Which of the 5 Brisbane councils charges most in 2026-27

What council rates are and how they're calculated

Council rates are an annual charge levied by your local government to fund roads, parks, libraries, waste collection, and local services. In Queensland, rates are calculated by multiplying a council-set "rate in the dollar" by your property's assessed land value. That assessment comes from the Queensland Valuer-General, not the council itself.

Two properties in the same suburb paying different rates is normal. A home on a larger block with a higher land value will pay more than a smaller block nearby, even though they receive the same services. What SuburbCost publishes for each suburb is the council's average or minimum residential charge, a consistent basis for comparison across suburbs.

Rates bills also vary because the charge covers different periods for different councils. BCC bills quarterly. Some regional councils bill annually or semi-annually. The figures below are always expressed as annual totals.

Brisbane City Council rates 2026-27

Brisbane City Council is the largest local government in Australia by population and covers the majority of metropolitan Brisbane, including all inner-city, inner-north, inner-south, and most middle-ring suburbs.

Source: brisbane.qld.gov.au, Rates and property, 2026-27 financial year.

The $950 figure is the minimum general rate only. BCC also charges separately for waste and cleansing, utility charges, and any special levies that apply to particular properties. These are not included in SuburbCost's council rate figure, which is the general rate for comparison purposes.

Why a Brisbane unit costs more to run than a house

On the minimum, a BCC unit in a Community Titles Scheme sits at $1,138 against $950 for an owner-occupied house, so the unit starts $188 higher rather than lower. The gap either way is small next to the body corporate levy, which is what actually separates the two.

Body corporate levies for a typical BCC unit range from $1,500 to over $7,000 per year depending on the building's age, size, amenities, and management structure. A $3,000 body corporate levy, roughly the mid-range for a post-2000 low-rise, is several times the whole council rate bill, and it is the reason a unit can cost more per year to run than a house in the same suburb.

In Chermside, for example: a house costs $7,625 per year in total running costs. A unit in the same suburb costs $9,463, a $1,838 gap driven mainly by the body corporate levy. Check the Chermside suburb page for the full breakdown.

Moreton Bay, Logan, Ipswich, and Redland City councils

Roughly 56% of Greater Brisbane suburbs fall outside BCC boundaries. Four other councils cover the growth corridors to the north, south, and east, and Brisbane City is the cheapest of the five on the minimum. Logan's minimum is $749 a year higher.

All five figures are the minimum residential general rate for an owner-occupied house, so they compare like with like. Most homes pay more than the minimum, scaled to land value.

The spread between the cheapest and dearest council is $749 a year, and it does not follow the pattern people expect. Brisbane City sets the lowest minimum of the five despite being the inner-city council. The reason is that a minimum is a floor. Land values across most of Brisbane are high enough that the floor rarely binds, so owner-occupiers pay the rate in the dollar instead. In the outer councils, where land values are lower, far more properties sit at or near the minimum, which makes it much closer to what people actually pay. Comparing minimums compares the floors, not the typical bill.

Each council publishes its rate schedule in July after the annual budget is finalised. SuburbCost pulls the residential rate for each suburb directly from these schedules and stores it in its database. The exact figure for any suburb in these council areas is on that suburb's page, use the search tool to find it.

Council rates as a share of total annual running costs

For a house in a BCC suburb on the minimum, council rates represent about 11% of the total annual running cost, and under 19% in every BCC suburb. The biggest line item is usually the commute (for middle and outer suburbs) or home insurance (for high-risk areas). Looking at rates in isolation understates the picture.

In Chermside (BCC, 9.5km from CBD): council rates are $950, water and sewerage $1,900, driving commute $2,925, and home insurance $1,850. Total: $7,625 per year. Rates are the smallest of the four line items, not the biggest.

The same four-line breakdown runs for any Brisbane suburb in the suburb running cost calculator, which itemises rates, water, commute and insurance for the household size you set.

For outer suburban buyers drawn by lower purchase prices, commute costs overtake rates as the dominant running cost. At North Lakes (Moreton Bay, 27.6km from CBD), the driving commute alone is $6,317 a year, about $3,390 more than Chermside's, and that dwarfs the $359 difference in council rates ($1,309 against BCC's $950). The SuburbCost comparison tool shows all four components side by side so you can see where the money actually goes.

When council rates change

Queensland councils finalise their budgets each June or July. Rate changes take effect from 1 July each financial year. SuburbCost updates all council rate figures each July following budget announcements.

Rate increases vary by council and year. We do not show a year-on-year percentage for BCC, because the prior-year figure held here was recorded on a different basis and comparing the two would imply a change that did not happen. For the councils where the comparison is like for like, see the QLD council rates 2026-27 comparison, where rises run from 3.9% at the low end to over 20% at the high end. If you're projecting running costs over five or ten years, a conservative 3% annual increase assumption is reasonable for most councils.