Byron Shire Council’s 2025/26 Budget, Operational Plan, fees and charges and four-year Delivery Plan were adopted at an Extraordinary meeting this week.

In the adopted budget Council has allocated more than $61 million on capital works across the Shire including:

• Sandhills drainage - $6.3 million
• Mullumbimby Road upgrade - $2.28 million
• Infrastructure restoration associated with the 2022 floods - $26.1 million
• Open Space and Recreation - $693,000
• Waste Management - $6.75 million
• Holiday Parks - $3.34 million
• Brunswick Heads Recreation Grounds public amenities - $540,300

“Some notable changes were made to our fees and charges for the 2025/26 year, including our return to a user-pays system for resident pay parking permits,” Byron Shire Mayor, Sarah Ndiaye, said.

If you have a current Shire Resident Parking Permit, continue using it until it expires. There’s no need to renew it now.

When it’s time to renew or if you’re applying for a new Shire Resident Parking Permit, it will cost $30 (for a year). 

“Returning to a user-pay system is about boosting investment in infrastructure and projects and returning the benefits to the community,” the Mayor said.

“We continue to offer free parking permits to our residents who are pensioners and those with a current concession card, plus we’re pleased to be adding eligible full-time students to that list.

“We are also giving people who own property in Byron Shire but don’t live here permanently, and people who live in a community directly bordering the Byron Shire access to a pay parking permit for $110 per year,” she said.

Information about pay parking permits, including scheme areas, types, eligibility criteria, costs, and terms and conditions information, is on Council’s website.

To check permit expiry, go to the Parking Permit Portal at www.byron.nsw.gov.au/parking-permits.