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Taxes, duties, levies and royalties
  • About

    How to meet your obligations and make payments.

  • Land tax

    Paying tax on property you own.

  • Payroll tax

    Calculate and lodge tax on the wages paid by your business.

  • Transfer duty

    Calculate and pay transfer (stamp) duty on purchases.

  • Royalties

    We collect and audit mineral resources royalties.

  • Gaming and wagering

    We collect gaming and wagering taxes.

  • Health insurance levy

    For businesses that provide health benefits to contributors.

  • Insurance duty

    Providers of general and life insurance pay a duty.

  • Parking space levy

    Aims to reduce traffic congestion in Sydney's busiest areas.

  • Foreign buyers and land owners

    Surcharge fees that apply to residential land.

  • Motor vehicle duty

    Duty applies to some vehicle registrations and transfers.

  • Passenger service levy

    Applies to authorised taxi and booking service providers.

  • Emergency services levy

    We collect funds to support emergency services in NSW.

  • Income tax equivalent regime

    How government and the private sector compete

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  • Emergency services levy
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In this section
  1. Online payment terms and conditions

Emergency services levy

We collect funds under the Emergency Services Levy Act 2017 from local councils, insurance companies and foreign insured policy holders, to support the work of emergency services in NSW. Previously, these funds were collected by the Office of Emergency Management.

From local councils, we collect payments that account for 11.7 per cent of the costs of fire and emergency services in NSW.

From insurers of property in NSW, we collect the levy that is paid as part of insurance premiums.

There have been recent changes to the emergency services levy (ESL). For more information download the ESL fact sheet.

What you must do

OrganisationRequirements
Councils and insurers You must pay the levy by the due date.
New insurers Contact us within 30 days of becoming entitled to receive premiums for property in NSW.
All insurers (includes foreign insurers and foreign insured policy holders) You must lodge a return with us by 30 September each year, showing the premium/s paid and emergency services levy collected in the previous financial year. Contact us if you need more information.

Our secure online payment portals allow councils and insurers to:

  • pay the levy
  • update contact and account information
  • update payment details.

Council emergency services levy

Insurer emergency services levy

Contact us if you're having difficulty logging in to or using the system.

If you fail to pay the full amount by the due date as required by our online payment terms and conditions, you'll be charged interest and collection activity will begin.

Council contributions

Councils must pay an annual council contribution. We issue an assessment and an instalment notice quarterly.

The amount of the contribution is set by each emergency service, and enquiries should be directed to the relevant organisation:

  • Fire and Rescue NSW
  • NSW State Emergency Service
  • NSW Rural Fire Service

Insurer contributions

All insurers, including foreign insurers and all those who hold a policy with a foreign insurer, must lodge a return by 30 September each year, showing the premiums paid in the previous financial year.

Insurers that aren't regulated by APRA and aren't registered in Australia are considered to be foreign insurers.

If you have an insurance policy with a foreign insurer for a property in NSW, your insurer is deemed a foreign insurer and you're a foreign insured person.

If you're insured with a foreign insurer and they don't pay the emergency services levy portion of your premium to us, we'll collect it from you. You'd need to contact your insurer to seek a refund.

For information about the levy applied to your insurance premium, contact your insurer.

Property in NSW

Property in NSW includes:

  • any insurance of property, including consequential loss
  • house owners and householders, however designated (buildings or contents, or both)
  • personal jewellery and clothing, personal effects and works of art
  • motor vehicle and motor cycle
  • marine and baggage – any insurance confined to maritime perils or to risks involving transportation by sea, land or air, including storage, but not including static risks (all movements of goods, stock or material associated with processing or storage operations), including:
    • combined fire and hail on growing crops
    • livestock.

Premiums

2018-2019 insurance industry premiums subject to contribution for each class of policy

Each year, insurers are asked to pay a proportion of the cost of providing fire and emergency services. This amount to be paid by the insurance industry is the Contribution Target, which is determined and gazetted under the Emergency Services Levy Act 2017.

The relevant amount of premiums for an insurer is determined by multiplying the premiums of the insurer (including ESL) for different categories of insurance by a legislated percentage and then adding those amounts together. Each insurer’s total amount is then divided by the industry’s total amount to determine their share of the Contribution Target to be contributed.

The total industry premiums, and the industry premiums relevant to contribution, for each category of insurance reported by insurers for 2018-2019 are shown below:

Class of insurance policy

Total premiums

(excluding GST and duty)

Proportion of industry premiums relevant to contributionAmount of premiums subject to the contribution
Item 1. Any insurance of property including consequential loss but not including any insurance of a class specified elsewhere in the Schedule.$1,500,864,72080%

$1,200,691,776

Item 2. Houseowners and householders, however designated (buildings or contents or both).$3,081,914,82150%

$1,540,957,410

Item 3. Personal combined on personal jewellery and clothing, personal effects and works of art.

$99,529,855

10%

$9,952,985

Item 4. Motor vehicle and motor cycle.$4,406,539,2992.50%

$110,163,482

Item 5. Marine and baggage – any insurance confined to maritime perils or confirned to risks involving transportation on land or in the air, including storage incidental to transportation by sea, land or air, but not including static risks* (which are to be declared under Item 1).

$76,274,423

1%

$762,744

Item 6(a). Combined fire and hail on growing crops.

$22,894,0531%

$228,940

Item 6(b). Livestock$5,653,8161%

$56,538

Item 7. Aviation hull

$ 15,272,286

Nil-
Item 8(a). Loss by theft$122,756,016Nil-

Item 8(b). Plate glass

$13,855,233Nil-
Item 8(c). Machinery – confined to mechanical breakdown and/or consequential loss arising from mechanical breakdown.

$60,758,565

Nil-
Item 8(d). Explosion or collapse of boiler and pressure vessels – confined to damage other than by fire.$846,332Nil-
Item 8(e). Inherent or latent defects – confined to damage and/or consequential loss arising out of defective design, defective workmanship or defective materials but excluding any damage or consequential loss from fire.

$18,672,420

Nil-
Totals$9,425,831,841 

$2,862,813,877

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