Adelaide Council Plans 5.6% Rate Rise, $5.5M Bikeway Expansion

Adelaide City Council’s 2026-27 draft budget lists a 5.6 percent rate increase that lifts the average residential rate to $2,387 for roughly 30,000 CBD and North Adelaide properties.

The figures appear in the same package that sets aside $5.5 million for a new east-west segregated bikeway along Franklin and Flinders streets, with state government matching funds. Separate council records show an endorsed target to reach a combined CBD and North Adelaide population of 50,000 by 2036. State government plans also list relaxed height limits allowing pre-approval for 10-to-15-storey buildings and a new maximum of 134 metres in the eastern CBD.

Rate calculations affect 30,000 properties

The 5.6 percent rise is the central number in the draft budget released for public comment. It applies to residential assessments across the council area and is listed alongside a delay to nightlife-precinct upgrades and $13.6 million allocated to the main-street revitalisation program. Council meetings that approved the draft are held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month under the Local Government Act 1999.

Bikeway cost and population target sit in same planning files

The $5.5 million bikeway selection is recorded in council project documents that identify Franklin and Flinders streets as the route. The same strategic planning papers contain the 50,000-resident goal by 2036, which the council states will require about 1,000 new homes each year through private development. The 2024 By-laws, endorsed 27 August 2024 and effective 5 January 2025, sit alongside these capital and growth figures in the current governance cycle.

Residents can review the full draft budget and project lists on the City of Adelaide website before the final adoption vote. The documents remain open for submissions through the standard consultation period listed on the council’s governance page.