Your rates
Council is responsible for looking after public facilities and providing community services.
Approximately 50% of the income Council gets to pay for these services comes from your rates. You can pay your rates online.
Rates 2008 -09
Read our rates 2008-09 page for more details about rates.
Rates Assistance
Council offers help to ratepayers who are experiencing genuine financial difficulties in paying their rates and charges.
Help is offered as part of Council’s Rate Assistance Policy which is reviewed each year to meet the changing needs of the community.
Applications for any form of assistance must be made each year as circumstances can change making a ratepayer ineligible to receive further assistance.
Application forms are available by calling the Rates Information Hotline on 4974 2314.
The types of assistance available include:
- Extended pay period
- Deferral against estate
- Writing off accrued interest
- Vouchers distributed by welfare agencies
- Financial planning advice via welfare agencies
- New valuations
NB: The main criteria to determine if rate assistance is available is whether the rates payable are more than 5% of the gross household income and the extent of income producing assets.
Valuations
Council calculates rates using the most recent valuations supplied by the NSW Land and Property Information Office. New valuations are issued every three to four years.
Council has the discretion to waive or defer all or part of any outstanding rates in circumstances where a ratepayer incurs genuine financial difficulties as a result of new valuations. This type of assistance is only available in the first year that new valuations are used to calculate rates.
A formal application is required to assess if assistance can be offered.
Welfare agency support
Council has negotiated with local welfare agencies to offer support to ratepayers who are experiencing considerable difficulty paying their rates.
Council has extended the rate relief options to include a restricted number of vouchers to make part payments of rates and charges. The scheme includes financial planning advice and will be administered by the agencies.
For further details on the type of assistance available call the agencies on:
- The Samaritans 02 4969 0000
- Newcastle Legacy 02 4968 9501
- St Vincent De Paul Society 02 4961 1476
- Salvation Army 02 4929 2300
For further information call the Rates Information Hotline on 4974 2314.
