Learn · Price and market evidence
What is statutory land value?
A jurisdiction matrix of land, site, UV, UCV, CIV, GRV and AUV. Issued for rates and tax. Not a sale-price estimate or a comparable.
Districts Research · ·
Statutory land value
A valuer-general figure for rating. It is not market value and it is not the asking price.
- StatutoryLand value / site value / UV — that state’s name
- MarketWhat a buyer and seller agree
Swipe the panels.
What this word means
What is a statutory land value, and how does it relate to what a property sells for?
A statutory land value is a figure issued by a state or territory valuation authority so councils and revenue offices can levy rates and land tax. It is produced in bulk, as at a legislated date, on a legislated basis. The name is not the same everywhere. New South Wales issues a land value. Victoria issues site value, capital improved value and net annual value. Queensland uses site value or unimproved value depending on the zone. Western Australia issues unimproved value and gross rental value. South Australia issues site value and capital value. Tasmania issues land value, capital value and assessed annual value. The ACT issues unimproved value and an average unimproved value. The Northern Territory issues unimproved capital value.
None of those figures is a sale-price estimate for the house you are inspecting. NSW valuation-program reports state that land values are made for rating and taxing only and should not be used for any other purpose. Compare the ask with the statutory figure only as a labelled ratio. Do not treat the gap as “the value of the house”.
The basis, the date and the job, by jurisdiction
Read the row for the land you are buying. The terms are not interchangeable. A Victorian site value is not a Western Australian unimproved value, and neither is an ACT average unimproved value.
| Jurisdiction | What is issued | Usual job | Date / cycle to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Land value: land only, excluding buildings. Mass valued under the Valuation of Land Act 1916. | Council rates and land tax. Revenue NSW averages the last three 1 July land values for land tax. The Valuer General does not set the rate in the dollar. | New land values each 1 July for land tax. Councils receive values for rating at least once every three years. |
| Victoria | Site value (land only). Capital improved value (land plus improvements). Net annual value (for residential and primary production, 5 per cent of CIV). | Land tax uses site value. Councils and the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund use the statutory values on the notice. Check which column your rates notice used. | Annual general valuation as at 1 January. A 2026 land-tax assessment uses the 1 January 2025 site value. |
| Queensland | Site value for non-rural land (includes works that prepare the site; excludes houses, fences and other structures). Unimproved value for most rural-zoned land (as if undisturbed). | Council rates, state land tax and state land rental for leasehold. Units and duplexes are valued as the whole parcel, issued to the body corporate. | Annual program for selected local government areas. Objection window is on the notice (commonly 60 days from issue). |
| Western Australia | Unimproved value (land; in metropolitan and townsites this includes merged site works). Gross rental value (gross annual rent, including outgoings). | UV: land tax and some rural or rural-residential rates. GRV: most non-rural rates, service charges and levies. | UV for all WA land: date of valuation 1 August 2025, applied 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Metropolitan GRV: date of valuation 1 August 2024, applied from 1 July 2026. Landgate states a 23-month lag in the metropolitan area between valuation date and effective date. |
| South Australia | Site value (land plus site improvements such as draining, filling, retaining walls and clearing). Capital value (includes buildings and specified structures). | Site value: land tax. Capital value: council rates, Emergency Services Levy, water and sewerage charges. The Valuer-General does not set those rates. | Values are reviewed each year. An objection is lodged with the Office of the Valuer-General, commonly within 60 days of the first rating notice for the year. |
| Tasmania | Land value (includes invisible site works; excludes visible buildings). Capital value (land plus visible improvements, excluding plant and machinery). Assessed annual value (gross annual rent excluding GST, rates and land tax, and not less than 4 per cent of capital value). | Councils choose land value, capital value or AAV as their rating base. State land tax uses the statutory values on the notice. | Fresh valuations generally every six years, with a third of councils each two years. Adjustment factors update land value annually and capital value and AAV every two years between fresh valuations. |
| ACT | Unimproved value: land without improvements, reflecting the most valuable use permitted by the Crown lease purpose clause. Average unimproved value: the average of the last five 1 January UVs. | Rates and land tax are calculated on AUV, not on a single year’s UV. A lease variation charge uses a different market-value basis and is not the rating UV. | For 2026-27, AUV is the average of the 1 January values for 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. New parcels may use a shorter average. |
| Northern Territory | Unimproved capital value: the land as if above-ground improvements had not been made. Site improvements stay in the figure. | Council and Territory rates use UCV on the valuation roll. | Generally every three years, dated 1 July. Darwin, Palmerston, Darwin Waterfront and Northern Territory Rates Act areas: 1 July 2026. Other municipalities sit on different years of the same cycle. |
What a statutory value does not establish
It does not establish what a buyer would pay for the house. Most of the land-only bases exclude the dwelling. Even a Victorian CIV or a Tasmanian capital value is a mass appraisal as at a past date, produced for a tax base, not an inspection-based market valuation.
