Lodging an Objection

It is important to carefully review your rates and land tax notices and compare them to previous years to understand why the amount payable may have increased.

Reasons that your amount payable has increased from previous years are:

1. Rate in the dollar charged has increased – this is set by the respective rating authority that has issued your rates or land tax notice e.g. your local council, water provider or RevenueWA. All inquiries in this instance are to be made to the rating authority issuing the billing notice.
2. Council levies, such as rubbish collection, have increased – this is set by your local council. All inquiries in this instance are to be made to your local council.
3. Gross Rental Value (GRV) or Unimproved Value (UV) have changed – this is the valuation completed by Landgate for your property.

You can find out more about how the GRV and UV are calculated. For further inquiries please contact the Landgate Customer Service Team.

There may be several reasons why your rates differ from your neighbour:

1. Are you both within the boundaries of the same local government area? If not, the rate in the dollar charged by the local council may differ.
2. The dwellings may be different. Building area, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, carports and garages affect the Gross Rental Value (GRV).
3. Other building and property attributes such as age, construction materials and a below ground pool may affect the GRV.
4. Locational attributes such as views and busy roads (for example, one of the houses may be on a corner block next to a busy road) may affect the GRV.
5. Even though your property may have a lower GRV, some local councils will have a minimum GRV threshold that is used to calculate rates.
6. GRVs are calculated in two methods depending on the property type. This will depend if the property is Land & Building or Land only (no building). Information can be found at GRV.

If you have any further queries, contact the Landgate Customer Service Team.

Any property owner who does not agree with their Gross Rental Value (GRV) or Unimproved Value (UV) may lodge an objection. For your objection to be considered:

• GRV objection - provide rental evidence on comparable properties or other pertinent information at (or around) the date of valuation (DoV) that shows the assessment is too high or too low, compared to similar properties within your local government area that have the same physical and locational attributes. Find your latest DoV.
• GRV objection for land with no buildings - provide vacant land sales evidence on comparable land or other pertinent information at (or around) the DoV. Information on how GRV is determined on land with no buildings.
• UV objection - provide vacant land sales evidence on comparable land or other pertinent information at (or around) the date of valuation (DoV) of 1 August of the previous year, that shows the assessment is too high or too low, compared to similar properties that have the same physical and locational attributes.
• Lodge an objection within 60 days of the date of issue of your council rates, water rates or land tax notice.

When researching for rental evidence, please check that your evidence is based on, or around, the latest date of valuation and that the evidential properties have comparable attributes to your property.

Some websites¹ that may assist you with your investigation are:

https://reiwa.com.au/

https://www.realestate.com.au/rent/

https://www.domain.com.au/property-profile

https://www.allhomes.com.au/

https://www.oldlistings.com.au/

https://www.propertyvalue.com.au/

https://www.realestateview.com.au/

You may also consider approaching your local real estate agency, who may be able to provide you a service to assist with your research. Alternatively, a private valuation company may be engaged to provide a valuation for the property.

¹ Website links current as at the date the page was published. Please contact Landgate to advise if links require updating.

Helpful resources

Before you lodge an objection, view our helpful resources

• Read the detailed information on GRV, UV or pastoral rent value
• Watch the videos on GRV and UV
• Contact the Landgate Customer Service Team.

Note: Your rates notice, land tax assessment or pastoral rent notice is required to be paid by the due date, irrespective of whether an objection has been lodged.

What do I need to lodge a valuation objection?

If you believe your GRV, UV or pastoral rent value is incorrect, review the following requirements. Evidence and supporting documents will need to be provided with your submission:

• Objections must be submitted within 60 days from the date of issue on your rates notice, land tax assessment or pastoral rent notice.
• Are you an owner of the property? If not, you must provide a letter of authorisation, signed by the property owner, authorising you to act on their behalf. This authority may allow tenants to act on behalf of their lessor.
• Have a copy of your rates notice, land tax assessment or pastoral rent notice relevant to the valuation/s that you will be objecting to.
• Have a copy of the most current floor plans for the building/s (if available).
• Note down the date of valuation (DoV).
• Have a copy of mapping documents for rural and pastoral properties. Documents to detail arable land, grazing, waste, flooding, salt. Plus, for pastoral properties, outline pertinent issues e.g. waters, fencing, respective grazing systems, inaccessible areas and carrying capacities.
• Have your evidence and pertinent information to support your objection:
  • Gross rental value: rental evidence on comparable properties or other pertinent information at (or around) the date of valuation.
  • Gross rental value (on land with no buildings): vacant land sales evidence on comparable land or other pertinent information at (or around) the date of valuation. Information on how GRV is determined on land with no buildings.
  • Unimproved value: vacant land sales evidence on comparable land or other pertinent information at (or around) the date of valuation.
  • Pastoral rent value: please call Landgate on +61 (0)8 9273 7373 to speak to a pastoral valuer.
• You should inform all other owners of the property that you are lodging an objection.

Lodging a valuation objection online

For your convenience, an online lodgement system is offered to complete your submission, attach supporting documents, save a draft and receive instant confirmation when your objection is lodged. When prepared, completing the form should take no more than 30 minutes for each property.

A maximum of 10 properties can be included in the one submission.

Lodge an objection

Note: The latest versions of these web browsers are supported: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari. Users with other web browsers or earlier versions may encounter problems when completing the online valuation objection form.

