The Sunshine Coast will be one of 20 local government areas (LGAs) across Queensland to receive new land valuations in March next year.
The Department of Resources has begun assessing property markets and properties, with a team of almost 140 valuers gathering on-the-ground information, as well as undertaking desktop assessments, including research on property sales since the previous valuation.
Across the Sunshine Coast Council area, 114,002 properties with a total area of almost 2500 square kilometres will be valued.
The new valuations will take effect from June 30 next year.
Land valuations will remain unchanged in local government areas that are not revalued.
Valuer-General Laura Dietrich said the process was an important one for helping to determine rates.
“The decision to revalue an LGA is based on several factors, including a detailed property market analysis, the timing since last valuation and the results of consultations with individual local governments and industry stakeholders,” she said.
“Land valuations provide independent data that underpins decision-making and allows landowners to monitor the changing value of their land.
“The information is used by the Queensland Revenue Office when considering land tax and councils as an input into their rating considerations.
“But it’s important to stress, it’s not the only data considered by a council when deciding rates.
“Local governments have wide-ranging powers to manage rates, including differential rating, setting a minimum rate, rate capping and the averaging of valuations before rates are assessed.”
New valuations were issued to landowners across the Noosa local government area in March this year, leading Mayor Clare Stewart to meet with the Natural Resources Minister to raise residents’ concerns about land valuation increases. Many land values doubled in 12 months, causing a financial impact on ratepayers.
The Valuation of Land Act, which outlines the valuation process, states that every local government area must be revalued at least once every five years.
The LGAs to be revalued each year is determined based on a range of criteria set out in the Act, such as market movement and time since the previous valuation.
The most recent Sunshine Coast LGA revaluations were in 2022 and 2019.
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