Rates

Sewerage utility charges are levied on each property assessment that are in the declared wastewater network area, irrespective of whether the property is connected to the network & to every rateable assessment outside the declared sewerage network but which is connected to Council's sewerage network.

Revenue from these charges is used to assist with the costs of operating, maintaining & managing the sewerage systems.

Council has adopted a two-part charging methodology, comprising of an access charge as well as a volumetric charge. 

An access charge is levied on every rateable assessment within the declared water service area, regardless of whether they are connected to the water network, assessments that are outside the declared water service area but which are connected to the network and to all non-rateable assessments that are connected to the water service network.

Revenue from these charges is used to assist with the costs of operating, maintaining & managing the water network systems.

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Eligible pensioners may be entitled to receive a Council concession and a State concession on certain rates and charges. To receive the subsidy, you must:

• Hold either a Queensland Pensioner Concession Card (issued by Centrelink or Department of Veterans' Affairs)
• Department of Veterans' Affairs Heath Card for all conditions (Gold Card)

With this, the ratepayer must also be:

• The owner or life tenant* of the property, which is your principle place of residence & located in Queensland
• Legally responsible for the payment of local council rates & charges levied on the property

*A life tenancy can only be created by a valid will and is effective only after death of the property owner, or by a Supreme or Family Court order.

For a customer to be eligible to receive a pension remission, they must meet the following conditions:

• The address on the pension card must match the property address on Council's records
• The name on the pension card must match the customer's name on Council's records
• PCC Entitlement must show as a yes

Applications for Pensioner Remissions close on the discount date of each period and an Application for Council Rates Remission & State Government Rates Subsidy form needs to be completed with a photocopy of both sides of the pension card to be provided.  

Application Rates Pension Remission Form(PDF, 125KB)

The Rates & Utilities Concession is a concession that is granted to eligible not-for-profit (or non-profit) community organisation that are responsible for the payment of rates & utility charges as the owner or leasee of land under the Rates and Utilities Charge Concession for Community Organisation - Council Policy. This acknowledges the valued services provided by organisations and aims to assist with the provision of such services.

Eligible organisations can be granted the nominated concession (expressed as percentages against each concession category) as stated in the Council Policy for general rates, waste utility charges, sewerage charges, water access charges & water consumption charges.

Further information on Council's Rating & Utilities Concession can be found on the Policy link below as well as the Application Forms to be completed by organisations -

Rates & Utility Concession - Council Policy

New Application Rates Utilities Charges Concession Community Organisations(PDF, 220KB)

Renewal Application Rates Utilities Charges Concession Community Organisations(PDF, 206KB)

If you consider that, as at the date of issue of the rates notice, your land should have been included in another differential rating category, you may object. Objections to categorisation of your land must be lodged with Council on a Notice of Objection Against Categorisation form prior to due date of the relevant rate notice. If received after the due date the category change, if approved, will take effect from the next rating period.

If, as a result of the objection, the subject land is re-categorised, an adjustment of the general rate will be made, and an amended rates notice will be issued. The lodgment of an objection does not confer a right to delay payment of rates. Payment by the due date is a requirement.

For avoidance of doubt, Council delegates to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) the power (contained in section 81 (4) and (5) of the Local Government Regulation 2012) to identify the rating category to which each parcel of rateable land belongs. In carrying out this task, the CEO may consider, without limitation, Department of Resources (DOR) land use codes, with or without modifications made by Council.

Objection Against Categorisation Form(PDF, 243KB)

Change of Address

It is the responsibility of the property owner to notify Council of any address changes, which you can now complete over the phone. 

Please contact Council on 1300 COUNCIL (1300 268 624) or 07 4679 4000 (Interstate callers) to update your address details.

Receiving Your Correspondence Electronically

By switching to electronic billing, you will receive your rates/water/gas notices as a PDF to your nominated email address and you will no longer receive a paper copy by regular post. 

To register for email delivery, you simply need to contact Council by phoning 1300 COUNCIL (1300 268 624) and provide a current email address (you cannot register multiple email addresses per property).

If your account is in credit:

If your rates/water/gas accounts are currently in credit, you may request a refund of the credit amount by completing the Request Refund Credit Form. Please note that all accounts with Council must have no outstanding amounts for a refund to be processed.

Request Refund Credit Form(PDF, 366KB)

To transfer credit:

If you need to transfer credit between your rates/water/gas accounts, you can now do so over the phone. Please call Council's Customer Service Team on 1300 268 624 to complete this request. Please note that further documentation may need to be provided for the request to be processed.

Discount

A discount of 5% will be allowed on current rates and charges levied (excluding special charges and the State Emergency Management Levy) if all rates arrears (including interest) and current rates and charges are paid in full by the due date printed on the Rates Notice.

Payments received by Council or one of its appointed agents on or before the due date on the specified Rates or Water Notice will attract the discount. For clarification purposes, full payment which is deposited by electronic means to the Council’s bank account or its appointed agents on or before the due date specified on the Notice will attract the discount specified. Discount will not be allowed on payments received after the due date unless Council is satisfied that payment was not made on the due date because of circumstances for which the Council was responsible.

Interest

Interest charges will be applied to all overdue rates or charges pursuant to sections 132 and 133 of the Local Government Regulation 2012, from the day the rates or charges become overdue.

Interest on overdue rates and charges (excluding gas) will be charged at the rate of 12.35% per annum. The rate of interest applicable for the financial year will apply from 1st July 2024. The rate of interest applicable for the financial year will be calculated on daily rests and as compounded interest on all overdue rates or charges (excluding gas).

Council defines an overdue rate or charge as a rate or charge as a rate or charge remaining unpaid after the due date. Interest is applied to overdue account balances thirty (30) days after the due date for payment (this provides approximately a sixty (60) day interest charge exemption in any one year).

Interest does not apply to overdue gas accounts.

There are a number of ways to make payments on your rates/water/gas notices, see payment options here.

Please note Council no longer accepts Foreign Cheques.

If you need assistance paying your rates/water/gas:

Council offers many ways we can help you manage your outstanding rates/water/gas debts. Some of these options include:

• paying in weekly, fortnightly and monthly instalments and
• entering into an approved payment plan (you will need a new payment plan upon issue of every new rates/water/gas notice)

Payment plans offer benefits such as the customer being able to choose how often they make payments & no further debt recovery action is taken to recover the debt (as long as you don't miss a payment), however the outstanding balance is subject to interest charges.

To enter into a payment plan, you don't have to complete a form, please contact the Customer Service Team on 1300 268 624 or visit your nearest Customer Service Centre to submit your payment proposal.

Debt Recovery

As part of the Rates and Charges Collection Policy, Council reserves the right to refer the details of any ratepayers that have outstanding rates and charges to a debt collection agency to commence further debt recovery action.

For further information regarding Council's Rates & Charges Collection Policy, please see Rates & Charges Collection Policy 2024/25.