Valuations are carried out by an independent contract valuer on behalf of the Valuer-General. The Valuer-General's department supplies them to council for use in rates calculations. The contract valuer has a thorough knowledge of sales, rentals and statutory considerations in accordance with government legislation.
Valuers are notified of any property sales in the municipality and information on rentals is obtained from owners, agents and tenants. This information is then analysed and collated so that levels of value can be established for individual areas within the Shire.
From time to time, a supplementary valuation is made where the property value has changed substantially due to a new dwelling, a factory, demolition of a building, new water infrastructure, fencing or improvements.
These supplementary valuations are carried out between valuations in order to bring these properties in to line and are based on the same levels of value used for the general valuation. Supplementary rates notices may be issued based on the new valuation during the year.
Revaluations are carried out every year to reflect market relativity. Current valuations are based on values at 1 January annually which is a statutory requirement set down by the Valuer-General. The current revaluation came to effect on 1 July 2023 and will be based on the values as at 1 January 2023.
A formal objection to a valuation may be made in relation to the value of a property upon the grounds set out in the Valuation of Land Act 1960. Ratepayers who do not believe the valuation to be correct may lodge an objection.
All objections must be lodged within two months of you receiving your valuation notice.
Objections should be lodged using the Rating Valuation Objection Portal where you will be able to include supporting evidence and provide reasons to why you believe the current valuation is not accurate. Alternatively, you can use the prescribed objection form which can be downloaded from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning website DELWP - Objecting to a rating valuation.
The Valuers will review the valuation and consider any information provided within your objection application. You may be contacted by a Valuer to discuss your objection further.
The Valuer has 4 months to review the valuation and will supply a copy to the Valuer-General Victoria.
The Valuer-General Victoria will formally advise Council of the outcome once the review is complete and processed through the certification stages.
Any rates changes will occur after the Valuer-General Victoria provides Council with the formal certification file. Adjustments to your rates account (if required) cannot occur until this process is finalised. We will send you a new rates notice once the information becomes available.
Yes, you must still pay rates by the due dates while your objection is being considered. Failure to pay rates by the due date may result in interest being charged.
For further information you may refer to the following sections of the Valuation of Land Act 1960:
Further information is available from the Rating Valuations section of the DELWP website.