Geelong retirement villages call for big discount on council rates

Geelong retirement village residents are calling for council rate discounts of up to a third, claiming they’re being unfairly slugged twice for services.

Four villages have lodged petitions with the City of Greater Geelong seeking a reduction to the rates applied to properties in their communities.

More than 550 residents from Abervale Retirement Village in Grovedale, Kensington Hill in Leopold and Barwon Gardens and Geelong Grove in Marshall signed the request.

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The City of Greater Geelong applies differential rates for residential, farm, vacant, mixed use, commercial and industrial properties based on total land value.

The petition called for a specific retirement village rate – up to 33 per cent below the current charge – to be introduced from 2027/28.

Abervale Retirement Village resident Silvana Benacchio said residents already funded and maintained essential infrastructure such as roads, kerb and channelling, footpaths and lighting.

“In many cases the roads within retirement villages are privately owned and maintained, despite this residents still contribute to council road maintenance through their rates,” Ms Benacchio said.

“This creates an inequitable situation where residents are effectively paying twice for similar services.”

Geelong Grove Retirement Village resident Ann Daniell said with the average resident aged in their 80s, and 20 per cent of residents in their 90s, many no longer drove on council roads and used minimal services.

She said they currently paid rates of about $1500 a year, which was a burden for many.

“What was manageable financially a few years ago has increasingly become a struggle with retirement incomes not keeping pace with inflation,” she said.

The Ministerial Guidelines for Differential Rating states councils must give consideration to reducing the rate burden through a lower differential rate for retirement village land.

Retirement Living Council executive director Daniel Gannon said the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council had recently introduced a 20 per cent discount for retirement villages.

The move will save residents about $181 a year, while adding about $4 to the average household’s rate bill.

“Mornington Peninsula has set a clear and sensible benchmark. We encourage the City of Greater Geelong to follow suit and deliver genuine cost-of-living relief for older residents who have already paid their fair share,” Mr Gannon said.

He said every dollar counted for older Australians on fixed incomes, who faced another hit through reduced private health insurance rebates announced in the federal budget.

In Queensland, Cairns Regional Council recently moved in the other direction, deciding to charge individual residents general rates directly for the first time.

Previously, only the retirement village operator was charged general rates based on the overall land dwelling, with some paying as little as $58 per dwelling.

Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj said he was unable to comment on confidential budget matters.