2 June 2026
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal has approved North Sydney Council’s application for a permanent 52.66% increase in general income over three years, clearing the way for residential rates to rise by an average 52.3% by 2028-29.
The decision also approved an increase in minimum rates for residential and business ratepayers from $743.85 in 2025-26 to $1,216.79 by 2028-29, an increase of $473.
Under the approved pathway, the council’s general income can rise by 23% in 2026-27, 14.58% in 2027-28 and 8.32% in 2028-29. IPART said the increases would lift the council’s permissible general income from $64.86m to $99.01m after three years. The increase will remain permanently in the rates base.
The decision followed strong community opposition. IPART received 1047 responses to its feedback form and 251 submissions during its consultation period. Of the feedback form responses, 893 respondents, or 86%, opposed the proposed special variation, while 77 supported it and 73 partly supported it.
Respondents raised concerns about affordability, the council’s financial management, the sufficiency of existing resources, the North Sydney Olympic Pool project, asset management, cost savings, consultation and the burden between minimum ratepayers and ad valorem ratepayers.
IPART nevertheless found the council had met all five Office of Local Government criteria for a special variation, including financial need, community awareness, reasonable impact on ratepayers, integrated planning and reporting documentation and productivity and cost containment.
The tribunal said the council had demonstrated a financial need to improve sustainability and help fund infrastructure renewal and backlog reduction. It found that without the special variation, the council’s operating performance ratio would average minus 2.5% over five years. With the approved increase, the ratio was projected to average 8.1%.
IPART noted that North Sydney Council planned to allocate about 87% of the additional special variation funds to capital expenditure to fund infrastructure renewals and help reduce a $157m infrastructure backlog.
The tribunal also accepted the council’s argument that the increase was needed to restore financial sustainability, address long-running underfunding of infrastructure renewal, fund new corporate and financial systems, maintain service levels and set aside about $40m in special variation income to support future co-funding of projects in its Local Infrastructure Contributions Plan.
IPART said the council’s long-term financial plan made clear that the special variation was not intended to directly fund the North Sydney Olympic Pool project. However, it also noted the council’s position that meeting the pool project’s financial obligations had limited its capacity to invest in other services, infrastructure renewal and future priorities, contributing to the need for the rate rise.
The tribunal said it had identified some shortcomings in the council’s community engagement but found the council had adequately consulted the community and provided sufficient information about the need for and extent of the proposed increase.
It also found the impact on ratepayers was reasonable, despite acknowledging that some stakeholders said the increase would create affordability challenges amid cost of living pressures. IPART pointed to North Sydney’s current rate levels, capacity to pay analysis, the council’s hardship policy and pensioner concessions.
The average residential rate is expected to rise 23.3% in 2026-27, 14.2% in 2027-28 and 8.2% in 2028-29, for a cumulative 52.3% increase. The average business rate is expected to rise 22.5%, 15.2% and 8.6% over the same period, for a cumulative 53.2% increase.
The council has 40,778 rateable properties, including 37,347 residential ratepayers and 3,431 business ratepayers.
IPART’s approval is subject to conditions. The council must use the additional income for the purposes outlined in its application and report in its annual reports from 2026-27 until 2033-34 on the expenditure funded by the additional income and the outcomes achieved. It must also report over the same period on productivity improvements and cost containment measures.
The tribunal said North Sydney Council expected to deliver ongoing savings of about $52m over 10 years, including an estimated $4.7m in 2026-27, equivalent to about 3.6% of total operating expenses. However, it said the council could have more clearly quantified its future efficiency strategies over the term of the special variation.
IPART said the determination set the maximum amount by which the council could increase general income over three years. The council retains discretion over whether to levy the full increase and how to distribute rates across categories.