Councils
The cost to visit Splash Palace may increase by 10 percent in the next financial year, as Invercargill City Council seeks to recoup more service delivery costs from users.
Public consultation on Council’s proposed changes to its 2026/2027 Fees and Charges schedule is now open.
The proposed changes include fee increases of about 10 percent – including pool admission, hire fees, and memberships – at the Invercargill swimming pool.
Invercargill City Council Finance and Policy Committee Chair, Councillor Trish Boyle, said the move to increase fees at Splash Palace better reflected the true costs associated with running the facility.
“We know Splash Palace is a really important facility for our community’s physical and social wellbeing. Council recognises that, particularly in a challenging economic environment, fee increases have the potential to impact demand and accessibility at Splash Palace,” she said.
“However, the reality is that in the past the fees to visit the swimming pool do not reflect the operational and service delivery costs associated with providing this service to our community.
“It is an extremely difficult task to find the right balance between funding this service through a user-pays approach, or through rates. It’s up to our people to share their feedback with Council and tell us if they want to move closer towards a user-pays approach, or if they have an appetite for their rates dollars being used to subsidise this,” Boyle said.
The cost for a swim and hydroslide had also been simplified, with visitors now charged one ‘swim and slide’ fee instead of being charged for these separately.
Some of the proposed changes included raising the child entry fee from $4.50 to $5, adult entry fees from $7.50 to $8.30, senior entry fees from $5.50 to $6.10, and a children’s swim and slide from $11.50 to $12.60.
Council’s Group Manager Finance and Assurance Patricia Christie said Council had worked for the past few years to bring fees and charges incrementally closer to service delivery costs, in line with Council’s Finance and Revenue Policy.
Central Government had also directed councils to recoup a greater proportion of the services and facilities they provided to their communities via a user-pays approach.
“In 2025/2026, general admission fees for adults were increased by 4 percent, while senior and student admissions were also increased by 7 percent. Meanwhile, the casual child swim fee to Splash Palace was decreased by 11.7 percent to try and increase further participation and accessibility,” she said.
Lower participation at Splash Palace could also have an impact on revenue generated by the cafe and retail offering on-site at the swimming pool, she said.
The majority of Council’s fees have been increased by between 5 and 15 percent to reflect rising service delivery costs, including inflation, Council rate increase, and corporate overheads required to support services within the community. Other increases proposed included a five percent increase to Environmental Health fees, as well as the introduction of six new fees to better reflect the staff time required for complex registrations.
Parks fees were also set to rise by between 10 and 15 percent, while two new fees for the Bluff Boat Ramp – an annual commercial permit fee, and a club use discount – were proposed to be introduced. Meanwhile, a 15 percent increase was proposed for Libraries meeting room hire for commercial and private events, and bus fees were also proposed to rise by between 10 and 14 percent.
On-street hourly parking fees were proposed to be increased by 15 percent from $2.80 per hour to $3.30 per hour, while off-street parking hourly fees had been standardised, resulting in most rates proposed to increase by approximately 30 percent to $2.60 an hour.
Submissions on Council’s proposed changes to the 2026/2027 Fees and Charges close at 5pm on Friday 24 April.
Submissions can be made in-person at Splash Palace, Te Hīnaki – Civic Building, the Bluff Service Centre, and the Invercargill Public Library.
Further information and online submissions can also be made at letstalk.icc.govt.nz
Council was scheduled to adopt its 2026/2027 Fees and Charges schedule in June.