Jacqueline Gray, Noosa Wedding Organisation

17:53 Jacqueline Gray: My name is Jacqueline Gray. And with me today is Melinda Gannon. I'm a wedding celebrant and also the owner of the Noosa Reloadment Service Business. Melinda is the owner of First Class Functions, providing wedding styling event and catering services. Our deputation concerns the current wedding permit fee of $799 for an individual wedding for the groves along Noosa Main Beach and $399 for all other beach and park sites. And we question whether this fee complies with the requirements of Noosa Main Beach and Park Sites.

18:32 Melinda and I, along with many of the business owners we represent today, meet with couples on a regular basis, face-to-face, to assist them in arranging a wedding in our beautiful location. The Noosa Council permit fee, permit terms and conditions, and the no-refund policy attached, are a constant conversation with comments such as, that fee seems heavy. What? Not exclusive use? We've heard about the Noosa tax, but it's worse than we would have imagined. We can assure you that the Noosa brand is heavily impacted by the fee. With Noosa seen by our visitors as an unwelcoming place to visit. In 2013, a fee for a permit to marry at one of our groves along Main Beach was $159. As of 2026, the fee is $799. An increase of $499. In 2014, the fee was $102.5. In 2024-25, Council issued 150 permits at $629 for Noosa Main Beach area and $105 at $265 for all other areas. Costs recovered for the issue of these permits was therefore $122,175.

19:47 In 2006-2007, assuming we were to have the same number of permits issued by Council, Council issued the same number of permits issued by Noosa. Council would recover $161,745, an anticipated increase of $40,000 in two years. This should be concerning for all ratepayers, residents, businesses and councillors. For the purpose of our deputation, we are seeking transparency about how the $799 and $399 fees were calculated. Confirmation that the fee complies with the cost recovery requirements. A review of the wedding permit fee structure to ensure it is lawful, reasonable and economically sustainable for local businesses. A reduction of the fees to be complied with section 97 of the Local Government Act and also to align with other Queensland councils. Within the legislative framework, wedding permit fees are set according to section 97 of the Local Government Act.

21:01 The cost recovery fee must not be more than the cost to the Local Government of taking the action for which the fee is charged. This means councils cannot generate profit from permit fees. Fees must reflect the actual cost, not desirability of the location, not market demand, and not revenue objectives. Reference can be made to the decision of the Queensland Ombudsman in 2013. The Ombudsman decision outlined, Councils have a statutory obligation to comply with the requirements of section 97 of the Local Government Act when fixing cost recovery fees. It may be necessary to seek professional advice before fixing a fee. Section 97 states, A cost recovery fee must not be more than the cost to the Local Government of taking the action for which the fee is charged. The Noosa Council Register of Fees states that the fee is charged according to section 97 whereby it is stated, A cost recovery fee is a fee for an application for the issue or renewal of a licence, permit, registration or other approval under a Local Government Act, an application fee.

22:21 So what Council actually does is, Council receives a fee for a beach wedding permit. Reading directly from Noosa Council's permit terms and conditions, the person bearing the permit accepts the application fee is a non-refundable fee even in the circumstances where inclement weather affects your ceremony, accepts Council controlled land is on a routine maintenance program and will not be specifically groomed prior to the ceremony. Council does not accept any responsibility for the condition of the area including mowing, maintenance or inclement weather conditions resulting in leaf, branch debris or irresponsible people using the area prior to your booking. Must ensure all litter is removed at ceremony completion. Accepts that this permit confirms no other bookings for the time and location, however does not guarantee exclusive use of the area and or its facilities. The permit holder must engage with any groups or individuals that may be using the area in a polite and courteous manner. Therefore, for a wedding permit, Council typically undertakes reviewing the online application, checking location availability, confirming compliance with local laws, issuing of the permit and recording the booking.

23:41 Council does not undertake site inspections, ranger attendance, pre-event cleaning or maintenance, post-event cleaning or maintenance, infrastructure setup, traffic or crowd management, environmental restoration or on-site monitoring. Also, a refund. If the wedding cannot proceed due to rain, to a rain event or illness, the couple have paid $799 for no service other than the cost to Council for issuing the permit. This would not be tolerated in a business.

