News updates

A message from the General Manager

What's happening?

To deliver our community’s vision for our beautiful Shire, including securing a positive future for our coming generations that is liveable, sustainable, productive and collaborative, it is essential that we have sound financial foundations and continue to spend only within our means.

A recent review of our Long Term Financial Plan identified, among other high priority actions, a need to consider applying to the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a Special Rate Variation (SRV).

An SRV is a common way for local councils to change the rates residents and businesses pay in order to fund future community needs.

Rates would rise by 8.5% in 2023/24, 7.5% in 2024/25, 6.5% in 2025/26 and 5.5% in 2026/27, which represents an increase of 31.05% (cumulative) staged over four years, including the annual rate peg set by IPART.

We are consulting you, the community, about this rise in rates which will allow us to maintain the high levels of service that you have come to expect and resource projects to address what you have told us are your long-term priorities.

What you have told us is important

  • Long term financial sustainability

    Ensure that we have sufficient funding to deliver the services you have come to expect and have capacity to respond to unknown shocks, such as natural disasters

    Find out more 

  • Maintaining our assets

    Ensure we maintain our buildings, open spaces, roads and drainage at a standard which meets the needs of our community

    Find out more 

  • Connected walking and cycling paths

    $17,982,370

    • Shared paths – footpaths and cycleways
    • Track and trail upgrade for accessibility
    • Track and trail maintenance


    Find out more 

  • Sustainable and resilient community

    $6,035,096

    • Community Resilience Program – climate change adaptation and mitigation
    • Bushfire risk mitigation
    • Community Development Programs (e.g. social isolation – Hello Hornsby)

    Find out more 

  • Upgrading your community infrastructure

    $30,807,000

    • Renew our public amenities
    • Community centre access and use upgrades
    • Prioritised stormwater upgrades
    • Improve sportsgrounds change rooms

    Find out more 

  • Planning for our future

    $1,000,000

    • Improve strategic planning, including developing Pennant Hills Town Centre Master Plan and Place Plan

    Find out more 

  • Protecting bushland and improving open space

    $10,283,419

    • Bushland asset management
    • Playground upgrades


    Find out more 

  • Improving our technology

    $1,150,000

    • Providing better customer service, including enhanced cyber security


    Find out more 

What would this mean for me?

IPART determines a percentage by which councils can increase their rates each year. This is known as a ‘rate peg’. Our forecasted calculations show that even with this annual rate peg increase, it will not be sufficient to achieve our collective objectives.

We are looking to apply for an increase of 28 percent staged over four years (31.05% cumulative) – including the forecasted rate peg – as follows:

For residents currently paying our average rate, this would mean an increase of $2.07 a week in the first year. For business ratepayers, the weekly increase on the average rate would be $3.97 in the first year.

The table below gives an indication of the average annual rates likely to be experienced by residential and business ratepayers with and without the SRV.

Residents in the Hornsby Shire local government area traditionally pay lower rates than the average rates of other councils in the Northern Sydney region and than NSW councils in the same category as ours.

View the comparison tables

Thank you for your input. The feedback period closed on Tuesday, 8 November 2022.