RATES notices have begun to land in the letterboxes of Frankston residents. Total rates collected from residential households will increase by 2.24 per cent in the Frankston municipality this year. There will be a 1.12 per cent increase from commercial ratepayers.
The state government’s new Emergency Services Volunteer Fund is set to raise the average levy collected from Frankston residents by roughly $68, a 34 percent increase. Frankston mayor Kris Bolam says council has opposed the new fund, and said the income will go straight back to the Victorian Government.
“Each year, charges in your rates notice may reflect not only your property’s valuation compared to others in the municipality, and council’s rate decisions, but also state government taxes such as the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (replacing the Fire Services Property Levy), which are set independently of council.
This relates to factors over which council has no control,” Bolam said. “Council expressed its opposition to this new tax and contributed to a motion from the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) requesting that the state government eliminate state-based levies forced onto local government.”
Overall rates will rise in line with the state government’s three per cent rate cap, with a new differential rate on vacant properties in the city centre set to offset the rate charged to residential property owners.
First published in the Frankston Times – 9 September 2025