24:16 We accept an additional reasonable fee for the groves along Noosa Main Beach, which were designed especially for weddings. However, it should be a fee that reflects the actual cost to Council to maintain the areas. A beach wedding leaves no imprint, therefore there will be no cost recovery to Council whatsoever other than the issue of the permit. Our cost calculations for the issue of a permit using standard Queensland Council staffing rates. Administrative officer time, 35 minutes. Hourly rate with on costs approximately $55. Total cost $32.08. Plus system overhead $2 to $5. Corporate overhead loading $6 to $10. A realistic lawful cost recovery is therefore $40 to $50 and even doubling this for contingencies results in between $80 and $100. There is no plausible cost recovery pathway that we can see to either $399 or $799. For a regional comparison. To understand whether Noosaville is reasonable, we looked at neighbouring councils. Suntime Coast Council charge $82 for all locations. Gold Coast Council charge $0 for beach weddings, $134 in a park, $345 for the botanic gardens.

25:35 Brisbane City Council. Feeds to marry in a park in Brisbane will cost $435.10 for two hour exclusive use of the area with all facilities. Also use of undercover gazebo. We note Noosa permits provides there is no exclusive use of the area. Douglas Shire charge $76 for parks, beaches and reserves with $150 for the ceremonies at their Little Cove location where for $664 you can also hold your reception. The State Government. A permit for a wedding will be issued by the State Government Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation in our National Government. Noosa National Parks at no cost for up to 40 people. This includes Laguna Lookout, entry to Noosa National Park, Tea Tree Bay, etc. Noosa's fee is almost 10 times higher than the Suntime Coast. Infinitely higher than the Gold Coast. Not aligned with the regional norms. Not supported by service delivery. And not supported by cost recovery evidence. Noosa Council's cost recovery for one wedding permit is therefore 86.6% higher than the total cost recovery. The economic impact on Noosa businesses.

26:52 The wedding sector contributes millions annually to Noosa's visitor economy. However, the $799 no refund fee is discouraging couples from choosing Noosa. Redirecting bookings to Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and other areas. Reducing income for local wedding related and tourism businesses. Creating reputational harm for Noosa. And impacting the Noosa brand as an accessible and welcoming wedding destination. The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages data shows Noosa weddings have fallen from 781 in 2014 to 563 in 2025. A decline of 218 weddings a year. While Sunshine Coast Council uses its funding of Visit Sunshine Coast to actively attract the wedding market through dedicated destination promotion and events. Such as the Mullaney Wedding Festival Trail. While Tourism Noosa, despite being Council's equivalent publicly funded tourism body. Has provided our local wedding sector with no comparable investment or targeted promotional support. The concern is simple. Noosa is discouraging one of the most economically valuable and DMP aligned visitor segments we have.

28:07 An average stay for a single wedding is three to four nights. Including accommodation, wedding expenses, dining, guest activities including golf, fishing, surf lessons etc. Shopping and beauty treatments. Low spend is $2,600 per person. So with a wedding with 50 guests, that is $130,000 per wedding with only 50 guests to our local economy. 200 more would bring an additional $26 million per annum to our visitor, to our Noosa economy.

28:43 We believe a lawful fee is likely to fall between $40 and $100 based on standard administrative processes for parks and beaches. And a scale of fees for the groves and mechanic garden based on the number of guests in attendance and impact would be appreciated. In closing, the destination management plan is very clear that Noosa does not need more tourism for the sake of volume. It needs the right kind of tourism. Weddings are exactly that. They are low volume, high value, planned well in advance and deeply connected to place. This is not mass tourism. It is values over volume tourism that directly supports a resilient local economy. Yet at the same time, Noosa is making it harder for couples to choose us by charging a $799 non-refundable ceremony permit with no exclusive use, no ceremony specific servicing and no transparent cost recovery model. Weddings also sit very well with Council's events portfolio as a high value visitor segment that meet all criteria for sustainable events being low peak impact and economically significant.

29:58 If Council is serious about the DMP and serious about a commitment to the Noosa brand, then the wedding permit fee needs to be reduced to a fair, transparent, lawful cost recovery amount so Noosa can compete for this valuable market rather than lose it. We are not asking Council to subsidise weddings. We are asking Council to not price Noosa out of a high value, low impact visitor market that the DMP itself says we should be attracting. I listen to the Councillor's budget speeches and support your comments. Councillor Nicola Wilson. Councillor Wilson who stated in her budget speech she would like to see a full review of operations. Councillor Jess Phillips with her support of the latest budget conditional on a commitment from the organisation to undertake a full service review. And Councillor Tom Wegener who looks forward to a full review of the budget fees and charges. And Mayor Frank Wilkie who stated we are always open to reviewing our processes. We value Council's stewardship of our public spaces and we are committed to working constructively with you. Our goal is simple, a fee structure that is lawful, transparent and supports local businesses while ensuring Council recovers its genuine costs.