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State government levy unfair for Council and ratepayers

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Knox City Council opposes the state government’s decision to double the emergency services levy, which all councils are legally required to collect with rates.

The state government has announced that from 1 July 2025, the Fire Services Property Levy will be replaced with the much higher Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund, commonly known as the emergency services levy.

Knox Mayor, Cr Lisa Cooper said Council opposed the state government’s approach to collecting and implementing this levy.

“Knox Council, like all Victorian councils, is legally required to collect this state government levy,” she said.

“Council supports the position of the Municipal Association of Victoria in opposing local government being a collector on behalf of the state government.

“We all support our hardworking emergency services personnel and recognise that these essential services require funding. But it should not come at the expense of increasing the burden on our ratepayers.”

Overall, the levy will roughly double for residential ratepayers based on property value, with fees rising from $4.86M in 2024-25 to $9.77M in 2025-26 across Knox.

“Council is writing to Victorian MPs, including local members and all crossbenchers, to place pressure on the state government to fund costs associated with the levy,” Cr Cooper said.

“Knox ratepayers should not bear the financial burden of setting up or administering this new levy. If we are legally required to collect the levy, the state government should fully fund the costs. They should not be passed on to Knox ratepayers.

“We estimate it will cost an extra $196,000 to implement the new levy in 2025-26, while ongoing costs are unknown.”

If local government is to administer the levy, Knox Council supports the MAV in calling on the state government to:

  • Fund the cost of administering the levy
  • Undertake community engagement directly with communities
  • Transfer responsibility to the SRO for collecting the levy for principal place of residence, to ensure streamlined and efficient collection
  • Continue efforts to reduce the levy burden on all Victorian ratepayers, especially in rural areas and primary producers, reflecting adjustments already made
  • Clarify the levy’s purpose, allocation and impact on ratepayers, and provide a public statement including justification for any fee increases
  • Conduct ongoing economic impact assessment and release findings
  • Ensure equitable fund distribution

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