Sunshine Coast ratepayers will pay almost 10 per cent more in rates next financial year, with council defending the increase as necessary to deal with soaring costs and years of operating deficits.
Council’s 2026-27 Budget, adopted on Monday, includes a 9.7 per cent increase for most owner-occupier ratepayers, equivalent to an extra $221.68 a year or $4.26 a week.
The increase comes as many households continue to grapple with cost-of-living pressures and is well above the current inflation rate, which has eased significantly from recent peaks.
Mayor Rosanna Natoli described the budget as containing “tough decisions with a clear plan”, saying council was operating in one of the most difficult financial environments faced by any level of government in a generation.
Mayor Natoli said the budget was aimed at restoring financial sustainability after identifying significant operating deficits over the past five years.
“Put simply, Council had been spending beyond its means,” Cr Natoli said.
“We are not here to relitigate the past. We are here to fix it.
“Our goal is a balanced budget so we can keep delivering the services our community needs sustainably for the long term.
“This Budget contains tough decisions. We need to manage our resources responsibly even in challenging times. Rates will rise and Council will tighten its belt.”
The mayor also acknowledged the impact on households already grappling with rising costs.
“I am acutely aware this Budget asks more of families who are already stretched,” she said.
Council has increased pensioner concessions by five per cent, taking the annual concession for a single pensioner on a full pension to $343 and $268 for pensioner couples. It is also offering six-month interest-free payment plans for ratepayers experiencing financial hardship.
Mayor Natoli said delivering services now costs almost 30 per cent more than four years ago, while construction costs have risen by more than 60 per cent over the same period.
“The cost of building anything, running services, maintaining infrastructure, paying people fairly, it has all increased in ways that were difficult to predict and impossible to avoid,” she said.
The budget includes a $296 million capital works program, with major funding directed towards transport, recreation, environmental protection and community infrastructure across the region.
While the largest projects are concentrated on the coast, including the Caloundra Transport Corridor Upgrade, Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation and the Honey Farm Road Sports Precinct, several projects have been funded across the hinterland.
Key projects include:
• $1.6 million for the Maple Street Streetscape project in Maleny.
• $1.3 million for pathways at the Maleny Community Precinct District Recreation Park in North Maleny.
• $440,000 for roof renewals at Maleny Library.
• $450,000 for the Kenilworth Streetscape upgrade.
• $1.8 million for the Christensens Road gravel road upgrade at Hunchy.
• $2.9 million for the North Arm Road gravel road upgrade.
The budget also allocates $27 million to road resealing and pavement rehabilitation across the region’s 2,600-kilometre road network, alongside $5 million for safer pedestrian infrastructure and $22.4 million for waterways, wetlands and coastline protection.
Levy charges will remain largely unchanged, with no increase to the Environment Levy or Arts and Heritage Levy. The Transport Levy will rise by just eight cents to $44 annually.
Council says the Sunshine Coast’s population is expected to grow from about 375,000 residents today to more than 509,000 by 2041, placing increasing pressure on infrastructure and services.
Mayor Natoli said the region was preparing for significant growth and the opportunities associated with the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“The legacy of 2032 is not built in 2032,” she said.
“It is shaped by budgets like this one. In the infrastructure we commit to now. In the financial discipline that ensures we arrive at that moment as a Council and a community with the capacity to seize it.”