NSW contract-area reports for the Valuer General repeat the same limit: land values in the valuation program are made for rating and taxing purposes only and should not be used for any other purpose. Treat that as the working rule for every row in the matrix, unless that jurisdiction’s current official page says otherwise.
How to use it on a research file
Copy the figure, the basis name, the valuation date and the issuing office onto the file. Then decide which job you are giving it.
- Rates and land-tax exposure. The cost side of holding. Thresholds and rates-in-the-dollar change; read the current revenue schedule. See gross yield versus net yield.
- A labelled ratio of ask to statutory land-only value, where that series is loaded. The ratio is a Districts calculation, not a fairness test.
- Context on a vacant or near-vacant site, where the statutory basis is closer to the asset you are buying.
- Not a comparable sale, not a floor for the price, and not the value of the house by subtraction.
Traps that treat a tax base as a price
- Reading the land-only value as a floor, or the gap to the ask as the house.
- Comparing a Victorian site value with a New South Wales land value, or either with an ACT AUV, as if they were one measure.
- Using a GRV (an annual rent figure) as if it were a capital land value.
- Treating a 23-month-old WA valuation date as “today’s market”.
- Applying last year’s land-tax threshold to this year’s notice.
How Districts shows statutory land value
Statutory land value versus ask is one of the ten checks. It is completed only where that state’s valuation series has been loaded for the lot. Where the series is not loaded, the check stays unknown with the reason. Districts does not estimate a missing statutory value from the ask, a suburb median or neighbouring lots. When a value is present it is shown with its date, basis and issuing authority as source data. Any ratio to the ask is labelled as a Districts calculation.
How to confirm the figure on the notice
The valuation authority in that state or territory publishes the basis, the date and the objection path. The rates notice and the land-tax assessment show which value that authority used. Objection clocks and grounds sit on those notices. For market value of the property as a home, see why Districts does not provide a valuation.
Common questions
If the statutory land value is higher than the ask, is the property cheap?
No. The two numbers are built for different jobs on different dates. A high land-only value and a low ask can mean a tired dwelling, a thin campaign, a non-market transfer, or a statutory figure that has not caught a later market move. Investigate. Do not treat the gap as a bargain score.
How Districts derives it
Explore using Districts
Sources
Official material this page used. Dates are when Districts checked the page, not the life of the instrument.
NSW Government
Why land is valued and what it is used for
NSW land values support council rates and land tax. The Valuer General does not set council rates. Land tax uses a three-year average.
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Land Use Victoria
Valuations for rates and land tax
Victorian SV, CIV and NAV definitions; annual valuation as at 1 January; NAV for residential property is 5 per cent of CIV.
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State Revenue Office Victoria
Victorian land tax uses site value. 2026 assessments use 1 January 2025 valuations.
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Queensland Government
Our methods for calculating land value
Site value versus unimproved value by zone; structures excluded; mass appraisal; body-corporate parcels; Land Valuation Act 2010.
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Landgate
WA UV date 1 August 2025 applied 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Metropolitan GRV date 1 August 2024 applied from 1 July 2026.
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Landgate
GRV is a gross annual rent including outgoings. Metropolitan lag between valuation date and effective date is 23 months.
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Office of the Valuer-General South Australia
SA site value versus capital value; site value for land tax; capital value for rates, ESL and water; VG does not set rates.
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Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania
Statutory valuations, fresh valuations and supplementary valuations
Tasmanian land value, capital value and AAV; six-year fresh valuation cycle.
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Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania
Frequently asked questions, Office of the Valuer-General
AAV is gross annual rent and cannot be less than 4 per cent of capital value. Councils choose CV or AAV.
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ACT Revenue Office
ACT UV is land without improvements and reflects the most valuable use permitted by the Crown lease. Charges use AUV.
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ACT Revenue Office
2026-27 AUV is the average of 1 January UVs for 2022 through 2026.
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Northern Territory Government
NT UCV definition and the three-year cycle, including the 1 July 2026 Darwin and Palmerston program.
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Related guides
Price and market evidence
Why Districts does not provide a property valuation
A valuation is a registered valuer’s opinion on a stated basis. Districts shows labelled evidence instead. It does not compute an automated value.
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How to tell whether an asking price makes sense
Separate ask, guide, disclosed estimate, rejected offers and comps. Underquoting rules differ by state. Not a valuation.
Rental and holding risk
Gross yield vs net yield: the holding costs investors forget
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Data literacy
Why Districts shows unknown data
Unknown means no source for that slot. Three product examples. Not zero, not clear, not a fail.
Research purposes only. Not personal financial advice, a valuation, or a planning certificate. Always speak to a licensed financial adviser before you act.