Western Australia switches Rockingham and Swan rates to gross rental value

Ratepayers on designated lots in two Western Australian local government districts will have their rates calculated on the rental value of their land rather than its unimproved value, under three determinations published in the Western Australian Government Gazette of 3 November 2026. The notices — LG401, LG402 and LG403 — were signed by Alex Lyon, Executive Director Local Government at the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety, as a delegate of the Minister administering the Local Government Act 1995. Two apply to the City of Rockingham and one to the City of Swan, with commencement dates of 16 and 25 October 2026.

The legal instrument

Each notice is made under section 6.28(1) of the Local Government Act 1995, which allows the Minister — or a person delegated by the Minister — to fix the method of valuation used by a local government as the basis for a rate on particular land. In all three cases the text states that the method of valuation “is to be the gross rental value of the land”. The schedules are headed “UV to GRV”, recording the shift from unimproved value to gross rental value, and identify the affected land only by lot numbers and deposited plans rather than by street address.

The three notices appear in the Local Government section of Gazette No. 140, at page 2536, between a Public Trustee interest-rate notice and a Shire of Brookton firebreak order.

Rockingham: two notices, two start dates

• LG401 — effective 16 October 2026: Lots 435 to 444 inclusive, Lot 469, Lot 470, Lots 485 to 534 inclusive and Lots 563 to 567 inclusive, as shown on Deposited Plan 430786; and Lots 53 to 59 inclusive, Lots 85 to 88 inclusive and Lots 101 to 136 inclusive, as shown on Deposited Plan 432482.
• LG402 — effective 25 October 2026: Lots 46 and 47 and Lots 67 to 77 inclusive, as shown on Deposited Plan 431867.

LG401 is the largest of the three instruments by lot count, spanning 114 lots across two deposited plans, including the contiguous run of 50 lots numbered 485 to 534. LG402 covers 13 lots on a single plan and is the shortest schedule in the set.

The two Rockingham determinations also differ in their commencement dates, nine days apart, and in the form of the signatory’s title: LG401 is signed by Alex Lyon as Executive Director Local Government, while LG402 and LG403 carry the acting designation “A/Executive Director Local Government”.

Swan: 44 lots on one deposited plan

LG403 applies to the City of Swan and takes effect from 25 October 2026, the same date as the second Rockingham notice. Its schedule lists:

• Lots 846 to 861 inclusive
• Lots 872 to 894 inclusive
• Lots 927 to 929 inclusive
• Lot 947 and Lot 948

All are shown on Deposited Plan 431849, a single plan covering 44 lots. As with the Rockingham notices, the determination does not state individual valuations, rate-in-the-dollar figures or the estimated effect on any ratepayer’s bill; it fixes only the method of valuation to be applied.

What it means

The switch from unimproved value to gross rental value changes the base against which a municipal rate is struck for every lot in the three schedules, so the effect on individual landowners depends on how the two valuations compare for their property. Because the determinations commenced on 16 and 25 October 2026 but were published on 3 November 2026, owners of the designated lots learned of the change after it had already taken effect. The notices give no street addresses or suburb names, so affected owners must match their lot number and deposited plan against the schedules to establish whether they are covered. The determinations are the latest in a series of similar “UV to GRV” notices issued for the City of Rockingham in recent months.

Source: Western Australian Government Gazette, No. 140, 3 November 2026, Local Government, p. 2536 (official reference: LG401, LG402, LG403).