The NSW Government has responded to the NSW Joint Standing Committee On the Office Of The Valuer General’s report examining the NSW land valuation system. The Government said it will commence work on a range of measures suggested by the Committee to improve transparency, fairness and accountability. The Committee made 29 recommendations. Some of the key recommendations and Government responses include:
- Recommendation 2 – That the Chief Valuation Commissioner issue public guidelines for the valuation of land in NSW, including land tax and council rate valuations and compulsory acquisition valuations. The guidelines should clearly state: (1) The methodologies for valuing land; and (2) The circumstances in which those methodologies are applied. That the guidelines be recognised by legislation, though their formulation should not be contained in the legislation to allow the flexible development of the methodologies. The NSW Government said it agrees with the Committee’s findings and supports the recommendation.
- Recommendation 10 – That the NSW Minister for Finance and Services review whether or not GST should be included in land valuations. The review should take into account the views of relevant stakeholders and the approaches adopted by other States and Territories of Australia. The NSW Government said it agrees with the Committee’s findings and supports the recommendation.
The Committee’s report and the Government’s response are available on the Committee website.
[LTN 215, 6/11/13]