City of Fremantle
Coastal Charm
Rates make up the majority of the City’s revenue.
Rates help pay for more than 100 different community services and programs. These include the Fremantle Arts Centre, the library and toy library, Fremantle Leisure Centre, festivals and events, waste collection, environmental services, infrastructure maintenance, sporting and recreation facilities, community safety, customer service, street cleaning and so much more.
The second half of 2024/25 has indicated positive signs with the gradual return of inflation back towards the RBA’s target band, enabling the City to impose a lower rate increase than the previous year.
However as demonstrated in the latest WALGA Local Government Cost Index, latent cost pressures associated with the lag of economic conditions from the last 3-4 years continue to drive cost pressures across key areas of local government service delivery, and as such the City must remain focused on managing these costs.
While the City will have to continue to navigate these high costs for the delivery of construction and other services, it must also remain focused on investing in the renewal of our existing assets.
To deliver the hundreds of programs, initiatives and activities that help our residents and visitors live, work and play in a city like nowhere else in the world, we need to ensure our revenue sources remain sustainable into the future.
The City issues rates notices in August each year.
The City applies differential rates by taking into account the levels of services provided to different types of properties, the cost of providing services to certain types of properties, as well as the need to encourage certain types of activities in the city.
Our categories are:
If you feel that the valuation applied to your property is incorrect, you can lodge an objection with Landgate’s Valuer General’s Office within 60 days of the issue date of your rates notice.
The State Government introduced an Emergency Services Levy (ESL) in 2003/04 to fund the services provided by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services of Western Australia (DFES). Local Councils across the state are required to include the levy on their rates accounts and collect it on behalf of DFES. Enquiries regarding ESL may be directed to DFES by;
Rates are calculated by multiplying a property’s valuation by the rate in the dollar set by Council. The valuation is determined by Landgate’s Valuer General and is a Gross Rental Value (GRV).
Step 1 The City determines the amount of rate revenue needed to deliver the services, programs and activities we provide.
Step 2 We then work out how this cost should be spread across the City’s rateable properties.
Step 3 We then multiply the rate in the dollar by your property’s value to calculate your contribution.
Watch this useful video to see how rates are calculated.
