Cairns Council Unveils 2026-27 Budget, Innovation Festival Funding

Cairns Regional Council adopted a $785.6 million budget for 2026-27 that includes a 3.95 percent general rates rise and a $308 million capital works program focused on water security, transport and disaster recovery.

Budget and rates adjustments

The decision sets the framework for annual costs on a median residential property, which are estimated to rise by approximately 7.5 percent or roughly $283. Waste management charges increase 20.3 percent and water access charges rise 10.7 percent under the same package. New parking rules took effect on 1 July, lifting the on-street rate to $2.40 per hour and imposing a two-hour weekday limit on free centre-median parking.

Mayor Amy Eden, elected in the 2024 local government elections, leads the nine-division council whose next poll is scheduled for 2028. The capital works allocation addresses critical infrastructure failures at three local reservoirs, where two remain offline and the largest sits at 60 percent capacity, prompting calls for water conservation ahead of possible Level 1 restrictions.

Innovation and startup support

Council has committed up to $200,000 over four years to the annual Tropical Innovation Festival. The newly opened Tropical Tech and Innovation Network Hub receives nearly $1.3 million from the Queensland Government’s Innovation Places and Precincts Fund to supply facilities and support for local startups and scale-ups.

Residents seeking non-life-threatening flood or storm assistance can contact SES Far North on 132 500 or use the SES Assistance Qld app. The Cairns Disaster Dashboard at www.disaster.cairns.qld.gov.au aggregates real-time updates from Council, the Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, Ergon, Telstra and Transport and Main Roads.