Guidance for councils

Our guidance for councils focuses on three areas:

1. complying with rate capping helps ensure councils align with our over-arching regulatory framework
2. applying for a higher cap helps ensure that councils applying for a higher cap understand and meet the requirements of the application process
3. community engagement resources provide councils with valuable templates, presentation material and other material that will help them ensure they've effectively engaged with their communities.

View the 'resources' tab on this page for all relevant guidance resources.

Read more about our role in council rate capping.

Complying with rate capping

All Victorian councils must:

1. comply with the Minister's rate cap or approved higher cap
2. submit the annual compliance information template and rating system reports (as at 30 June and 1 July) by 30 September each year
3. respond to information requests for the biennial outcomes report.

Before 31 December each year, the Minister for Local Government sets a rate cap for the next financial year. The minister can set a cap that applies to all councils, a group of councils or a single council.

If the rate cap does not meet a council’s needs, the council can submit a higher cap application for up to four years of higher caps at a time. We assess these applications, then approve or reject them.

Our overview papers summarise the applications we receive and the decisions we make. They also outline our approach to assessing applications and observations from previous higher cap applications.

Our decision papers detail each council’s application and how we reached our decision.

We also publish each council’s application, any additional information provided by councils on request, and the expert advice that informed our decisions.