Excuse me for being late to this thread but having some knowledge of the Cairns rating structure there would appear to be a good deal of misinformation. Cairns rates are not unusual and typically in line with most Queensland cities. Rates in Cairns have increased by about 4 %– 5% p.a. in recent years which again is probably typical and not unusual.

“I have an IP in Cairns and have just received my Council rates notice. It appears to be 2.3% of the worth of the IP. Is this right?”

“Am I missing something?”

Most residential units in Cairns pay the minimum general rate which was $788 p.a. in FY 2013. My guess is we are talking about a cheaper unit with 2.3% implying a value of about $90K. Cheaper units in a sense are disadvantaged by the minimum rate structure and by paying an equivalent amount for such as garbage and sewerage servics as larger houses. Again this applies in almost all Qld councils.

“I have. All of them. They still haven't indicated on what basis (and why) they've calculated the rates the way that they have. Absolutely appalling!”

For a residential unit your rates notice will include “General Residential K”. Next to that is a number. That number is the site land value attributed to your unit on which the general rate is calculated IF it exceeds the minimum rate.

Note that for a strata unit the valuation will be the site land valuation for the entire block split between units according to the body corporate schedule. If you think your valuation is anomalous the first thing you should check is the strata schedule.  The valuation comes from the Qld Valuer-General which all councils are required to use for general rates.

Additional service charges are Water Access $232 p.a; Sewage $696 p.a; Garbage $333 p.a. This results in a total minimum rate of $2,051 p.a. This is comparable with other Qld councils and lower than the rates on an equivalent unit in Townsville. There was also a state fire levy on the rates notice. Also note that Cairns is among the few larger Qld councils that do not charge higher general rates for IP than for PPOR.

The Cairns economy is now recovering quite well after a rough patch post GFC and is more diversified than some imagine. Cairns Council has among the lowest relative debt levels in Qld and management efficiency is comparable with other councils. Valuations for unit land have fallen and units paying above the minimum rate have experienced a fall in general rates.

In short, your rates are comparable with other Qld centres and not anomalous at all. The apparently high proportion is likely a function of the minimum rate structure and a currently low property valuation. Rental vacancy rates in Cairns are now quite low and cheaper units also generally achieve high gross yields.