Shire refutes VFF rates claims

THE Surf Coast Shire has refuted a claim by the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) that the shire’s farmers are being overly taxed via rates, saying farm rates in the municipality have been frozen.

The VFF incorrectly cited the Surf Coast Shire, in figures quoted in this newspaper last week, atop its list of “rural rate rise offenders” in terms of the change between average farm rate assessments compared to residential properties.

In fact, the shire decided in its final 2025-26 Budget and 2025-29 Revenue and Rating Plan, adopted last month, to introduce temporary measures aimed at easing the financial burden on drought-affected farmers.

One of these measures was to reduce the Farm Rate Land differential from 75 per cent to 64 per cent for this financial year, which will have the effect of freezing the average rates for farm land at 2024-25 levels.

At the time, shire mayor Mike Bodsworth said the changes were about recognising the challenging economic landscape being faced by farmers and other businesses.

“Farmers have had an extremely difficult year due to the drought, and freezing rates for farm land at 2024-25 levels is one step we can take to ease financial pressure.”