Serving the best interests of the community within a challenging economic climate is a key priority during Redland City Council’s deliberations for its 2025–2026 Budget, as is setting and administering rates and charges appropriately to meet Council’s legislative obligations and appropriately support long-term financial sustainability.
Council is striving to strike a balance between financial responsibility and maintaining essential services the community expects, such as roads, waste and water.
The major sources of finance available to Council are rates, levies, fees and charges, and grants.
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Ratepayer contributions are vital to the running of the city, maintaining public assets like car parks, boat ramps, street lighting, playgrounds and other public amenities, as well as funding services such as libraries, galleries, Redland Performing Arts Centre and Redlands IndigiScapes Centre.
Council is committed to managing the costs of delivering these services, so budget workshops include discussions on efficiencies that can be implemented within the organisation and how to absorb external cost pressures rather than passing them onto ratepayers.
These external pressures include increases in depreciation, insurance premiums, services, maintenance, and building and construction materials.
There has also been a sharp rise in costs as Council manages a range of additional responsibilities being passed down from higher levels of governments without funding support.
This has included providing funding for infrastructure at Queensland Government transport hubs, installing security cameras in public spaces for community safety, and the responsibility for fire ant management on Council land.
At Budget workshops and briefings, councillors consider topics such as rates and separate charges, the marine program, water and wastewater pricing, capital expenditure, borrowings and additional operating requirements, with majority sentiment guiding Council officers in the preparation of the budget, for adoption by Council at the Special Budget Meeting.
Council’s commitment to effective financial management includes two formal budget review processes each financial year, along with monthly finance reviews and monitoring of actual expenditure to the budget.
Council’s Special Budget Meeting will be held on Monday 23 June 2025.
Other factors impacting Council’s 2025–2026 Budget
Depreciation
Depreciation is a significant expense that needs to be accounted for in Council’s Budget.
Rising construction costs, which result in increased revaluations of Council assets, have resulted in significantly higher depreciation costs than previously forecast.
Higher depreciation expenses lead to tighter budget constraints and can also impact long-term planning for capital expenditure.
At the most recent General Meeting of Council on 21 May 2025, Council resolved to adopt the Second Budget Review for 2024–2025, which recognised an additional $9.8 million in depreciation expense for part of the 2024–2025 year, a cost pressure that will have further full-year impacts on the 2025–2026 Budget.
Queensland Government Waste Levy
Council has seen a sharp increase in the cost for waste due to the phased reduction of the Queensland Government’s waste levy rebate and an increase to the waste levy imposed on councils.
While these changes are designed to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill, they place significant financial pressure on Council.
The city’s waste levy bill alone is expected to rise by $2.2 million in 2025–2026 unless the community commits to reducing their household waste.
Council offers a range of solutions to residents to support them with waste reduction, including information and tools to help manage waste more responsibly and options for a range of bin types and sizes.
There have also been significant cost increases for green waste processing as composters in south-east Queensland modernise their facilities to meet stricter environmental standards set by the Queensland Government.
Low interest rates
Interest rates also have an impact on budget planning.
The lowering of interest rates reduces the revenue Council earns on its cash reserves and investments.
