As part of the annual planning process, fees and charges are reviewed to ensure the costs of providing these Council services are recovered by those who use them. This annual review provides the opportunity to reflect changes in the costs and services.

Due to the increased operating costs most fees and charges are being increased by 3%. We need to ensure costs are recovered so that Council services are not subsidised further by rates. The fees and charges to provide services are driven by costs such as electricity, insurance and labour which have increased in the last 12 months.

Some fees are proposed to increase or change to actual costs so that costs are fully recovered as much as possible. The most significant changes are:

Changes to water, wastewater and stormwater connection fees

For new water, wastewater and stormwater connections it is becoming more difficult to recover costs through a set fee so in some cases ratepayers end up making up the difference. We are proposing, where appropriate, to charge these fees at actual cost.

It would be a requirement to use a Council approved contractor and they, in most cases, provide a quote for the connection. Council would need to review and approve the quote for compliance with regulatory standards. The homeowner or developer can accept the quote and proceed with the work paying the contractor directly.

Council would need to inspect the connection once completed so there would still be an administration and inspection fee to pay to Council.

Landfill and rubbish bags

There is an increase in landfill charges and the cost of the official WDC rubbish bags due to increasing operating costs and the government’s increase in the Emissions Trading Scheme charges and the waste levy. These costs are incurred for every tonne of waste going to landfill. The tonnage charges will increase by $15, and the official WDC rubbish bags will increase from $5.00 to $5.30.

Elderly housing

Elderly housing weekly rent will increase by $40 per week as approved in the LTP 2024-2034. Low income earners are eligible for the Central Government funded Accommodation Supplement (AS). Most of this increase will be covered by the AS. The new prices would be $190 for a small single, $200 for a large single, and $180 for a bed-sit.

Alcohol Licensing

Council is proposing to adopt an Alcohol Bylaw that will allow Alcohol Licensing fees to be set by Council, this will not impact Managers Certificate fees.

Read the Draft Alcohol Fees Bylaw Statement of Proposal (PDF 1.19 MB)

In General

Some of our fees and charges have required more significant increases often due to increased staff time to complete the service or higher contractor costs.

There are some fees and charges that we have been able to maintain at the 2024/25 level as the cost recovery is being met. Slight wording changes have also been made throughout to better describe fees and charges.

Council adopted the Dog Fees and Charges on 25 March 2025 and some fees are set by legislation such a parking infringements so are not part of the consultation.

View the Proposed Fees and Charges Schedule 2025-2026 (PDF 689 KB)