IPART grants extension to application deadline
22 DECEMBER 2022 - MEDIA RELEASE
Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has granted an extension for QPRC to the application deadline for a proposed rate increase, through a Special Rate Variation application from 3 February to 3 March 2023.
The extension means an Extraordinary Meeting of Council planned for 1 February 2023 is no longer required and has been cancelled. Community feedback on the Special Rate Variation (SRV) will instead be presented to the 8 February Ordinary Meeting.
Rebecca Ryan, General Manager of QPRC welcomed the news ‘This extra month will provide Councillors more time to consider the community’s feedback on the proposed rate increases and review each scenario before making a decision’.
‘Since November, the Mayor and I have been attending two to three local progress, business chamber and community association meetings a week all across Queanbeyan-Palerang to explain the background to the current financial situation. We have welcomed the opportunity for these valuable discussions with local residents about what the proposed increase to rates mean and what effects each scenario would have on a typical rates bill. In addition, we have talked about Council services and how important these are for all our towns and villages.’
‘The application deadline extension means feedback can be better considered and Councillors can make better informed decisions on which way to proceed.
‘Councillors and I have heard from a lot of members of the community and I know there is keen interest in this issue. We have received a lot of feedback already through our formal feedback channels and I strongly encourage everyone to read the extensive information on our Your Voice consultation website,’ Ms Ryan said.
QPRC is one of 17 NSW Councils to have notified IPART of their intent to apply for a SRV increase, published with useful information about the process on the IPART website
Consultation on the SRV and Council’s Long Term Financial Plan remains open until 31 January 2023 at https://yourvoice.qprc.nsw.gov.au/srv
Once IPART has received QPRC’s application they will undertake their own round of public consultation before a final report and decision is expected in May 2023.
Consultation has concluded
