Fees & Charges 2026-27

Public consultation is now closed.

At the South Waikato District Council meeting on Thursday 28 May, Council adopted the fees and charges for the 2026-27 financial year. These will take effect from 1 July 2026.

Fees and Charges 2026-27

Have Your Say

Monday 30 March - Wednesday 29 April 2026

User fees and charges are one of the ways Council recovers actual and reasonable costs of delivering services to our community. These fees ensure that people who directly benefit from a service contribute to its cost.

Council’s Schedule of Fees and Charges is adopted annually with changes made as required to recover costs. Some of the fees identified below have not changed for two years or more.

This year, the Council is inviting public feedback on several proposed changes:

MAJOR CHANGES

Resource Management / Planning Fees
Environmental Health Fees
Public Pool Facilities
Building Consent Applications
Dog Control and Registration Fees
Land Information Management (LIM) Report
Solid Waste – Transfer Station
Financial Contributions - Roading, Car Parking, Reserves, Water Supply and Wastewater
Cemetery – Burial Fees

MINOR CHANGES

Plaza Theatre Booking Fees
Gambling Consent Application Fees

PENDING COUNCIL DECISION

Option 1:

Accept new Council fees and charges schedule – from 1 July 2026

Option 2:

Keep current Council fees and charges
– no new fees

View the full Fees and Charges Statement of Proposal here.

For a full list of the proposed fees and charges, view the Fees and Charges Schedule here.

Public submissions are now closed.

What happens next?

After submissions close on 29 April all submissions will be reviewed by Council. Verbal submissions will be heard and all public submissions will be formally considered at the Council meeting on Thursday, 14 May 2026.

Submissions close: Wednesday 29 April
Hearing and deliberations: Thursday 14 May
Adoption of fees and charges for 1 July: Thursday 28 May

FAQs

What are Council fees and charges, and why are they applied?

South Waikato District Council applies fees and charges to help fund a range of community services, facilities, and regulatory functions. These user-pays charges reduce reliance on rates and ensure fairness by charging users of specific services.

With the transition of water supply and wastewater services to Waikato Waters Ltd, Council is setting fees and charges for these services on behalf of WWL for the 2026/27 year only.

Fees and Charges are about 8% of Council’s total revenue.

What period does this proposal cover?

Fees and charges are set each year and run from 1 July to 30 June. The period we are seeking your views on is for the July 2026 – June 2027 Fees and Charges.

How does the Council decide how much to charge for services?

Fees are set based on:

Actual and reasonable costs of delivering services
The Council’s Revenue and Financing Policy
Ensuring fairness between ratepayers and direct users
Legislative requirements (e.g., for regulatory services) as set by Central Government

The Council adjusts fees to reflect changes in costs to provide the service.

Sometimes the movements in fees and charges can be large depending on what the service or activity needs to generate from fees and charges.

Where can I find the full list of current fees and charges?

You can view, download, or print the full current schedule of fees and charges from the webpage below.

Fees and Charges 2025-26

What are the next steps?

Staff will prepare consultation detail and have a programme to support the consultation process that requires submissions, hearings and deliberations to take place before the final fees and charges are adopted. Adoption has been scheduled for May to ensure programmes are ready to charge from 1 July.