Glen Waverley Ballot Measures Explained: What the Upcoming Votes Could Cost or Save Your Household

Three ballot measures are before Glen Waverley residents this electoral cycle, covering a proposed rate-stabilisation levy, a local infrastructure bond, and a parks and open-space maintenance fund. Each carries a specific dollar figure attached to the average household, and together they represent the most consequential local fiscal vote in several years. The measures will appear on the ballot in the October 2026 local government election.

The timing matters. Household cost pressures have been a dominant concern at successive council community forums, with the Glen Waverley Community Wellbeing Survey (2025 edition) recording that 61 percent of responding households identified "rates and local charges" as their primary concern about local government spending. That survey, which drew responses from 1,840 households across the Monash local government area, provides the clearest public record of where sentiment sits ahead of October.

What Each Measure Would Mean for a Glen Waverley Household

Measure One is the rate-stabilisation levy. The council's 2026-27 draft budget sets the proposed levy at $78 per rateable property annually. Its stated purpose, as described in the budget papers, is to cap general rate increases at the rate of the Consumer Price Index for three consecutive years. For a household currently paying $2,100 per year in general rates, the council projects the levy would hold increases to roughly $42 per year rather than the $110 increase modelled under the uncapped scenario. The net saving, the council says, would average $68 per household per year over the three-year stabilisation period, after accounting for the levy itself.

Measure Two is the Kingsway Precinct Infrastructure Bond. The bond proposal, valued at $24.7 million over ten years, would fund drainage upgrades, footpath renewals and traffic signal modernisation across the central Glen Waverley retail and residential precinct. If passed, it would be repaid through a separate infrastructure charge of $34 per rateable property per year for ten years. Policy analysts note that deferred infrastructure carries its own cost: a 2024 council engineering audit found that postponing the Kingsway drainage works by five or more years would increase the eventual remediation bill by an estimated 23 percent due to material and labour cost escalation.

Measure Three is the Open Space Maintenance Fund. This measure would establish a dedicated reserve, funded by a $19 annual levy per household, to maintain and expand green space across the suburb, including the Jells Park eastern corridor and the Springvale Road linear trail. The fund's stated objective, per the draft measure text, is to prevent open space maintenance from being cut during lean budget years. Local advocates note that the Jells Park eastern corridor currently receives maintenance funding from the general recurrent budget, which has been subject to discretionary adjustments in three of the last five financial years.

Reading the Fine Print Before October

Residents can assess the measures using two documents the council has made publicly available: the 2026-27 draft budget (released 3 June 2026) and the Ballot Measure Financial Impact Statement, which includes a per-household cost table broken down by property valuation band. The Financial Impact Statement is a legal requirement under local government electoral regulations and must accompany any ballot measure that imposes a charge on ratepayers. For a property with a capital improved value between $800,000 and $1.1 million, the combined annual cost of all three measures, if passed, would be $131 per household per year.

The measures do not require a supermajority to pass. Each requires a simple majority of valid votes cast. Postal ballots will be distributed from 5 October 2026, with returns due by 24 October 2026. Residents who want to examine the underlying budget assumptions before voting can attend one of three public information sessions scheduled at the Glen Waverley Community Centre on 15, 17 and 22 July, where council officers, not elected representatives, will be present to answer questions about the financial modelling. No endorsement or campaigning by council staff is permitted at those sessions under the council's election caretaker policy.