The council proposes in the 2025/26 financial year, the minimum general rate for one dwelling would be applied to each unit in a retirement village, as opposed to charging the village as one dwelling as has been the case.
Oak Tree Retirement Village Cairns, which has 77 dwellings, was levied a general rate of $9063 in the 2024/25 financial year.
The proposed change would see the minimum general rate from 2024/25, which is $1072.90, charged to each of the 77 units, meaning Oak Tree Retirement Village Cairns would be $82,613.30 in total - an increase of 800%.
The council’s proposal letter states “this change aims to address inequities compared to other multi-dwelling properties and ensure that every dwelling makes a fair and reasonable contribution towards the infrastructure and services that council delivers”.
The Retirement Living Council is working with a number of affected operators and their residents to communicate that the proposed rate increase will have serious consequences for residents.
“There’s no delicate way to put this. These changes, if enacted, will have serious financial consequences for some of the most vulnerable residents in the Cairns community – older Australians, many of whom are pensioners and live on fixed, low incomes in our communities,” said Daniel Gannon, RLC Executive Director.
“For a pensioner living on approximately $1,100 per fortnight, an increase of even $75 per month is financially debilitating. For many, this will mean hundreds of dollars in additional outgoings per year, a cost they cannot afford without sacrificing other essentials such as medication, heating or groceries. These residents are not high-income earners or investors – they are everyday Australians who have chosen to live in safe, supported communities in their later years.”
Councillor Cathy Zeiger told the Cairns Post the proposal was all about creating “equity and fairness” among the community. She added council was in the process of taking the feedback from all village operators, and then it will be presented to the councillors at a workshop.
“And with that, they’ll have recommendations … we might do it in instalments,” she said.
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