22 July 2025
North Sydney Council plans a new two-stage community engagement campaign that is explicitly designed to satisfy the requirements of the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal for approving a Special Rate Variation. The move follows IPART’s rejection in May of a controversial Council application that would have seen residential rates increase by 87% over two years.
Titled North Sydney – Towards a Sustainable Future, the initiative follows Council’s acknowledgement in its 2025–26 Operational Plan that its financial sustainability is at risk, citing concerns over its capacity to maintain current service levels and renew ageing infrastructure. The campaign, if endorsed at Council’s 28 July meeting, would run across August and October–November and directly inform revisions to the Long Term Financial Plan and future rating scenarios.
The community engagement approach is structured to align with IPART’s six assessment criteria for SRV applications. These require councils to:
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Demonstrate that the need and purpose of a different rate path is clearly articulated in Integrated Planning and Reporting documents;
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Show evidence that the community is aware of the need for, and extent of, a rate rise;
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Show that the impact on affected ratepayers is reasonable;
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Exhibit, approve and adopt the relevant IP&R documents;
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Explain and quantify productivity improvements and cost containment strategies; and
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Address any other matter considered relevant by IPART.
The draft engagement plan states that “to meet criterion two, Council would only need to undertake engagement at the ‘inform’ level, but a ‘consult’ level would ensure it also more fully meets criteria one and four.” It further notes that “where the proposed SRV funds additional projects, infrastructure renewals, services or service level increases, Council must consider the community’s willingness to pay for these increases with increased rates, as required for criteria 3.”
The first phase of the engagement campaign will run from 1–29 August and include public and demographically targeted surveys exploring expectations around service levels, infrastructure conditions and ratepayer willingness to fund them. A second phase, running 20 October to 24 November, will test sentiment on revised financial modelling and rating options.
Council’s documentation identifies the process as both “high impact” and “high complexity,” reflecting the borough-wide reach of any proposed rate changes and the anticipated difficulty of conveying financial concepts to the general public. The risk of failing to meet IPART’s engagement standards is explicitly acknowledged but rated low due to the design of the campaign.
Council previously failed to gain IPART approval for a rate variation amid questions about the clarity of purpose and community backing. The new plan promises “balanced and objective information,” forums, precinct presentations, and surveys, with the goal of ensuring residents are informed and their feedback incorporated into the final submission.