Payment Agreement
If you are having difficulty paying your rate account by the due date, Council can create a Payment Agreement which allows you to pay by instalments over a period of time. If a Payment Agreement is made and the property rate account does not have any arrears (outstanding rates from a prior financial year), the agreement will be interest free for as long as the payment schedule is maintained.
If the property rate account has outstanding rates from a prior financial year, the agreement will incur interest on all overdue amounts.
Please contact Council if you would like to discuss a Payment Agreement in further detail.
Rates Relief & Financial Hardship
Ratepayers who are suffering genuine financial hardship may wish to apply for relief by the way of deferral of all interest charges and legal recovery from the date of the application until 30 June of the current financial year. The Financial Hardship Applications for Rates Deferral is only relevant for properties in the following deferential general rating groups:
- Residential; or
- Primary Production
Ratepayers are ineligible to apply if they:
- Do not reside within the Southern Downs Region
- Do not reside in the residential dwelling
- Own multiple properties within the Southern Downs Region
- Own commercial or industrial properties
- Own vacant land
Applications can be made if the Ratepayer is experiencing difficulty to pay if they and/or an association person is suffering from a major medical situation or unusual and severe circumstances.
Major Medical Situations
- Illness involving long term hospitalisation;
- Incapacitation;
- Major trauma (e.g. accident);
- Life threatening illness (e.g. terminal cancer); or
- Emergency operation
The ratepayer must complete and submit an application for deferral concession with the following details:
- Details of the relevant major medical situation as listed above;
- If the circumstances involve an associated person, how that affects the ratepayers ability to pay;
- The date and duration of the major medical situation; and
- Supporting letter/statement by doctor/medical practitioner confirming the major medical situation.
- Details on advice sought from a Financial Counsellor if applicable.
Unusual and severe circumstances
- Sudden and unexpected loss of income;
- Sudden and unexpected major expenditure;
- Other unusual and severe circumstance.
The concession is granted, subject to compliance by the ratepayers with the conditions below:
- The ratepayer must seek advice from a Financial Counsellor
- The ratepayer must complete and submit an application for deferral concession with the following details:
- Details of the relevant unusual and severe circumstance;
- The date and duration of the circumstance;
- Details on advice sought from a Financial Counsellor;
- If the circumstances involve an associated person, how that affects the ratepayer’s ability to pay; and
- The circumstances must demonstrate unusual and severe difficulty rather than the usual frustrations and trials to which other ratepayers or similar organisations are subjected to from time to time.
Lodging an application does not release the ratepayer from their obligation to pay rates.
Download the Hardship Application for Rates Deferral (PDF 712.5KB)
For more details information, including eligibility criteria, please review the Financial Hardship section of the Rate Concessions Policy (PDF 725.2KB).
For further information on Financial Counselling and Resources refer to;
National Debt Helpline
Phone: 1800 007 007
Website: https://ndh.org.au/
The Salvation Army
Phone: 1300 371 288
Website: https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/need-help/financial-assistance/
Rural Financial Counselling Service Southern Queensland
Available to support farmers, fishing enterprises, forest growers and harvesters, and small related businesses.
Primary Producers: 07 4622 4858
Small Business: 1300 732 777
Website: https://ww.rfcssq.org.au/