Regional landscape and water levies

How the regional landscape and water levies support you and the Limestone Coast landscape

You contribute levies that fund work undertaken by the Limestone Coast Landscape Board. This could be through the regional landscape levy, water levies or both.

These levies are critical to the work of the Limestone Coast Landscape Board and to the sustainable management of the Limestone Coast landscape. Every levy paid supports the Limestone Coast landscape now and for the future. The Limestone Coast Landscape Board also seeks funding through grants and contracts with the Australian and South Australian Governments.

Through your levies we are:

• Leading water resource management through partnerships, research, on ground works and policy development.
• Providing advice and support to landholders in the control of pest plants and animals on their properties.
• Controlling priority and declared weeds.
• Supporting landholders in sustainable land management practices from farming with biodiversity to interpreting soil health.
• Creating change by connecting youth and the community with their local landscapes.
• Supporting the protection and restoration of native vegetation and wetlands.
• Providing local community Grassroots Grants to kick start or expand on projects that undertake natural resource management activities to achieve landscape benefit.

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board is committed to walking with First Nations to manage our landscape.

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board invests levies based on our priorities outlined in our annual Business Plan

Understanding your regional landscape levy

The regional landscape levy is applied to all rateable land in the Limestone Coast. Councils collect regional landscape levies when they collect your rates. You will see a regional landscape levy charge on your rates notice from your council. The Limestone Coast Landscape Board pays councils a collection fee each year for providing this service.

The regional landscape levy is a fixed charge that depends on the purpose for which rateable land is used. The purpose of use category is determined by the Valuer-General and is a representation of the predominant use of the land. This is the same for all council areas. The categories for purpose of use are:

• primary production
• commercial
• industrial
• residential/vacant land/other.

Your council can assist with your property category

If you think the land use category assigned to your property by the State Valuation Office is wrong you must contact your council to change this. Your council can help you to apply for a change to the land use category assigned to your property.

If you are being charged the wrong land use rate you should also contact your council. They can help you ensure that the land use rate applied to your property is consistent with category applied by the State Valuation Office.

Primary producers with multiple farm enterprises

If you’re a primary producer with more than one rateable property within a Limestone Coast council area, you can apply to council to have your properties treated as a single farm enterprise. This means your enterprise will only be charged a landscape levy once annually. The regional landscape levy will only appear on one rates notice for your rateable properties.

If you own land in more than one council area, the regional landscape levy will be payable in each council area at least once.

If you have other questions about the regional landscape levy please contact us via the form below.

Understanding your water levy

The water levy applies to all water licences in the Limestone Coast. The water levy is a fixed charge per water licence and a rate per megalitre (ML), or kilolitre (kL) of allocation. The water levy applies to the total volume of allocation which reflects the entitlement to access water. The water levy gives effect to the principle of user-payers and creates transparency in cost recovery for water planning and management in the Limestone Coast.

Help with your water licence or invoice

For information on your water licence or invoice contact the Department for Environment and Water's Water Licensing Team at:

DEW.LCWaterLicensing@sa.gov.au
08 8735 1134
152 Jubilee Highway East, Mount Gambier, 5290

The Department for Environment and Water administers water licences for South Australia. mywater is South Australia’s 24/7 online water management system and customer portal. You can access information about your licence and access a range of water services such as applying to transfer water or applying for a permit to put a bore in. For support in using the mywater portal contact the mywater Contact Centre at dew.mywater@sa.gov.au or call 08 7133 7333 during business hours.