If you believe your property is in the wrong rating category, you can lodge a formal objection.
A landowner may object:
- only to the rating category of the land, and
- on the sole ground that the land should belong to a different rating category.
The objection must be made by completing a Notice of Objection against Categorisation and submitting it to the Chief Executive Officer of the Southern Downs Regional Council.
Please be aware – if you wish to move into a primary production category from a non-primary production category (e.g. change from a residential to an agriculture and farming category) you will need to contact Department of Resources and register as a Primary Producer. If approved, the Department of Resources will issue a concessional valuation on the property. A property MUST have a primary producer concessional valuation to be eligible for a Primary Production rate category.
The Notice of Objection must:
- Be given within 30 days after the date of issue of the rate notice or any further period allowed by Southern Downs Regional Council; and
- Be in writing addressed to the Chief Executive Officer, Southern Downs Regional Council, PO Box 26 Warwick Qld, 4370 and
- Nominate the rating category in which the owner claims the land should have been included; and
- Specify the facts and circumstances on which the claim is based.
On receipt of the objection it will be considered by the Chief Executive Officer within 60 days and a decision will be made to either:
- Change the rating category to the category the owner requested it be included in; or
- Change the rating category to another category; or
- Not allow the objection
If the owner is not satisfied with the decision of the Chief Executive Officer an appeal may be started by filing a notice of appeal in the Land Court registry within 42 days after the owner received notice of the decision or failure, in a form approved by the Land Court.
Note that:
- The sole ground on which an owner may object is that Council has mis-categorised the land with respect to the description for the category in which the land has been included as at the date of issue of the relevant rate notice;
- Giving a notice of objection will not, in the meantime, affect the levy and recovery of rates; and
- If an owner’s land is included in another rating category because of the objection, an adjustment of rates will be made.
Please download the Notice of Objection against Categorisation Form (PDF 99.3KB) and lodge it with Council.