Council imposes cost-recovery fees for services and facilities supplied by it. This includes for any entitlement, facility, service or thing supplied, approval, consent, licence, permission, registration of information given, admission to any structure or place, receipt of any application, product or commodity supplied or inspection undertaken.

The quantum of each fee reflects as far and as accurately as possible, the actual cost of providing these services and facilities.

When councils conduct a business activity on a commercial basis they are entitled to charge for fees for this activity. This commercial activity should not enjoy any net advantage over competitors because council is in the public sector. This includes but is not limited to off-street parking, quarries, sporting facilities, subdivisional works or road construction works for domestic dwellings such as driveways.

In particular parking fees for metered spaces and off-street car parks are set at a level that will not be a disincentive to people who wish to visit the central business district.