General Rate Objections
Objecting to a Rating Category
You may object to the rating category that the Council has applied to your property. Your objection must be lodged with Council within 30 days of the rates notice being issued.
Alternatively you can download and lodge the below form, or lodge by visiting one of our Customer Service Centres.
- General Rate Categorisation Objection Form (PDF, 127.1 KB)
The posting or lodging of a notice of objection with Council will not, in the meantime, affect the levy and recovery of rates specified in the rates notice. You are still required to pay your rates by the due date.
The sole ground on which you may object is that, having regard to the criteria determined by Council for categorising of rateable land, you consider your land should have been included, as at the date of issue of the rate notice, in another of the rating categories adopted by Council.
An investigation will be completed by Council in accordance with the:
- Schedule of Rates and Charges (PDF, 380.9 KB)
If, the objection made and Council's investigation reveals that your land requires amendment to another category, an adjustment to the General rate will be made.
The property owner is liable to pay the amount on the rate notice even if the owner lodges a Notice of Objection with Council. Lodging an objection does not affect the validity of the rate notice. It remains due and payable by the due date.
The Process
You must:
- Within 30 days of the issue of your rates notice, lodge a General Rate Categorisation Objection form (for all categories including principal place and non-principal place of residence).
- Include details of current and proposed rating category with a reason for objection, explaining why you believe the land should have been included in the proposed rating category.
Note:
- For objections regarding Non-Principal Place of residence (Category 2) to Principal Place (Category 1), a completed Statement of Occupancy must accompany the objection.
- For objections regarding Transitory Accommodation (Category 2T) you should provide any relevant supporting documentation to show your property should be categorised differently. The documentation would be tailored to your specific circumstance, examples may be:
- A long-term lease agreement to show your property is not a short-stay rental.
- Photos and/or floor plan to indicate that only part of your property is listed for short-stay letting, not the full property.
- Report from short-stay accommodation provider (Stayz, Airbnb, etc) to show your property is not listed/available for more than 30 days of a financial year.
- Other relevant evidence to support your objection.
- For objections regarding a multi-unit dwelling to a Category 2 or Category 1, a reclassification of the dwelling, provided by a building certifier, must be lodged prior to submitting the objection.
Council must:
- Assess your objection within 60 days of receiving your Notice of Objection. Council will contact you by letter, telephone call or email, stating the outcome.
- If your objection is allowed, Council will adjust your rate account. If you have paid your rate notice and the change in category results in a lesser amount of rates being payable, Council will refund the difference upon request.
- If your objection is not allowed, no adjustment will be made. Note that if you haven't paid your rates, any loss of discount and accrual of interest (7 days after the due date) will continue to apply.
This process is governed by the Section 90, Part (5) of the Local Government Regulation 2012.
