Infrastructure Charges

Tablelands Regional Council voted yesterday to raise Infrastructure charges from 1 September 2025, bringing TRC into line with other councils around the state who administer infrastructure fees up to the Queensland Government’s imposed cap.

A resolution for new charges was brought forward by TRC CEO Dr Nikola Stepanov and took into account TRC’s current financial position along with the impact to ratepayers and utility fee-payers of funding the gap between the maximum charge that can be levied and the actual cost to the Council to deliver the infrastructure (unfunded ‘gap’).

‘This would bring our charges in line with the maximum that can be charged. We can’t actually charge for the real cost of delivering that infrastructure because the state legislation does not allow for us to charge beyond the cap,’ Dr Stepanov stated.

The report indicated that an update of charges had not occurred since 2019 and in light of significant key infrastructure upgrades ahead, it was prudent for TRC to reconsider the burden on ratepayers.