage by which the council’s general income or the amount of an annual charge for domestic waste management services, or both, for a specified year (being the year in which the instrument is given or a later year) may be varied, and(b) impose conditions with respect to the variation of that percentage.(3) An instrument made under subsection (2) takes effect on the day it is signed by the Minister.(4) Subject to subsection (5), a percentage specified in an order under section 506 or 507 applies to all councils uniformly, but does not apply to a council specified (in the order by which the percentage is specified) as being a council to which the percentage does not apply.(5) A percentage specified in an order under section 506 or 507 for a year does not apply, and (if relevant) is taken never to have applied, to a council to which a percentage specified under subsection (2) for that year applies, whether the order specifying the percentage was made before, on or after the day on which the instrument specifying the percentage under subsection (2) was made.(5A) Subject to section 508A (6), a percentage specified in an order under section 506 or 507 for a year does not apply, and (if relevant) is taken never to have applied, to a council to which a determination under section 508A applies for that year, whether the order specifying the percentage was made before, on or after the day on which the determination was made.(6) The Minister may specify a percentage by way of increase or decrease or a nil percentage for the purposes of section 506 or 507 or this section.(7) The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, specify that no limitation is to apply for the purposes of section 506 or 507 or this section for a specified year.
508A Special variation over a period of years
(1) The Minister may, by instrument in writing given to a council, determine that the council’s general income, or the amount of an annual charge for domestic waste management services provided by the council, or both, for a specified period consisting of two or more years, may be varied by a specified percentage over the whole period.(2) The specified period must not exceed 7 years, but this subsection does not prevent a further determination being made that takes effect after that period.(3) The determination may be made only on the application of the council made in accordance with any applicable guidelines issued by the Director-General under this Act.(4) The determination may include conditions with respect to the variation.(5) Without limiting subsection (4), the conditions of the determination may specify the percentage by which the council’s general income, or the amount of the annual charge for domestic waste management services provided by the council, may be varied for a specified year to which the determination applies.(6) If, for a year to which the determination applies in respect of:(a) the council’s general income—the percentage specified under section 506 for that year is greater than the percentage specified in the conditions of the determination, the percentage specified under that section in respect of the council’s general income is taken to be substituted for that specified in the conditions, or(b) the amount of the annual charge for domestic waste management services provided by the council—the percentage specified under section 507 for that year is greater than the percentage specified in the conditions of the determination, the percentage specified under that section in respect of the annual charge is taken to be substituted for that specified in the conditions.(7) Subject to any later variations made to the determination, if the percentage (the general percentage) specified under section 506 or 507 is substituted under subsection (6) for a year:(a) the percentage specified under this section for the whole period is taken to be increased by the amount necessary to take into account the increase due to the substitution of the general percentage for that year, and(b) the appropriate percentage for the remaining years is to be applied to the amount of the council’s general income, or of the annual charge for domestic waste management services provided by the council, taking into account the increase due to that substitution.(8) The Minister may, by instrument in writing served on the council:(a) vary the determination, including, for example, by varying or revoking any conditions of the determination or by including new conditions, or(b) revoke the determination.(9) The determination may be varied or revoked only:(a) on the application of the council made in accordance with any applicable guidelines issued by the Director-General under this Act, or(b) on the Minister’s own initiative if the Minister is satisfied that the council has contravened any conditions of the determination or any applicable guidelines issued by the Director-General under this Act.
509 Maximum general income for a year
(1) A council must not make rates and charges for a year so as to produce general income of an amount that exceeds the notional general income of the council for the previous year as varied by the percentage (if any) applicable to the council under section 506, 508 (2) or 508A for the year for which the rates and charges are made, except as provided by section 511 or 511A.(2) The notional general income of a council for the previous year is the amount that would have been derived if the same rates and charges as were made to produce the general income for that previous year had been so made but, in the case of rates, had been made in respect of:(a) the valuations of rateable land in the council’s valuation record applicable as at 1 July in that previous year and required under this Act to be used in that previous year for the making and levying of rates (not including valuations of those parcels of rateable land for which supplementary valuations referred to in paragraph (b) have been furnished), and(b) supplementary valuations of rateable land having the same base date as those valuations and furnished to the council under the Valuation of Land Act 1916 during that previous year, and(c) any estimates of increase in value of rateable land that are provided to the council under section 513 in respect of that previous year.
510 Maximum annual charge for domestic waste management services
(1) A council must not make an annual charge for domestic waste management services for a parcel of rateable land that exceeds the annual charge for the parcel for the previous year as varied by the percentage (if any) applicable to the council under section 507, 508 (2) or 508A for the year for which the charge is made.(2) The annual charge for a parcel of land for a previous year:(a) in the case of a parcel for which a charge has been made for part of the year only, is taken to be the charge that was actually made, multiplied by 365 and divided by the number of days in respect of which the charge was made, and(b) in the case of a parcel for which no charge was actually made for the previous year, is taken to be the charge that was actually made for that year in relation to a comparable parcel of land (that is, a parcel of land of the same classification, of a similar size and in the same general locality).