Download a valuation objection form

Alternatively, an objection form can be downloaded and completed. A separate form is required for each property, or when objecting to the GRV and UV for the same property.

Download the objection form.

Important information:

• Review the objection checklist to check that you are ready to submit.
• Complete all sections and sign the objection form.
• If you are not the property owner, a letter of authorisation must be provided, signed by the property owner, authorising you to act on their behalf.
• Provide evidence or pertinent information to support your objection.

Submit your objection form with supporting evidence or pertinent information:

If you have any inquiries, contact the Landgate Customer Service Team.

Where more than 60 days have passed from the date of issue stated on your rates notice, land tax assessment or pastoral rent notice, you will need to obtain approval from the Valuer-General to proceed with lodging an objection. You must establish reasonable cause for an extension of time to be granted.

An extension of time can be requested by emailing vs@landgate.wa.gov.au with:

• the reason why you require extra time to lodge your submission
• property address
• valuation you are objecting to
• date of issue stated on the rates notice, land tax assessment or pastoral rent notice

The Valuer-General will assess your request and response within 5 business days. Where an extension has been granted, an approval code will be provided.

On submitting your objection, please provide the approval code:

• Online objection form – enter the approval code, when requested
• Objection form emailed – write the approval code at the top of the objection form or include in your email
• Objection form posted – write the approval code at the top of the objection form

To resume and submit your online valuation objection, you will need the reference number provided by Landgate, which was:

• displayed on screen while you were completing your submission
• sent in an email to your nominated email address

An expiry date will have been provided, which is the final date that the submission can be lodged. If not lodged by the expiry date, a new submission will need to be completed.

Click below to resume your valuation objection, and when prompted, enter the reference number and your last name.

Resume an objection

Unable to find your reference number?

To protect the privacy of information entered in an objection form, Landgate is unable to provide the reference number for a saved submission if it has been misplaced or noted down incorrectly.

It is important to keep your reference number safe and secure, so it can be used to resume your valuation objection.

Following receipt of your objection, Landgate will take the following steps to a resolution.

Gross Rental Value (GRV) objection

1. Your application and supporting documentation (e.g. rental evidence on comparable properties as at date of valuation) will be reviewed, to verify that Landgate has been provided with the required information to assess your objection. You will be notified within 10 working days if further information is required or to advise that we can proceed with your request.
2. Once we have all the required information your objection will be allocated to a valuer. The valuer will review the evidence provided, analyse the information against property market values as at the date of valuation and assess the individual property attributes to confirm a fair rental value for the property.
3. Once the review has been completed, the valuer will contact you to discuss their findings.
4. You will be informed by letter of the Valuer-General’s final decision; either that the objection is ‘disallowed’ (the original GRV is deemed valid) or the objection is ‘allowed’ (the GRV has been adjusted).
5. Landgate will inform all rating authorities if the GRV has been adjusted. These authorities will adjust any rates or taxes and provide a refund or credit, if applicable.

Please note, due to the complexity of some objections, Landgate may require up to 12 months for an objection to be finalised.

Unimproved Value (UV) objection

1. Your application and supporting documentation (e.g. comparable vacant land sales evidence as at date of valuation) will be reviewed, to verify that Landgate has been provided with the required information to assess your objection. You will be notified within 10 working days if further information is required or to advise that we can proceed with your request.
2. Once we have all the required information your objection will be allocated to a valuer. The valuer will review the evidence provided, analyse the information against property market values as at the date of valuation and review the individual property attributes to confirm a fair Unimproved Value for the property.
3. Once the review has been completed, the valuer will contact you to discuss their findings.
4. You will be informed by letter of the Valuer-General’s final decision; either that the objection is ‘disallowed’ (the original UV is deemed valid) or the objection is ‘allowed’ (the UV has been adjusted).
5. Landgate will inform all rating authorities if the UV has been adjusted. These authorities will adjust any rates or taxes and provided a refund, if applicable.

Please note, due to the complexity of some objections, Landgate may require up to 12 months for an objection to be finalised.

All rating authorities require property owners to pay their rates or land tax by the due date, even when an objection has been lodged with the Valuer-General at Landgate.

Once a decision has been made by the Valuer-General, Landgate will communicate any revised Gross Rental Value (GRV) or Unimproved Value (UV) to all relevant rating authorities. These authorities will reference the new assessment, adjust your rates or land taxes where applicable, and provide either a refund (GRV/UV has reduced) or an interim rate notice for additional payment (GRV/UV has increased).

To make a change, provide further information or withdraw your valuation objection, email vs@landgate.wa.gov.au.

Please provide:

• your first and last name
• the property address/es
• case number – this was provided to you in an email, if you lodged your submission online

If you have any questions please contact Landgate Customer Service.

If you are not satisfied with the decision made by the Valuer-General in response to your objection, you may write to the Valuer-General asking that your objection be referred to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) for a review. Your request is to be made within 60 days of receiving the written decision from the Valuer-General.  The Valuer-General will promptly refer your objection to SAT, who will then commence correspondence with you on this matter.

SAT is an independent body, who has jurisdiction to review the decision made by the Valuer-General. Please refer to the State Administration Tribunal’s website for more information.

Submit your request for an appeal:

For information on Valuer-General publications.

If you have any inquiries, contact the Landgate Customer Service Team.