Mill Park Council Adopts New Local Infrastructure Levy, Raising Development Fees by Up to 22 Percent

Mill Park's local government has approved a revised infrastructure contributions framework that raises development levies across residential, commercial and mixed-use categories, with the steepest increases applied to medium-density housing applications. The new schedule, passed at the June 24 ordinary council meeting and set to take effect August 1, 2026, affects anyone lodging a planning or building permit application from that date forward. Homeowners adding a second dwelling, property developers seeking subdivision approval and small business operators converting commercial premises are all covered under the revised schedule.

Council moved on the framework after a statutory review found the existing levy structure had not been adjusted in full since 2019, leaving a widening gap between the fees collected and the actual cost of upgrading footpaths, stormwater drains and local road connections that new development triggers. The review, tabled with the June agenda papers, noted that Mill Park's population grew by roughly 6.4 percent between the 2016 and 2021 census periods, a pace that has continued to strain local trunk infrastructure without a proportionate funding increase from development activity. The revised schedule is intended to close that shortfall without drawing further on general rates revenue.

What Changes for Residents From August 1

For most owner-occupiers adding a single extension under 50 square metres, there is no change. The levy threshold for minor residential works remains at its current level. The increases bite hardest on two-lot subdivisions and dual-occupancy applications, where the per-lot contribution rises from roughly $4,200 to $5,120 under the new schedule, a 22 percent increase. Applicants who lodge a complete planning permit application before July 31 will be assessed under the existing rates, giving those with plans already drawn a narrow window to lock in the lower fee. Council's planning department has confirmed it will honour applications received, not determined, before the deadline.

For small commercial operators, the changes are more modest. Applications for change-of-use permits on ground-floor retail or hospitality premises attract a revised flat contribution of $1,890, up from $1,650, provided the gross floor area does not exceed 300 square metres. Larger commercial or industrial applications are calculated on a per-square-metre basis and will see contributions rise by between 8 and 14 percent depending on use category. Local business advocacy groups have noted the changes add to cost pressures already present in the current lending environment, though they have stopped short of opposing the framework outright.

Budget Figures and What Happens to the Money

Council's 2026-27 capital works budget, adopted alongside the levy changes, allocates $3.1 million to drainage upgrades along the Edgars Creek corridor and a further $870,000 to the staged resurfacing of local access roads in the northern residential precincts. The infrastructure contributions fund is projected to contribute approximately $1.4 million of that total, with the remainder drawn from the general capital works reserve and a state-level grant application lodged in May. The budget papers state the contributions fund must be spent on infrastructure directly associated with growth, and the council's finance team is required to report on fund expenditure quarterly to the audit and risk committee.

Residents wanting to understand how the new schedule applies to their specific project can request a pre-application meeting with council's planning team at no cost before lodging a formal permit application. Council has also posted an online fee estimator on its planning portal, updated to reflect August 1 rates, where applicants can enter the proposed use, site area and dwelling count to get an indicative contribution figure. The planning department says the estimator is a guide only and that the binding figure is confirmed at the permit-issue stage.

The next ordinary council meeting is scheduled for July 22, where the community infrastructure plan that underpins the levy schedule is listed for adoption. Residents can submit written comments to council's planning department until July 18, 2026, and those comments will be tabled as part of the agenda. Once the infrastructure plan is formally adopted, council says no further changes to the levy schedule are expected before the next statutory review, due in 2029.