510A Maximum annual charge for stormwater management services
(1) The regulations are to prescribe the maximum annual charge that a council may levy for the provision of stormwater management services for parcels of land in respect of which such a charge may be levied.(2) The annual charge for the provision of stormwater management services for a parcel of land in respect of which such a charge may be levied must not exceed the maximum annual charge prescribed by the regulations under subsection (1).
511 Catching up of shortfall in general income
(1) If the rates and charges made by a council for a year that produce its general income produce an amount of general income that is less than the maximum amount permissible under section 509 for that year because the council did not apply a full percentage increase applicable to it under section 506, 508 (2) or 508A for the year for which the rates and charges were made, the council may make rates and charges for either or both of the next 2 years after the year for which the shortfall occurred so as to produce the maximum amount so permissible of the general income plus the whole or any part of the shortfall.(2) An amount of a shortfall caught up in accordance with this section may be caught up once only.
511A Catching up of income lost due to reductions in valuation
(1) This section applies to a council that cannot recover or retain a part of the maximum permissible general income determined under this Part for a year because, after the determination is made, a valuation used in making a rate is reduced on objection under Part 3, or appeal under Part 4, of the Valuation of Land Act 1916. The part of the maximum permissible general income that cannot be recovered or retained is referred to in this section as the unrecovered amount.(2) The council may increase the maximum permissible general income determined under this Part for a year by any unrecovered amount for a previous year.
512 Effect of contravening section 509, 510, 510A, 511 or 511A
(1) If a council contravenes section 509, 510, 510A, 511 or 511A in making a rate or charge for a year:(a) the contravention does not affect the validity of the rate or charge, but(b) rates and charges made for the following year by the council are invalid for all purposes unless:(i) before the rates and charges were made the council submitted to the Minister such information respecting the rates and charges proposed to be made for that following year as the Minister may require and the Minister, by order published in the Gazette, approved of their being made, and(ii) the rates and charges conform with the Minister’s approval.(iii) (Repealed)(2) The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, exempt a specified council from the operation of subsection (1) (b) for a specified year.(3) Section 712 does not prevent a person’s liability for a rate or charge that is invalid because of subsection (1) (b) from being disputed at any time on the ground of that invalidity.
513 Estimates of increases and decreases in value for purposes of notional rate income
(1) A council may, at any time after 31 January in any year but before 31 May in that year, request the Valuer-General to provide:(a) estimates of increases and decreases in values for parcels of rateable land for which supplementary valuations are required to be furnished under the Valuation of Land Act 1916 but which, before the date of the request, have not been so furnished, and(b) estimates of increases and decreases in values for parcels of rateable land for which supplementary valuations have been or are required to be furnished under the Valuation of Land Act 1916 but which have or will have a different base date from those used for rating purposes for that year because of a general valuation furnished in that year for the council’s area.(2) The Valuer-General must provide the estimates within 1 month after the date of the request.(3) An estimate must be made with respect to the same base date as the valuations used for rating purposes for the year in which the request is made.(4) An estimate may relate to all parcels of rateable land of the class for which a kind of ordinary rate was made for the relevant year by the council.
Rates and Charges
Types
Levied on or payable by
Differentiation
Structure
Application
Ordinary rates (s 492)
All rateable land (ss 554, 555, 556)
4 Categories
(ss 493, 514)Base amount may yield up to 50% of income from rate, category or subcategory (s 500)
Ordinary rate must be made each year (s 494)
Ad valorem amount may be the same or different for categories (s 528) and the same or different for subcategories (s 529)
Special rate may be made in addition to ordinary rate (s 495 and see note to s 495)
Farmland
(s 515)Residential
(s 516)Mining
(s 517)Business
(s 518)Optional subcategories
(ss 493, 529)Special rates (s 492)
Rateable land that
• benefits from works, etc• contributes to need for works, etc• has access to works, etc (ss 495, 498, 538)
(s 495)Annual charges for domestic waste management services (s 496)
Each parcel of rateable land for which the service is available (s 496)
A council may determine differing amounts for the same charge
(s 541)Charge must be made each year (s 496)
Other annual charges (s 501)
Each parcel of rateable land for which the service is provided or proposed to be provided (s 501)
A council may determine differing amounts for the same charge
(s 541)Charge may be a single amount, a rate per unit, or a combination (s 540)
Charge may be of differing amounts (s 541)
A minimum amount may be fixed (s 542)
A single charge may be imposed for two or more services (s 501)
Criteria for determining amount (s 539)
Charge may be made
• in addition to ordinary rate and• in addition to or instead of special rate (s 503)Charges for actual use (s 502)
The user of the service (s 502)
According to the nature of the service