You're told your rates fund services. But one major cost is missing from that story: interest on Labor's debt.
Since 2011, residential rates revenue has risen to almost three and a half times its previous level. But the ACT's annual interest bill has grown even faster. It is now larger than total residential rates revenue, and projected to keep pulling away.
That means residential rates no longer even cover the interest bill - let alone the services Canberrans rely on.
Switch to “Share of rates” to see interest as a share of residential rates - rising past the 100% line (every rates dollar) and beyond.
Rates are usually presented as the money that pays for services: health, schools, roads and local infrastructure. But one major cost is often left out of that story: interest on debt.
For years, residential rates rose faster than the Territory's interest bill. That changed in 2022-23, when interest began rising even faster than rates. Today, while residential rates are still going up rapidly, they no longer even cover the interest bill, let alone the services Canberrans expect them to help fund.
By 2026-27, the gap is forecast to widen: $836 million in interest, compared with $607 million in residential rates.
The comparison line shows what residential rates would look like if they had only risen with wages or prices since 2010-11, while also allowing for the extra households added over that time. On that basis, the 2024-25 residential rates take would be about $349 million using wages, or $346 million using prices. The actual figure was $526 million - roughly 1.5 times higher.
Sources: residential general rates from the ACT Taxation Review (2012), Treasury's Revenue Neutrality of Tax Reform paper, and ACT Budget Outlooks (2010-11 to 2026-27). Total Territory interest expense from audited Consolidated Annual Financial Statements (to 2024-25) and the 2026-27 Budget Outlook. Wage Price Index and Consumer Price Index from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (WPI all-sector, year ended June; CPI all-groups, eight capital cities, June quarter), indexed from 2010-11. Household counts (occupied private dwellings, ACT) from the ABS 2011 Census QuickStats and the ABS Snapshot of the Australian Capital Territory, 2021; inter-census years interpolated and extended to 2024-25 at the 2016–21 growth rate. The comparator is shown to the latest actual rates year, 2024-25. 2011-12 residential rates were not separately published; the residential split is not published beyond 2026-27.