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 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 residential or primary production properties.
Ratepayers are ineligible to apply if they:
- Do not reside within the Southern Downs Region
- Own multiple properties within the Southern Downs Region
- Own commercial or industrial properties
- Own vacant land
All relevant information must be attached to the application, including proof of income, mortgage statement and taxation notice of Assessment.
Lodging an application does not release the ratepayer from their obligation to pay rates.
Download the Financial Hardship Application for Rates Deferral (PDF 1023.2KB)
You can review the Financial Hardship section of the Rate Concessions Policy (PDF 501.9KB) for more detail.
Resources:
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/