The Valuer-General has announced that new land valuations will be issued by the 31st March 2024 for:

• these areas in South East Queensland: Gold Coast, Moreton Bay, Redlands, Somerset and Sunshine Coast; and
• these areas in regional Queensland: Banana, Barcoo, Bulloo, Bundaberg, Central Highlands, Cook, Diamantina, Fraser Coast, Goondiwindi, Isaac, Livingstone, Longreach, Torres, Whitsunday and Winton.

For most body corporate managers, a fairly ordinary blue and white document issued by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines will appear in mail boxes across Queensland for each scheme they manage.

This document will have a real effect on the wallets of lot owners.  If the valuation has increased, so will the rates payable to the local government from 1 July 2024.  Given the booming property market in Queensland, it is highly likely that there will be a substantial increase in that valuation.

Once the notice is received the body corporate will need to, consider whether the increase is warranted and decide whether to lodge an objection within the strict 60 day timeframe.

If your scheme is in the listed regions, we urge you to please read on ahead as it may prove extremely beneficial for the scheme.

Annual land valuation notice

An annual land valuation notice is issued by the Valuer-General of the Department of Natural Resources and Mines to all rateable properties across Queensland.  If owners of lots in a scheme you manage pay rates, the Body Corporate will receive a notice.

One land valuation notice is issued to the service address for the scheme (as opposed to each lot owner). Usually the body corporate manager holds that service address, so it is their role to ensure a copy of the notice is passed on to all lot owners.

Importantly, the purpose of the Valuer-General valuing land is to:

1. determine any land tax liabilities under the Land Tax Act 2010 (Qld); and
2. make and levy local government rates.

This means that when calculating rates and land tax payable by a property owner, the local council relies upon the land valuations issued for the property.

For this reason, it is important that bodies corporate keep track of their previous and new site valuations and ask questions if there appears to be a significant variance.

The valuations will be assessed as at 1 October 2023 and the notices will be issued before 31 March 2024. The valuations assessed in October will then take effect on 30 June 2024.

The following 20 local government areas are receiving new land valuations in 2024:

Banana	Barcoo	Bulloo	Bundaberg
Central Highlands	Cook	Diamantina	Fraser Coast
Gold Coast	Goondiwindi	Isaac	Livingstone
Longreach	Moreton Bay	Redlands	Somerset
Sunshine Coast	Torres	Whitsunday	Winton

Objections

An objection can be lodged if a property owner does not agree with the new valuations as assessed by the Valuer-General. The notice itself will set out the due date for the filing of any objection, which is usually 60 days after the date of issue of the annual land valuation notice. This 60 days period is the only chance to object.

Only the body corporate of a community titles scheme can make an objection – individual lot owners cannot.

If a committee has concerns with the new valuation, it must act immediately. The body corporate may lose the right to object to an inaccurate valuation if it misses this important deadline.

Outcomes

Not only does the reduction to the land valuation have an immediate effect by lowering rates and land tax payable, but the lower a valuation is for each year, the less the valuation will be for the following years to come.

The opposite also applies – an increase in the land valuation will increase the rates and land tax.  Given recent market conditions, substantial increases should be expected.

As part of their risk and expectation management, strata managers should make sure the land valuation notices have been forward to committees without delay.  When doing so, you should point out the timeframe for lodging an objection.

Grace Lawyers has worked alongside valuers to obtain great results for numerous bodies corporate faced with a significant increase to their annual land valuation from the previous year – in some cases up to a $5 million reduction. In our experience, objections that are not supported by professional advisors have not been successful.

To make sure you are in the best position to immediately respond to land valuation notices, please contact Brenton Schoch to request a proposal so we may assist your committees understand their rights and obligations when a notice is received, and their options should they wish to lodge an objection.

Article Contribute by Brenton Schoch, Partner – Grace Lawyers 

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