Council delivers cost relief for households with freezes and waivers

Published on 25 September 2025

Frankston City Council is helping ease cost-of-living pressures by waiving or freezing a range of service fees for the year ahead.

The decision means everyday activities like running a playgroup, holding a community event, or applying for a kerbside trading permit will be more affordable, with 11 different fees suspended until 30 June 2026. A 12-month freeze on pet registration fee increases for the 2025–2026 financial year has also bene put in place.

Cr Brad Hill said the fee waiving is part of Council’s $1.7M Local Support Package and provides practical support for residents, community groups and local businesses.

“This is another way we can help to keep our community connected and supported,” he said.

“By suspending these fees, we’re helping families and volunteers focus on what really matters – running events and keeping community programs going – without added financial stress.”

The following fees have been suspended for the 2025/2026 financial year*:

Community event application fee
Filming/photography application fee
Minor event fee (CAA, half day)
Public notification service (includes 10 letters, no sign)
Kerbside trading fee (6 months per square metre licensed)
Residential parking permit replacement fee
Playgroup venue fee – half day (community playgroups)
Playgroup venue fee – half day (supported playgroups)
Lodgement of certificate of pool barrier compliance (reg 147X)
Working dog registration fee
Foster care animal registration fee

With more than 23,000 registered pets in Frankston City, Council is also continuing to support responsible pet ownership, said Cr Michael O’Reilly.

“We love our pets here and while they bring us so much joy, they can also be an added expense to the household budget,” he said.

“To ease the pressure of pet owners, we’re keeping pet registration fees the same as last year and increasing the rebate for obedience training. This means dog owners can now claim back 75 per cent of approved course fees (up to $250), up from 50 per cent.”

To further ease financial pressures, Council also limited average rates increases for residential and commercial ratepayers. While general rates in 2025-2026 have risen by three percent (in line with the State Government cap), Council has been able to limit the average increase for residential and commercial ratepayers to 2.24 percent and 1.12 percent respectively.

For more on Council’s Local Support Package, visit: www.frankston.vic.gov.au/Local-Support-Package