Fees and charges helps to maintain affordability and stability

Published on 17 June 2026

Gympie Regional Council will keep increases to the fees and charges of its more than 200 user-pay services to a minimum in 2026/27 to continue balancing affordability with the growing cost of service delivery.  

At its General Ordinary Meeting today (17 June) Council adopted a 3.5% increase, in line with CPI, for the majority of its fees and charges for the new financial year.  

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig said Council is focused on carefully balancing rising costs, population growth, and global pressures with the need to remain financially stable. 

“While Council collects rates to fund general services that benefit the whole community, fees and charges are needed for those services that are used by specific people or create additional costs,” Mayor Hartwig said.  

“This helps Councils to minimise the general rate burden on ratepayers by attempting to recover costs for the use of some services and facilities. 

“Just like household budgets, Council is faced with a range of financial pressures, and we are making decisions to find the best way to maintain service levels our community expects, while navigating the rising costs of providing these services.” 

Cr Hartwig said Council had considered the more than 200 fees and charges as part of its annual budget deliberations and agreed that it was important for council to both balance the need to recover some of the costs to provide the service and reduce the burden on ratepayers while also ensuring the service remained affordable as much as possible.  

“We’ve made careful decisions to ensure the Council remains financially sustainable while continuing to support our growing region,” he said.  

To view the 2026-27 fees and charges, click here

ENDS