Landscape Levy

The Regional Landscape levy (previously known as the NRM levy) is paid by all ratepayers across South Australia – recognising that all landowners are responsible for sustaining and managing our state’s landscapes for the benefit of all community members.

It’s not a new levy, but it has been improved to help fund the state’s regional Landscape boards.

Regional Landscape levies are raised by the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board to fund projects and programs to enable landholders, industry and the community to sustainably manage their region’s landscapes with an emphasis on land and water management, biodiversity and pest animal and plant control.

On Kangaroo Island a land levy is paid on all rateable land. There is no water levy on Kangaroo Island, as in other regions, as Kangaroo Island is not a prescribed water region.

The board invests the landscape levy into services that support the island as outlined in its Business Plan 2023-24.

Benefits of the levy changes

• All land and water levies now capped by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – helping to reduce the cost of living pressures for households and businesses.
• Greater transparency of where your levy is spent – landscape boards have to publicly outline in its budget how levies are being spent.
• More funding opportunities for communities – a small percentage of the levy in each region goes towards a Grassroots Grants Program to support the community and volunteer groups to play a significant role in managing our natural resources, including carrying out on-ground works.
• Metropolitan funds redistributed to support statewide issues - part of the levies raised in the metropolitan Green Adelaide region goes towards a Landscape Priorities Fund to enable regional landscape boards to invest in larger landscape management issues for our state, such as bushfire recovery.

How the levy is calculated

The Landscape land levy on KI is a fixed charge per property.

Related links

Understanding your landscape levy (factsheet)