Is a 30 percent rate rise on the horizon in Ku-ring-gai?
Whether councillors accept the rate rise will be decided in a meeting later this month.
Huw Bradshaw
October 10, 2025
A report produced by Ku-ring-gai council staff will recommend councillors vote for a 30.4 percent increase to rates in the LGA.
What’s happening: The council report comes after a months-long consultation process with residents, in which four different rate variation options were presented.
Whether the 30 percent hike is accepted by councillors will be decided on Tuesday, October 21, when they will vote on the matter.
The hike is also contingent on approval from the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) through which all rate hikes more than 4.4% must go.
Earlier this year, a North Sydney Council rate hike of 87% was rejected by IPART.
The tribunal can either approve, reject, or partially approve special rate variations from local councils.
What it looks like: The current average residential rate for the Ku-ring-gai LGA is $1,720. This rate hike will place an additional $523 on that bill, making the average rate $2,243.
What the council says: The council has previously chalked up these rate rises to increased costs of service provision and cost shifting from the state government.
According to the council report, feedback has shown that the Ku-ring-gai community “generally supported paying higher rates to improve services and facilities.”
Who supports this, anyway? As part of a representative survey conducted by council, 44% of residents did not support any special rate rise, while 56% supported one of three rate rise options: 22, 29, and 33 percent increases.
