local - 2026-04-25

Ratepayers Face $224 Annual Increase as Oil Crisis Drives Up Northern Beaches Council Budget

A record $588 million budget goes on public exhibition, but global fuel prices triggered by the Iran-US-Israel conflict are pushing waste collection costs up by more than $4 million

Northern Beaches residents are set to pay more for council services in the year ahead, with Northern Beaches Council's draft 2026/27 budget proposing an average increase of around $224 per household annually — the equivalent of approximately $56 per quarter. The budget, which was voted to go on public exhibition at Tuesday's council meeting, will be open for community feedback until 24 May 2026.

Northern Beaches residents are set to pay more for council services in the year ahead, with Northern Beaches Council's draft 2026/27 budget proposing an average increase of around $224 per household annually — the equivalent of approximately $56 per quarter. The budget, which was voted to go on public exhibition at Tuesday's council meeting, will be open for community feedback until 24 May 2026. The proposed expenditure of $588 million includes a record $125 million capital works program, which Mayor Sue Heins described as "the biggest infrastructure investment our community has ever seen." The program spans road resurfacing, sporting facilities, coastal protection works, stormwater improvements and upgrades to parks, playgrounds and community facilities across the Northern Beaches. However, the headline figure for many residents will be the cost increase, and a significant portion of it traces back to events far beyond the Northern Beaches. The ongoing conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel has contributed to a global oil crisis that has sharply driven up the price of diesel — the fuel that powers the council's waste collection fleet. "Waste service has been...