Cost Shifting Report – How State Costs Consume Council Rates
Published on 23 July 2025
Mayor Cr. Steve Allan presented a Mayoral Minute at the 16 July Ordinary Council Meeting requesting that Councillors note the findings of the recent Local Government NSW (LGNSW) Cost Shifting Report, that a copy of the report be placed on our website, and that Council writes to the Premier, the NSW Treasurer, and the NSW Minister for Local Government asking that they urgently address these costs.
Cost shifting occurs when state and federal governments force councils to assume responsibility for infrastructure, services and regulatory functions without providing sufficient supporting funding.
Cost shifting was equivalent to $571 per Bellingen ratepayer in 2023–24.
As the peak organisation representing the interests of local councils across NSW, LGNSW has been closely monitoring the extent of cost shifting onto local government via its annual Cost Shifting Survey.
The 2023-24 Cost Shifting Survey has revealed that cost shifting totalled $1.50 billion in 2023-24, which is a 10 per cent increase from the last survey result of $1.36 billion in 2021–22.
Some examples of cost shifting in NSW include:
- Emergency Service contributions
- Cutting or failing to adequately fund essential services
- Pensioner rebates
- Forced rates exemptions
- The waste levy
There is a lack of transparency around these invisible taxes, many of which are now being hidden within rate bills. Residents expect the rates, fees and charges that they pay for council services to fund the services that council provide and not be passed back to State Government.
The NSW Government needs to take urgent action to address cost shifting onto councils and their communities, through a combination of regulatory reform, budgetary provision and appropriate funding.
For more information on the report, download here: Cost-Shifting-Report-2025.pdf(PDF, 2MB)