The Municipal Association of Victoria says the plan to centralise all property valuations within the valuer-general’s office will have a range of unintended impacts on councils, including potential job losses.

MAV president councillor Mary Lalios said the plan was “rushed” and included no consultation with councils.

The reforms include moving from two-yearly to annual property valuations.

Councils are currently responsible for property valuations in Victoria at a cost of $20 million every second year.

“Centralising valuations within the valuer-general’s office will have a range of serious impacts that don’t seem to have been considered by the state government,” Cr Lalios said.

“Probably one of the most concerning impacts of the proposed reforms is the potential job losses for councils that currently employ qualified valuers.

"The lack of information coming from the state government means councils can’t properly consult their valuations staff about the future – because they simply don’t know the details of the government’s plan.

“This is extremely unfair to council staff and their families.

“Councils have told us of a long list of other unintended impacts, including additional administration costs to upload data annually, incompatible software systems, lost revenue from the sale of valuation data, payout of existing contracts, higher prices to undertake council asset valuations – and the list goes on. Cr Lalios said under rate capping councils were also more reliant on frequent supplementary valuations, particularly in areas undergoing development or growth.

“It is unlikely that the different supplementary valuation needs of each council could be met by the valuer-general at a reasonable price, which could create a lag in council revenue,” Cr Lalios said.