Direct Debits

Direct Debit Basics

(Weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly or annually)

You can pay your rates automatically by direct debit. This removes the worry of remembering how much to pay and when to pay your rates to avoid penalty. If you wish to pay by direct debit, please request an authority form from one of our customer service officers. A direct debit form can also be downloaded here. Completed forms need to be returned to Council for setting up. Weekly and fortnightly direct debits operate on Tuesdays or Thursdays, monthly operates on the 7th or 20th of each month, annual on 7 September and quarterly on 7 September, December, March and June - being the last due date of payment for each rates instalment. Council will automatically adjust payment amounts annually to ensure rates are paid by the due dates.

Rates invoices are still sent to ratepayers that have direct debits in place.

Direct Debits - Quarterly and Annual Payments

Quarterly direct debits run on the due date for payment of the relevant quarterly instalment. The amount taken from the bank account will be the amount required to pay the rates due for the quarter. Any payments received up to the day prior to the last day for payment will be taken into account to reduce the amount of the direct debit payment. Quarterly direct debits can be used as a backup to other types of payment to ensure that the full amount of each instalment is paid.

Annual direct debits run on the due date of the first rates instalment which is usually 7 September. The amount taken from the bank account will be the amount required to pay rates to the end of the rating year. Any payments received up to the day prior to the last day for payment will be taken into account to reduce the amount of the direct debit payment.

New Direct Debits - Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly

New weekly, fortnightly and monthly direct debit amounts are calculated taking into account any arrears or credit as at the date the direct debit is set up, plus the amount of rates required to be paid from that day to the last day for payment of instalment four of that rating year (usually 7 June). The resulting amount is then divided by the number of weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments between the date of the first payment and the following 7 June to arrive at the payment amount required. This spreads the amount that a ratepayer has to pay over equal amounts through to 7 June. Depending on the start date of the first payment, the direct debit amount may be more or less than the annual rates divided by 52, 26 or 12. It also means that each quarterly instalment amount may not be paid exactly in full by the due date of that instalment however this is allowed for with the direct debit system.

Annual Recalculation of Direct Debit Amounts

Quarterly and annual direct debit amounts automatically change as required with the amount to be debited shown on the rates invoice in advance.

Weekly, fortnightly & monthly direct debit amounts are automatically recalculated in July of each year. Any arrears or credit from the previous rating year (for example a rebate from the previous year), plus any payments received up to the date of the recalculation are taken into account when calculating a new payment amount to cover the annual rates for the coming year. The resulting amount required to pay by 7 June is then divided by the number of weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments between the date of the recalculation and the following 7 June to arrive at the payment amount required. This means that the payment amount will usually not be exactly 'the annual rates divided by 52, 26 or 12' but will be the amount required to pay the rates in full by 7 June. It also means that each quarterly instalment amount may not be paid exactly in full by the due date of that instalment however this is allowed for with the direct debit system.

Notice is sent to ratepayers 10 days in advance of any change to the direct debit amount.

Rates Rebates and Direct Debits

Ratepayers that receive a rates rebate AND pay by direct debit have the following options:

1. Do nothing. This is our recommended option. If a rebate is received, and the direct debit amount is left unchanged, the rates account will be in credit at the end of the rating year by the amount of the rebate. That credit amount will be used in the annual recalculation in July resulting in a lower direct debit amount for the following rating year. Doing nothing each year will result in a direct debit amount that changes only once per year and is consistently at the lowest amount possible.

2. Ask us to recalculate your direct debit amount. After you have received a rebate, you can ask us to recalculate your direct debit which will result in a lower payment amount. Please be aware that when we undertake our annual recalculation in July your direct debit amount will increase as there will not be a credit on your account that can be used in the annual recalculation. We have to increase the direct debit amount in July because we do not know if a ratepayer will apply every year, or if they will qualify for a rebate every year. We do not want to set direct debit amounts in anticipation of a rebate being granted as that may result in rates arrears later, that a ratepayer may have difficulty in paying. If/when a rebate is later granted, the direct debit amount can be recalculated again, however this option does result in direct debit amounts that change twice per year and are higher in July each year when compared to option 1.

3. Ask us to skip some direct debit payments to use up some or all of the rebate amount. This can result in a ratepayer having additional funds in their bank account while payments are skipped. This option results in higher direct debit payment amounts but less of them. The same total amount is paid over the year.

4. Wait until June, then apply for a refund of the credit amount. The Rates Rebate Act does not allow refunds of rebate funds to be paid to ratepayers until rates have been paid in full through to June (the end of the rating year). In June, the direct debit should have resulted in the annual rates being paid in full with the rebate amount being surplus and able to be refunded if required. This can provide some cash in June or July but results in a higher direct debit payment amount (compared to option 1) as the credit is not able to be used in the annual recalculation.

Direct Debits to Pay Rates Arrears

Weekly, fortnightly or monthly direct debits can be used as part of a payment plan to pay rates arrears off over time. If the direct debit payment amount calculated as described above for new direct debits results in a payment amount that is unaffordable, an arrangement can be made for a lower direct debit amount calculated beyond the following 7 June. This can be particularly useful if a direct debit is started later in a rating year when there are fewer payments to be made before 7 June. The annual recalculation can also be skipped and a manual adjustment to the payment amount agreed instead. Provided payments are made as arranged and are for an amount that results in arrears reducing as per an arrangement, late payment penalties will generally not apply. Please note this only applies to payments made under a payment arrangement by direct debit and not by other methods.