The Valuer-General is an independent statutory officer accountable to Parliament and is responsible for the administration of the Valuation of Land Act 1971 (the Act).
The role of the Valuer-General is to provide fair and equitable valuations for all properties in South Australia - in accordance with the Act, to deliver service excellence and maintain accountability and ownership over the valuation roll.
The Office of the Valuer-General assists the Valuer-General in providing regulatory oversight and management of the various services undertaken by the Service Provider (Land Services SA). Thus, ensuring the integrity of the valuation roll, service delivery and the independence of the Valuer-General.
Land Services SA (LSSA) was appointed as the exclusive Service Provider to the South Australian Government in October 2017. LSSA undertake a range of transactional land services and property valuation services previously delivered through the Lands Titles Office and State Valuation Office. LSSA provide exclusive property valuation services to the Valuer-General. As a trusted partner of the State, LSSA also deliver highly valued, trusted services to the community. More information about LSSA is available at here and www.landservices.com.au/about-us
The Valuer-General has published a Year in Review since 2019, these are available to read here
Your property’s value is determined via analysis undertaken by qualified valuers. It can be influenced by a broad range of factors; location, existing structures (including any recent additions or alterations), rezonings, recent sales in the area and market trends.
New valuations reflect the market as at 1 January each year, and take effect from 1 July each year.
These values may be used by state and local government for rating and taxing (where applicable). For example, council rates, Land Tax and Emergency Services Levy.
The annual General Valuation is an ongoing, overlapping cycle.
Sales data collection and analysis takes place throughout the year to determine how the market has performed within a calendar year. That analysis results in the adoption of an index which is applied to each property within each submarket group. New values come into effect on 1 July each year.
See s 11 of the Valuation of Land Act 1971 for further information.
Site Value is the value of a parcel of land excluding structural improvements, but including improvements such as draining, filling, retaining walls, excavating, grading or levelling of land, removal of rocks, stone, sand or soil, and the clearing of timber, scrub or other vegetation.
Capital Value is the value of a parcel of land including structural improvements such as buildings, wells, dams and reservoirs, and the planting of trees for commercial purposes.
Submarket groups are groups of properties with similar attributes. These include; locality, land size, property type, vintage, size of equivalent main area, use, etc.
Research and analysis is utilised to indicate how the market has performed relative to each sub-market group.
There are approximately 2,500 sub-market groups in South Australia.
The Date of Valuation is 1 January, each year.
This set date allows for consistency across all property valuations each year.
A valuation number (also referred to as a VG number) is a unique 10-digit identifier (0123456789 or 123456789*) used by the Valuer-General to identify each property in South Australia.
Valuation numbers are 10-digits or sometimes 9-digits followed by an asterisk. The asterisk replaces the 10th digit and has no reference to a footnote or check digit.
The first 2 digits of a valuation number signifies which council area the property is situated in.
A Valuation Roll is the annual supply of relevant rating and taxing values to rating authorities.
See s 18 of the Valuation of Land Act 1971 for further information.
The Valuer-General will publish a Gazettal Notice on the last Thursday in May which signifies the completion of all Valuation Rolls for the upcoming financial year. This is known as Gazettal Day.
Property data is collected in various ways from differing authorities. Some of these are:
All of which assist in ensuring our records are as current as possible.
No. The Valuer-General is an independent statutory officer and does not raise or charge any rates, taxes or levies.
Whilst rating authorities utilise the Valuer-General's values, she has no discretion over how the authorities utilise them. Nor can she be instructed to increase property values to consequently raise revenue.
Not necessarily. Council budgets are adjusted annually to ensure continued service to their community. So whilst your value has increased, the rate in the dollar charged with regard to that value may drop. Search 'differential rating' or 'rate in the dollar' on your local Council website for more information on how your rates are calculated.
There may be changes to your Emergency Services Levy, SA Water or Land Tax and any enquiries should be directed to those parties.
The Valuer-General sets property values but does not raise or charge any rates, taxes or levies.
The Government has set thresholds for when Land Tax becomes applicable. The site value of your property may now fall into that category. For more information, please contact Revenue SA on 08 8226 3750 or visit Rates and thresholds | RevenueSA
The Valuer-General has no authority in regard to the payment and receipt of rates. You will need to speak to the relevant rating authority to discuss your payment concerns.
The value of your property is stated on your rates and/or tax notices.
You can also get this information via the South Australian Integrated Land Information System - note that fees may apply in some instances.
Historical property valuation information is available to purchase from Land Services SA - please contact them via phone 08 8423 5000 or email customersupport@landservices.com.au
Property valuations aim to reflect market value and are based on how the market has performed in the prior calendar year. The Date of Valuation is 1 January and valuations come into effect on 1 July each year.
The total area under the main roof with percentage reductions for structures that are considered to be a lesser component or of differing construction than the main structure - eg carports, garages, verandahs, porches and rear lean-to.
No, the Office of the Valuer-General conduct valuations for rating and taxing purposes along with valuations for government department matters.
If you are concerned your valuation is incorrect you must submit a written objection to the Office of the Valuer-General within 60 days of receiving your first rates notice for the financial year from your local council, SA Water and/or RevenueSA.
Alternatively, you can contact Land Services SA (LSSA) between 9am and 5pm on 08 8423 5000 to request a hardcopy Objection form be posted to you.
The Valuer-General receives a large number of objections each year. To ensure that the process is completed thoroughly and any supporting documentation provided by the objector is considered and the property market is analysed, this can sometimes take up to 12 weeks. However, in some instances this can be less.
Property owners/occupiers who remain dissatisfied with the outcome of their objection have two options for a further review of the Valuer-General's valuation. These options must be applied for within 21-days of receipt of the Review by Valuer outcome. A Review by an independent valuer (Review by Valuer) or a Review by the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) - more information can be found at:
Please supply supporting documentation and property information via post or email to assist the Valuer-General to review the property's value.
The owner and rating authorities will be notified of any valuation changes following review.
Post - Office of the Valuer-General, GPO Box 1354, Adelaide SA 5001
A Land Use Code is determined on the actual use of the property. Council may declare differential general rates on rateable land.
Each Land Use Code is assigned a Local Government Code the for purposes of rating.
The Surveyor-General is responsible for property addressing - please email them at DTI.Addressing@sa.gov.au with information to assist them in making the required updates.
The Office of the Valuer-General, Land Services SA and State Recovery Unit work together to identify properties that suffered damage and loss of significant improvements following a natural disaster.
The Valuer-General will revalue property where there has been a material change to value as a consequence of damage generally associated with loss of housing and other major improvements.
Property Owners can contact the Land Services SA call centre on 1300 653 346 or email the Office of the Valuer-General directly at OVGobjections@sa.gov.au. When emailing, please provide the owners contact and property details (ie. the property address) to assist us to commence investigations.
Any revaluation will be as at the date when the disaster occurred and the Office of the Valuer-General will advise rating authorities of any valuation changes. It is at the discretion of the rating authority as to whether they utilise the updated valuations or not.
Valuations come into effect on 1 July each year, any changes made to the property whilst a valuation is in force will not be taken into consideration until the following annual General Valuation. Those changes will then form the valuation which comes into effect on the following 1 July.
Credit: South Australian Tourism Commission/Morgan Sette - Flamboyance Tours, Adelaide