The City of Ballarat is pressing ahead with a proposed 4.75 per cent municipal rate rise for the 2026-27 financial year, and residents are not quietly accepting it. Across suburban streets and community Facebook groups, the response has been pointed, and, at times, furious.
The timing matters. With property prices cooling nationally and household budgets stretched by years of elevated interest rates, the council's draft budget, which allocates $312 million in total expenditure and sits before councillors ahead of a final vote expected in mid-July, has landed in a community already running short on goodwill. Public submissions closed on June 27, drawing more than 180 written responses, well above last year's 110.
From Wendouree to the CBD, the Frustration is the Same
In Wendouree, where a significant portion of Ballarat's lower-income households are concentrated around Gillies Street North, residents say they feel overlooked. One woman who has lived in the suburb for more than twenty years told The Daily Ballarat she submitted her objection the night submissions closed, writing that she could not understand how the council could raise rates while the Sebastopol Library on Albert Street still operates reduced hours three days a week due to staffing shortages, a situation that has persisted since late 2024.
Traders along Sturt Street in the CBD have their own grievances. Several business owners point to the $1.4 million streetscape works running through the eastern end of Sturt Street, currently disrupting foot traffic outside the Mining Exchange precinct, as evidence that capital spending priorities are misaligned with what local businesses actually need. They want faster completion timelines and direct communication from council project managers, not form letters.
The Ballarat Community Health centre on Dawson Street North has submitted a formal response to the draft budget, advocating for continued funding to its financial counselling program, which saw a 34 per cent increase in client demand in the 12 months to March 2026. Staff there say they are regularly supporting residents for whom even a $200 annual rate increase tips household budgets into the red.
What the Numbers Show
Under the proposed rise, the average residential ratepayer in Ballarat, whose property is valued at roughly $520,000, would pay an additional $87 annually, bringing their total rate bill to around $1,925. That figure, drawn from council's own budget documents, does not include the separate waste charge, which is also slated to increase by $18 to $385 per household.
The council's draft budget does include $6.8 million for road resurfacing across the municipality, with Humffray Street in Bakery Hill and sections of Remembrance Drive near Canadian flagged as priority sites. It also carries forward $2.1 million in matched funding for upgrades to facilities at Llanberris Road Reserve in Newington. Supporters of the budget argue these are genuine community assets. Critics say the mathematics still doesn't add up for families earning below the median household income of $68,000 in the Ballarat local government area.
The Ballarat District Trades and Labour Council lodged its submission on June 24, arguing the proposed budget underinvests in social infrastructure relative to hard capital works. Its secretary told The Daily Ballarat the organisation represents workers who live in these communities and who are watching discretionary spending evaporate as fixed costs climb.
Councillors are scheduled to debate the budget at the ordinary council meeting on July 15 at the Town Hall on Sturt Street. Residents who did not submit formally can still address councillors during the public question time segment, which opens at 6 pm. The council's community engagement team can be reached through the Your Say Ballarat portal, where all 180-plus submissions have been published for public review. Those wanting a hard copy can request one at the civic centre on Sturt Street during business hours before the meeting date.
