Welcome

We are presenting our proposed four-year budget for community feedback. This budget represents a careful balance between meeting the needs of our rapidly growing community and maintaining the long-term financial health of our organisation.

We are duty-bound to make decisions that are evidence-based, financially responsible and reflect the needs of the community and stakeholders we serve.

This demands prudent judgement, especially as we, along with many other councils, acutely feel the impacts of inflation and substantially higher costs.

While fiscal responsibility is the core focus of this budget, we have also taken measures to ease cost-of-living pressures for our residents and ratepayers.

The Proposed 2025-26 Budget includes a rate increase of 2.5%, which is 0.50% lower than the 3.00% rate cap set by the State Government.

It also includes 2-hour free parking in central Geelong, helping to ease cost-of-living pressures and revitalising our CBD.

Despite the ongoing financial pressures, we remain dedicated to delivering important services and infrastructure for our community.

Our capital works program will remain a key priority, with a forecast investment of $764 million over the four-year period.

We've also increased our project asset renewal spend to $315 million to make the most of our existing infrastructure and facilities.

The 4-year budget has been prepared with no further use of borrowings. This will see the City’s debt reduce to $142 million by 30 June 2029.

To avoid using any further borrowings, difficult decisions were required to be made. Not all desired projects have been included in this budget, as we need to exercise restraint to ensure financial sustainability.

We invite feedback from the public on all topics, with the submission period closing at 5pm on Thursday 21 May 2025

Review the draft documents

  • Proposed 2025-26 to 2028-29 Budget

    Our budget focuses on delivering services and investing in things that matter to our community.

    Read the draft here 

Proposed Budget snapshot - key facts and figures

Click on each header for further details.

The budget for 2025-26 sees Council with a projected operating deficit of $3.43 million.

There are no planned borrowings for 2025-26, or over the next four years.

All fees and charges have been listed in the budget document for the community’s review.

Increases to fees and charges have been minimised where possible, but there are increases to reflect the current economic climate.

In 2025-26 average rate increases are 2.50% which is half a percent lower than the 3% rate cap set by the Victorian Government and estimated to save ratepayers $1.1 million dollars.

Rates and charges are essential to supporting the services and facilities we provide to the community.

The cost of services we deliver to the community during the 2025-26 financial year is budgeted to be $411.1 million, which is an increase of $14.5 million on the 2024-25 forecast.

The key influencing factors are the rapid growth of our community, the increased price of materials, external services and employee costs.

The four-year budget forecasts our service delivery costs will pass $425 million in 2026-27 and hit nearly $473 million by 2027-28.

In 2025-26 we will invest $210.88 million in our capital program and $764 million over the four-year period.


We are also working make use of state and federal government grant opportunities to help ease the burden on our own finances.

This charge does not sit within the rate cap.

The recycling and waste collection service charge is calculated to cover the rising costs of collection, recycling and landfill disposal. These include direct, indirect and overhead costs.

The charge for 2025-26 will increase from $473.25 to $509.55 (7.7 per cent).

Your thoughts and contributions are a vital part of our planning. It helps us ensure our budget focuses on delivering services and investing in things that matter to our community.

Please provide your feedback on the Proposed Budget, Revenue and Rating Plan or both, in one of the following ways:

  • Complete the online submission below. You can request a hard copy by contacting the team listed in the 'Who's Listening?' section of this page or by visiting a Customer Service Centre.
  • Our neighbourhood conversations commence on 14 May with a Councillor Budget Community Consultation pop-up at Wurriki Nyal.
  • In writing addressed to:
    Proposed 2025-26 to 2027-28 Budget Submission
    Executive Director Corporate Services
    City of Greater Geelong,
    Wadawurrung Country,
    PO Box 104,
    Geelong VIC 3220


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