Mackay land valuations and your rates before the 2027 revaluation

Mackay Regional Council area land has not been revalued since 2023. That changes in 2027. On 5 August 2026 the Valuer-General named Mackay Regional Council in the 2027 land valuation program. The new valuations will reflect land values on 1 October 2026 and take effect from 30 June 2027.

Until then, the general valuation that applies across the area is the one made at 1 October 2022. Knowing which date a figure speaks to is the first step in reading a rates notice, a land tax assessment or a valuation report.

What the last Mackay valuation showed

The Department's historical trends table records an overall change of 16.1 per cent in Mackay's statutory land values in 2023, measured against the previous valuation. It shows a dash for Mackay in 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026, meaning the area was not valued in those years.

The Department's 2023 valuation page, which survives as an archived copy, says those valuations were issued on 17 March 2023, reflect land values at 1 October 2022 and took effect from 30 June 2023. The objection period closed on 16 May 2023. The 16.1 per cent is an overall figure for the whole council area. It says nothing about a particular house lot in Andergrove or a block at Bucasia.

A land valuation is not the value of your house

For non-rural land, including rural residential land, the Valuer-General determines site value. Land zoned rural receives an unimproved value instead. The Department's explanation of its methods says houses, fences and other structures are not included when valuing the land, and that its valuers prefer sales of vacant or lightly improved land.

So a notice that shows a land value for a Mackay property is not an estimate of what the house and land would sell for. The house, its condition, its floor level and its outlook are all outside that figure. A market valuation looks at the whole property on a stated date, using sales of comparable property.

How council turns the valuation into rates

Mackay Regional Council's rating category statement for 2026-27 explains that each rating category has its own rate in the dollar, applied to the property's rateable valuation. A minimum general rate applies in each category. Residential land is banded by rateable valuation, with bands ending at $175,000, $345,000 and $575,000 and a fourth band above that.

Council says it averages a property's past two land valuations to work out the average rateable valuation, and applies an averaging factor where a lot was recently subdivided or re-surveyed. Notices are issued half-yearly, usually in February and August. Once the 2027 valuation takes effect, ask council how averaging will apply to your notice rather than assuming the new figure flows straight through.

An objection to the rating category goes to council within 30 days of the notice, on the sole ground that the land belongs in a different category. It is separate from any objection to the valuation itself, and the notice still has to be paid while the objection is considered.

Land tax can use a three-year average

The Queensland Revenue Office explains that the taxable value for land tax is the lesser of the statutory land value at 30 June and the averaged value, which is the average of the current and previous two financial years. The Revenue Office cannot change a value the Valuer-General has issued. Whether land tax applies at all depends on who owns the land and what it is used for.

Objecting when the 2027 notice arrives

An objection must be lodged within 60 days of the notice's issue date, according to the Department's objection process. For comparison, the 2026 notices for other council areas were issued on 11 March 2026 and the objection period closed on 11 May 2026. Mackay's issue date for 2027 has not been published.

The Department lists acceptable reasons for objections: specific comparable sales with an explanation of each, physical characteristics or land use constraints, and site improvement deductions. It will not accept median house prices, asking prices, the amount of rates or tax, or personal circumstances.

A constraint such as a flood or storm tide affected lot is the kind of physical fact that belongs in an objection. Council's Property Flood Report gives design flood levels and minimum floor levels for a lot, which can help you describe it.

When you need a market figure instead

If an accountant, an SMSF auditor or the Revenue Office needs a market value at a particular date, the land valuation will not do that job. A certified valuation values the land and buildings together at the date the obligation sets. The Mackay valuation FAQ explains how that differs from a rates figure, and the contact page is the place to say which date and purpose you need covered.