Published on Tuesday, 22 July 2025 at 9:35:21 AM
The City of Albany has adopted its 2025/2026 Budget, delivering one of the most significant capital works programs in its history while addressing community priorities for better rural roads and increased housing availability.
Council is doubling its annual investment in rural roads from $2 million to $4 million, responding to years of advocacy for better roads from the rural community.
The financial capacity to achieve this is partly supported by an increase to UV (Unimproved Value) rates. Rural ratepayers on UV properties will receive an average 9.95% rate rise, or around $5 a week for most households — a small amount for a big improvement in road safety and quality.
The City’s UV rate-in-the-dollar has remained very low since amalgamation (it is the lowest in regional WA), and this increase will generate around an extra $400,000 in revenue to help us spend more on rural roads while bringing us more in line with the rates charged in neighbouring shires.
The current rating strategy intends to see similarly sized rate increases for UV ratepayers over the following three years, subject to Council endorsement as part of future budgets.
For most ratepayers on GRV (Gross Rental Value), the average rate increase is 4.95%. This is in line with rate increases over recent years and reflects the ongoing cost of maintaining and improving the services, facilities and infrastructure our community needs.
This year’s budget also includes major investment in housing. Work will continue to unlock 86 new residential lots in Lockyer and progress a structure plan for urban expansion in North McKail, two key initiatives to help address housing pressures identified in the City’s 2025 Community Scorecard.
Mayor Greg Stocks said the City was focused on delivering a responsible, community-led budget.
“We’ve been out to our rural communities. We’ve listened to their concerns. And we’ve backed that up with a long-term commitment to improve roads in our regional areas,” he said.
“Housing is also a major issue for our community, and we are investing where we can to play our part in addressing that issue and bringing more affordable housing to the market.”
Other budget highlights include upgrades to Albany Airport to strengthen the runway and ensure safe operation into the future, continuation of the construction of a 1-kilometre sealed racetrack at Albany Motorsport Park, and 23km of shared-use trail through Mt Clarence and Mt Adelaide.
The City is also implementing a modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to improve customer experience and operational efficiency, and has begun planning for the redevelopment of the Hanrahan Road waste site into a new, modern Transfer Station to meet waste needs beyond 2032.
Funding is also allocated for the ongoing delivery of Albany 2026 — a year-long Bicentenary program that will bring the community together to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and shape a shared future.
We are grateful to our community for their support and for making Albany such a special place to call home.
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