Difficulty paying & rebates

At times in our lives, we all struggle to pay bills. Council understands that there are cases of genuine financial hardship requiring respect and compassion. 

If you are in this situation, please review this information, including: options available; eligibility requirements; application forms including documentation required; and further details. 

Council’s Ratepayer’s Hardship Policy (PDF 92.2KB) and Pensioner Policy (PDF 91.7KB) provide information and guidelines for potential applicants with the intent that: 

• Council provides assistance to eligible ratepayers who are experiencing acute financial difficulties paying their rates and charges
• Your debt is reduced over time
• Council offer, where appropriate, payment terms that may extend beyond 12 months; and/or
• Offer relief for hardship resulting from certain valuation changes

Any property owner experiencing difficulty paying their property-related debt is encouraged to reach out to Council to discuss a mutually agreeable arrangement.

Difficulty paying, rates relief and rebate options

There are several ways Council may be able to help if you are experiencing financial hardship or relief. 

For further information on any of these options, please review either the Ratepayer’s Hardship Policy (PDF 92.2KB) and / or Pensioner Policy (PDF 91.7KB), and the related application form which can be submitted to Council at any time.

Council enters into payment and hardship arrangements with ratepayers in good faith. If these arrangements are not maintained, Council may require a new payment arrangement be put in place and/ or the debt be referred for debt recovery. 

For any further information or to discuss hardship options, please contact Council’s Debt Recovery Team on 1300 733 625.

Eligibility for rates hardship or rebates

Eligibility requirements for hardship options and/ or a payment arrangement to be put in place are:

• You must be the property owner (full or partial)
• The property for which you are applying for hardship must be your primary place of residence
• You must be experiencing genuine hardship. This is assessed through the application process

What happens if I do not pay my rates or charges?

To ensure the sustainability of Council’s services, we need to collect money owed to Council efficiently and fairly. Council does this by following an equitable debt collection process. 

Once an overdue amount on a property reaches $1,000, the debt recovery process will commence. Please note, missed instalment or overdue notices are not issued.

Further information can be found in Council's Debt Recovery Policy for property related debts (PDF 114.1KB).

Debt recovery process

Other financial support

If you are experiencing financial difficulty, here are details of some free services to help with money and budgeting advice, tips, tools or for urgent financial support. 

National Service Providers

Local Service Providers of Financial Counselling