IPART looks for feedback on Valuer General service price changes

Feedback is being sought on the proposed changes to the maximum prices that the Valuer General can charge NSW councils for land valuation services.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) last set the maximum prices for the Valuer General’s charges to councils in 2014, which expire on 30 June 2019.

The valuations are used by councils to help calculate rates.

The NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has asked IPART to set the prices for these services for the next six-year period, from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2025.

A draft IPART report, released this week, proposes a reduction in the overall revenue that the Valuer General can collect from councils.

The prices are around 5.6% lower than the prices proposed by the Valuer General. 

While some councils will see increases, most would see their bills fall over the next six years under the draft decisions when excluding the effects of inflation, said IPART Chair, Dr Paul Paterson.

“We are proposing to change the way Valuer General’s charges are levied,” Paterson said.

“This would involve moving from a uniform ‘property type’ residential and non-residential pricing approach across NSW to a zonal price structure across four zones – Country, Coastal, Metro and City of Sydney.”

Under the proposed changes, councils would pay $7.42, $6.32, $5.83 and $12.07 per property valuation depending on whether they fall within the Country, Coastal, Metro and City of Sydney zones respectively.

“We consider the zonal price structure better reflects the costs of providing valuations, which can be driven by various factors, including the number and mix of property types, travel distance to conduct valuations, and the number of complex and high risk properties in an area,” Dr Paterson said.

“We note that the Valuer General’s proposal incorporated 2.0% of operating cost savings, resulting from the recent mass valuation procurement process, which we took into account in setting our prices. We also assessed the Valuer General’s other efficient costs and the appropriate allocation of these costs to councils.”

Submissions to IPART’s DraftReport and Draft Determination are invited by 24 April 2019.

Further information is available at www.ipart.nsw.gov.au.