Council
10 July, 2025
Shire slams impact of increased levy
CORANGAMITE Shire Council will write to the State Government calling for an immediate re-think and a halt to the increase in the State Government’s Municipal and Industrial Waste Levy for the 2025-2026 financial year.
Speaking at last month’s Special Council Meeting to adopt the 2025-2026 Budget, councillor Jamie Vogels said the levy will increase by almost 30 per cent next financial year – with a total increase of 60 per cent over the last five years.
“This will mean the increase in waste fees at Corangamite Regional Landfill and council transfer stations next financial year will be 7-11 per cent above CPI,” he said.
“Given cost of living, cost of production and drought pressures, it’s another blow to people in our community who are already battling.
“This year council will pay around $3.5 million into the State Government’s Municipal and Industrial Waste Levy Trust, which is worth $601 million in the State Government’s 2025-2026 Budget.
“That’s up from $493.4 million in 2024-2025, so the government is sitting on more than half a billion in cash that should be coming back to the regions.”
Cr Vogels said the region continues to pay more, while seeing little in return.
“Only a portion comes back to us through the Sustainability Fund while the rest goes to the city or bleeds off into the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or other services,” he said.
“This is just another example of council being forced to act as a tax collector for the State Government.
“In 2023-2024 we got $33,000 towards the kerbside glass recycling bin roll-out, $10,000 towards upgrading our transfer stations to collect glass for recycling and $18,000 for an organics processing feasibility study.
“That’s a meagre $61,000 when our levy fee was $240,000 paid into the State Government coffers that year.”
Corangamite Regional Landfill at Naroghid accepts waste from Warrnambool, Moyne, Colac-Otway and Southern Grampians shires, as well as private operators.
Cr Vogels said the levy must be paid on all waste received at a landfill, which would result in implications of the increase going beyond just increasing fares for waste collection companies.
“The Sustainability Fund is a Trust designed to support waste management, recycling and sustainability, not to accumulate excess every year to prop up the State Budget,” he said.
“Council transfer station and landfill base fees increase only by CPI of three per cent to cover costs of providing the service, but the levy increase means overall fees will increase by around 10-14 per cent, while for rural areas the municipal levy increases from $66.30 to $84.78 per tonne and industrial waste increases from $116.76 to $149.33 per tonne
“In the 2025-2026 financial year a level tandem trailer of municipal waste will pay over $20 in levy which is a $4.50 increase from last year.
“Households will pay around $25 per year in levy for kerbside waste collection, about $7 more than last year.
“At a time when people are battling with a cost-of-living crisis, lost income due to drought, and the outrageous Emergency Services Volunteer Fund levy, this is just another slap in the face for regional Victorians, and we call on the State Government to rethink.”
For more information, go to environment.vic.gov.au/sustainability/sustainability-fund.
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