There are concerns that the largest city in north Queensland has positioned itself as uncompetitive due to commercial rate increases.
The minimum rates for both commercial properties and heavy industry properties in Townsville are up 50 per cent.
Townsville City Council has been in the spotlight for months due to a series of controversies including excessive payments to departing executives.
The local government has since declared it is in financial trouble, cutting community grants and increasing residential rates by 20 per cent for some.
Townsville commercial and heavy industry ratepayers are bracing for hefty increases. (ABC News: Brendan Mounter)
Townsville City Council delivered its 2025-26 budget in June which outlined 54 per cent and 50 per cent increases to the minimum commercial and heavy industry rates respectively.
The council provided further data to the ABC which outlined the range of rate increases to be distributed.
The figures came as a shock to Craig Stack, a commercial property manager of more than 20 years in the city.
“It comes after a couple of years where other costs have gone up significantly, those being insurance and electricity,” he said.
“It will be troublesome, it is a cost they haven’t expected.”
A comparison of 2024-25 to 2025-26 Townsville City Council budget papers shows a commercial ratepayer charged the minimum $1,506 last year will now pay $2,329.
About 800 commercial properties will cop the highest, more than 50 per cent increase.
Some Townsville householders have already received a 20 per cent rate increase. (ABC News: Brendan Mounter)
The heavy industry minimum rate charge of $2,259 has increased to $3,383.
There are just 30 heavy industry properties in Townsville.
Ten of those will have their rates doubled in the 2025-2026 year, while seven will see a 50 to 100 per cent increase.
Concern for city
Mr Stack said Townsville, often referred to as the capital of north Queensland, risks losing its competitive edge to Cairns or Mackay.
“Townsville was already viewed as a city with a quite high general rate levies,” he said.
“We manage a shopping centre in Mackay and a shopping centre in Townsville for the same landlord.
“The Mackay centre has a higher land value yet a lower rate charge right now.”
Craig Stack says commercial and heavy industry landlords weren’t expecting such rate increases. (ABC News: Georgia Loney)
Neither Cairns or Mackay council’s 2025-26 budgets, delivered last month, contained commercial rate increases as significant as Townsville City Council.
Michael Kopittke, an investor and former Townsville Chamber of Commerce board member, said landlords would likely have to pass on costs.
“I am aghast at the fact that the council would look at increasing rates to landlords by up to 15 times inflation,” Mr Kopittke said.
“A lot of landlords can pass these on to their tenants as it reduces their net return.
“Townsville puts itself in a position where it becomes uncompetitive and investors seek other opportunities.”
A Townsville City Council spokesperson said the council had not changed its methodology for calculating or issuing rates to commercial businesses.
“The significant changes are the result of the valuation which would need to be addressed by the valuer-general,” the spokesperson said.
The Queensland valuer-general re-valued commercial and industrial properties last year.
From 2022 to October 2024 the total value of commercial property in Townsville increased by 22.9 per cent.
Meantime the total value of industrial property in Townsville has increased by 42.4 per cent.
Transparency key
Mr Kopittke and Mr Stack both called on the Townsville City Council to be more forthcoming with communicating the increased costs to businesses.
They also indicated that some landlords will pay land tax for the first time this year due to value increases.
Acting Mayor Ann-Maree Greaney made no mention of the commercial rate increases during her June budget speech.
A Townsville City Council spokesperson said with more than 85,000 properties in the Townsville region across 57 categories it was impossible to acknowledge and personalise the changes for every rate payer.
“Council and Acting Mayor Ann-Maree Greaney have publicly acknowledged the increases that ratepayers may experience following the updated land valuations,” the spokesperson said.
Ahead of the 2025-26 budget delivery the council reduced its rate-in-the-dollar charge to offset land value increases, as both methods are used to determine rates.
