As rates notices hit mailboxes, Brisbane City’s LNP Council have been forced onto the backfoot as residents question why their rates rises are much higher than the Lord Mayor’s acclaimed 3.97% average increase.
In the June budget, Brisbane’s LNP Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner claimed the lowest rate rise in Southeast Queensland. However, unit owners are reporting receiving bills showing increases of a whopping 14 per cent.
What the Lord Mayor failed to clarify was that the 3.97% figure was the average for owner-occupiers of free-standing houses only.
That’s a 24 per cent increase in rates for unit owners over the last two years.
Average rates for non-owner occupier properties have jumped 7.74%.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner claimed that residents were including state government fees & charges in their rate rise calculations, but ABC Breakfast Hosts Craig Zonca and Loretta Ryan highlighted that callers were referring to the BCC rates line item only.
The Brisbane Labor Opposition in Council put the call out on social media for residents to share their rates experiences. They received a lot of feedback.
A Woolloongabba resident in a one-bedroom apartment saw their bill jump by $235 a year, with Category 10 minimum general rates surging from $998.68 to $1,138.36.
Another Morningside resident said their rates climbed by 19.3% for their townhouse.
When comparing rate categories for units between the 2025-26 and 2026-27 BCC budget documents, the rise in the minimum differential rate is almost 14%.
During Question Time in yesterday’s Council meeting, Opposition Leader Jared Cassidy questioned why the Lord Mayor did not make this clear to Brisbane’s 180,000 unit and apartment households.
“The Lord Mayor see’s unit owners as his rivers of gold. As he makes planning changes to add more units to Brisbane, he’s sneaking in huge increases to their rates.”
“If you are a renter facing another increase, Adrian Schrinner’s higher rates are part of the problem.”
“Brisbane is growing, but residents are paying more and getting less. Unit owners are seeing it in black and white on their rates notices.”
People will be asking themselves, what are they getting for their money? More overseas travel for the Lord Mayor, More advertising, less library staff and more missed bins. Adrian Schrinner is a bad deal for Brisbane.”
