Special Rate and Charge Schemes

Yes, you can download the Special Charge Scheme policy.

Following the $100 million reduction in Federal funding for the road sealing program, on Tuesday 13 May 2025 Council endorsed the Special Rate and Charge Scheme Policy 2025. This policy will guide decisions on sealing unsealed roads, including funding availability, project criteria and contributions from both Council and landowners.

A lot of development took place in Yarra Ranges between 1900 and the 1950s. At the time our region was part of country Victoria rather than metropolitan Melbourne. The infrastructure standards and community expectations were different from what they are today.

Before the 1960s, the Local Government Act didn't give Council the authority to require developers to include infrastructure improvements, like roads and drainage, when creating new subdivisions.

In 1958, the Local Government Act changed. Developers are now required to build this infrastructure alongside essential services such as:

• gas
• electricity water
• street lighting.

The costs of improvements are passed on to new property owners when they buy land in new subdivisions.

Your property has been identified as benefiting from the proposed works. This means you will receive specific advantages that others outside the scheme won’t.

Properties near the works often experience benefits like:

• reduced noise and dust
• better drainage
• improved road access and safety
• overall property improvement.

A Scheme investigation may be initiated by Council officers, landowner requests to Council, or requests from other public bodies. Council officers will develop, maintain and update a list of projects, prioritised based on need and risk or other factors.

Requests by property owners for Schemes where the Scheme involves a larger number of properties may see Council request, from property owners, a petition, to test the level of landowner support.

For more information, contact our Infrastructure Delivery team on 1300 368 333 or mail@yarraranges.vic.gov.au

Find out more about how to Submit a petition to Council.

For an urban residential lot, the approximate cost to the property owner generally starts around $20,000 per benefit unit. This will vary greatly depending on the design, length of road and the number of properties included in each scheme.

We are currently assessing approximately 60 road sealing requests to determine approximate costs to landowners. These costs are likely to range on average between $20,000 and $40,000 per benefit unit.

For more information on approximate costs relevant to your road, please contact the Infrastructure Delivery team.

Council has an allocation of road sealing as part of its annual capital works program.

This allocation includes a proactive road sealing program with a landowner contribution generally up to a contribution amount of $20,000 (depending on each road). The allocation also includes a petition-based program with 80% landowner contribution and 20% Council contribution. Both programs are subject to landowner support and the availability of limited Council funding.  

We currently have around 60 road sealing requests, both formal and informal which would equate to approximately $33 million to complete. The proposed budget allocation for 2025/26 financial year is $3.2 million, which will allow council to commence both the proactive and petition-based road sealing programs.

A request for road sealing is usually received when a landowner petition is presented at a Council meeting and then referred to the Infrastructure Delivery Department for further assessment.

The investigation will determine the best construction standards. This will include estimated costs and any potential environmental, maintenance, or planning issues.

To assist with assessing requests for road sealing, we developed an assessment guideline. The categories include:

• Number of properties
• Community and social factors
• Socio-economic factors
• Maintenance costs and requests
• Traffic hierarchy and volumes
• Road access
• Environmental/planning overlays.

If we support the project, a survey is conducted to gauge landowner support. This survey will be completed by landowners whose properties will directly benefit from the works. 

For a project to proceed there generally needs to be majority landowner support and Council also need to endorse the Special Charge Scheme.

Whether a project goes ahead is also heavily dependent on the availability of limited funding that is allocated for Special Charge Scheme road sealing projects in Council's Capital Expenditure Program.

If both Council and landowner support is identified, the project will be referred for inclusion in Council's forward 10-year Capital Expenditure Program (CEP). Projects will be prioritised according to Council's current commitments, priorities and funding levels.

The CEP is reviewed on an annual basis in order to cater for current priorities. Landowners will be kept informed of the status of the project.

It can take on average 3 to 5 years from planning to construction for a supported project to be completed.

Council may contribute a portion of the total project cost to encourage landowner participation. Under the Special Rates and Charge Scheme Policy, this contribution is currently set at 20% of the total project cost.

Council generally also contributes when a road borders Crown land and/or Council reserves.

Council may consider increasing its contribution if the project benefits the wider community. For example, this may happen when a road connects to other major roads with higher traffic volumes.

For road improvements, traffic counts determine how much traffic is from landowners versus through traffic. We use this information to help calculate Council’s contribution.

We also typically contribute to improvements for road intersections and drainage. This is done as these benefit the broader community.

Council also applies a maximum contribution cap to landowner contributions for eligible Special Charge Schemes. This ceiling is designed to improve affordability and applies only to individual residential properties. It does not apply to properties used for commercial, industrial, or home-based business purposes. Where a landowner’s apportioned cost exceeds the ceiling (excluding financing costs), Council will cover the excess.

There are 2 main types of eligible schemes mentioned:

• Proactive Program – Initiated by Council, with a proposed landowner contribution cap of $20,000 per development unit.
• Petition-Based Program – Initiated by landowners through a petition, requiring 80% landowner contribution and 20% Council contribution.

As of the 2025/26 financial year, the maximum ceiling amount is generally $20,000 per Development Unit, reflecting the increased cost of road construction over recent years. This ceiling is reviewed annually as part of Council’s budget process and may be adjusted at Council’s discretion without requiring formal amendment to the policy.

Usually, each property is charged 1 unit for the benefit of the project. However, for larger properties, costs may be based on factors like the property's frontage (up to 10% of the total charge) or the area for drainage schemes.

Properties that are being subdivided, have multiple homes, are used commercially, or have a more intensive use than regular residential properties will be assessed individually. These properties may have a higher contribution.

If your property borders 2 or more roads, it may have access from these roads, along with other benefits. An assessment will be done to determine which road is your primary access.

• If your property has only a side or rear boundary on the road being improved, and your main access is from another road not included in the scheme, you’ll generally be charged 0.5 of a benefit unit.
• If the improvements are being made to the road that provides your primary access, you’ll generally be charged 1 benefit unit.

Your charge will be spread over several years, as specified when the scheme is declared, and will be repaid in the same way as your annual rates.

Financing costs, similar to home loan interest rates, will be added to your charge. The interest rate is fixed for the duration of the special charge and is based on advice from Council's financial institution for a fixed 10-year period loan.

Repayments will follow the same method as your regular Council rates. If you have a direct debit setup for your rates, it will also be used for the special charge.

You can pay the special charge as a lump sum payment. In this case, the total charge (which does not include financing costs) must be paid by a date set by Council when the special charge is decided. 

Apply to pay in a lump sum 

You can elect to payout the special charge at anytime requesting a payout figure for your special charge scheme. 

Yes, you can object.

The process of gathering landowner support is just the first step in starting a Special Charge Scheme. Once the official process begins, landowners are formally notified. Once notified you will have the chance to make a written submission or objection.

You may appear before Council to be heard in support of your submission. After considering all submissions, Council will decide whether to move forward with the proposal and will notify all landowners of the decision.

If we decide to proceed, you can apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a review of the decision.

When the special charge is implemented, landowners will be given detailed information on how to object and who to contact.

If you are unable to make your payments on time or at all, you may be eligible for consideration under Council’s Rate Recovery and Financial Hardship Policy.

You can contact Council’s Rate Department on 1300 368 333 for more information.