DISCOUNT vouchers, a pet registration fee freeze, a subsidy program for sports club memberships, and the suspension of eleven service charges for ratepayers are among a swathe of measures set to be taken by Frankston Council to ease cost-of-living pressures. Council has unveiled its cost-of-living relief package as part of its 2025/2026 draft budget. The budget will come back to council for final approval on 23 June.
The cost-of-living package provides ratepayers discount vouchers to access community facilities, free access to legal services for residents facing rental stress and homelessness, a subsidy program to lower the cost of memberships to community groups and sporting clubs, a twelve-month pet registration fee freeze, and grants for young people undertaking study. The package also includes the suspension of eleven service charges for residential and commercial residents, support for businesses for upskilling, one-off funding support to Community Support Frankston, and money for other food centres and charitable organisations.
The big planned increase of rates for vacant landowners in Frankston’s CBD will also mean commercial and residential rate increases will be below the state’s three percent rate cap (“Land banking developers face huge rate rise” The Times 6/5/2025).
Frankston mayor Kris Bolam said the initiatives would cost $1.4 million to put into action. He said “times are tough for pensioners, families,a students and people on single incomes.” “This council has carefully looked through this budget, and by identifying savings and making appropriate budgetary efficiencies, it has been able to create an innovative support package that will assist residents and ratepayers in what is arguably an inflationary economic environment,” he said.
“Council’s response to the cost-of-living crisis comes after extensive community engagement and new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing all household types continuing to experience rising living costs in the March 2025 quarter.
“Frankston City Council has a proud history of stepping up in times of crisis, as we saw during the COVID era when council executed a bold assistance package to get our community through the pandemic. This year’s budget brings together an extensive suite of initiatives that seek to help all sections of the Frankston City municipality, while maintaining the essential services our community relies on, and continuing to deliver major infrastructure projects.”
First published in the Frankston Times – 27 May 2025