Rates

Due Dates

The Council has resolved that the payment of all rates will be in four equal or approximately equal instalments due on:-

1st               01 September 2022
2nd              01 December 2022
3rd               01 March 2023
4th               01 June 2023

Payment Options

Pay online

BPAY - This payment is via Internet or phone banking

BPAY View - View and pay this bill using internet banking - for more information please Click here

MasterCard or Visa - for credit card payments Phone: 08 8768 2003

ByMail - District Council of Robe, PO Box 1 Robe  SA  5276

In Person - Council Office, 3 Royal Circus, Robe  SA  5276, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday

Minimum Rate

Rates are Council’s main source of income required to deliver services and maintain the infrastructure required by our community.

Councils total rate revenue for 2022/23 will increase by 4.9% which includes 1% increase as a result of development growth and a CPI increase of 1.2%.

The minimum rate in 2022/2023

Minimum Rate         $752.00

Average Property Rates  (not including rebates, service charges or regional landscape levy)

Rates Cap

Council will apply a maximum increase in rates in accordance with Section 153 (3) of the Local Government Act 1999 on rateable land that constitutes the principal place of residence of a principal ratepayer.

A maximum increase of 15 percent will apply to those assessments of residents within the Council area on the general rates raised when compared to the previous year’s rates except in the following circumstances:

• Application is not received by Council by the 30 September 2022;
• It is not the ratepayers principal place of residence;
• Any properties where the valuation increase is due to development on their property or capital improvement above $30,000.
• Any property that has been purchased in the past 12 months.
• Any property that is newly created or had a subdivision or boundary alignment

The rate cap will be applied once ratepayers who consider they could be eligible for the Rate Cap Rebate have lodged an application form, which will be assessed against the eligibility criteria. Council rebates or remissions are not included in the capping calculation process. The application must be lodged by 30 September 2022. After the first quarter rates must be paid by the due date and if deemed eligible the cap will be applied on the remaining three quarters.

CHECK YOUR ELIGIBILITY AND/OR COMPLETE YOUR APPLICATION FOR RATES CAPPING HERE

Payment Arrangement

Council understands that ratepayers from time to time have difficulty meeting the payment dates, and we are more than willing to enter into an arrangement where you can pay your rates weekly, fortnightly or monthly.  Please feel free to contact our Rates Officer if you wish to discuss your payment plan.  Click here to find the Payment arrangement form that needs to be completed.

Fines on Rates

Rates will be overdue if they have not been paid by the due date shown on the front of this notice. After this date, additional charges will apply:-

• a fine of 2% of the amount due will be added immediately and

• at the end  of each  month thereafter, interest  (at the rate prescribed in the Local Government Act 1999) will be added on any balance (including interest) not then paid.

State Government Concessions

From 1 July 2015, the State Government elected to replace the concession on Council rates with the ‘cost of living payment’ provided directly to those entitled.

This payment may be used for any purpose, including offsetting Council rates. To check eligibility contact the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion Concessions Hotline 1800 307 758 or at www.sa.gov.au/

Hardship

Persons experiencing hardship may seek assistance from Council, contact the Rates Officer for a confidential discussion.

Please see the below guidelines, application forms and policy

Guidelines and Application

Policy 

Council Rebates

Certain persons/and or organisations may be eligible for a rebate, eg community groups, health and education organisations etc.

Postponement of rates – Seniors

Ratepayers who hold a State seniors card are able to apply to Council to postpone payment of the prescribed proportion of rates on their principal place of residence. Postponed rates remain as a charge on the land and are not required to be repaid until the property is sold or disposed of.

Community Waste Water Service Charges

Council provides a Community Wastewater Management System (CWMS) to all land within the township of Robe.  These service charges go towards maintaining the system and the 4 yearly desludging of your tank.

All Council CWMS schemes in South Australia have the same basic design, and in order for the schemes to be financially self sufficient on a long term basis, Councils need to model charges - to those to whom the schemes are provided or made available - on charges used by SA Water for its schemes.

A differential in the annual service charges of 25% between occupied and vacant land to which the CWMS is provided or made available will be maintained to reflect the difference between infrastructure establishment and effluent disposal costs for occupied and vacant land.

• $572.00 - Occupied CED charge - is for all residential properties where it is connected to a property
• $461.00 - Unoccipied CED Charge is for all vacant land where the service runs past the property but not connected.

Further to this, these charges are in accordance with the Code for Establishing and Applying Property Units as a Factor for the Imposition of Annual Service Charges for Community Wastewater Management Systems as permitted by Section 155 of the Local Government Act 1999 and Regulation 9A of the Local Government (General) Regulations 1999.

Waste Management Fees

For the purpose of meeting the costs associated with the collection and disposal of domestic garbage and recycling, the waste management fee will be;

Residents in Robe -  $331.00
Residents in Boatswain Point  - $178.00

Regional Landscape Levy

Legislation requires Council to collect the Regional Landscape Levy (RLL).

Council does not retain this revenue, nor determine how the revenue is spent.

For specific information about how this levy is used please contact the Limestone Coast Landscape Board on 08 8735 1177 or visit landscape.sa.gov.au

RLL amounts are based on land use purposes and the levy rates from the RLL will be as follows:

Residential, Vacant & Other                                $81.93

Commercial - Shop, Office & Other                    $122.21

Industrial - Light & Other                                     $195.53

Primary Production                                              $358.47

You may object to the valuation referred to in the notice in writing served personally or by post on the Valuer-General within 60 days after service of the first such notice.

But please note

• If you have previously received a notice or notices under the Local Government Act 1999 referring to the valuation and informing you of a 60-day objection period, the objection period is 60 days after service of the first such notice;
• You may not object to the valuation if the Valuer-General has already considered an objection by you to that valuation.

A written objection of the valuation must set out the full and detailed grounds for objection. Objections can also be submitted via anonline form at http://www.sa.gov.au/landservices and enter “Objecting to a Valuation” in the search field. Differential Rates (and or charges) imposed by rates (and or charges) are still due and payable by the due date even if an objection has been lodged.

Objections are to be forwarded to:

State Valuation Office
GPO Box 1354, Adelaide 5001
101 Grenfell Street, Adelaide 5000
Phone:     1300 653 345
Email:      LSGObjections@sa.gov.auFax:         08 8226 142

The regional landscape levy is differentiated according to land use.  Should you have any reason to believe that the Land Use Category applied is incorrect, you may lodge a written objection, using the form below, with Council outlining the grounds upon which you objection is based.  Objections must be submitted to Council within 60 days of receiving this notice.  The Council may extend the 60 day objection period where it can be shown there is reasonable cause to do so by a person entitled to make an objection to a valuation.

Land Use Objection Form

• Are you a farmer?
• Do you have 2 or more pieces of rateable land in the District Council of Robe that are not adjoining?
• Are these pieces of land all used as farm land?
• Are these pieces of occupied by the same person/s?

If you answered ‘Yes’ to all of the above questions, you may be eligible to apply to have your farm classified as a ‘Single Farm Enterprise’. This means that the rateable assessments that make up this single farm enterprise will only attract one fixed charge, ie Natural Resource Management Levy.

Single Farm Enterprise Definition - Sec 152 (5)(b) Local Government Act 1999

A reference to a single farm enterprise is a reference to two or more pieces of rateable land –
(i)                   Which

1. Are farm land; and
2. Are farmed as a single enterprise; and
3. Are occupied by the same person or persons,

Whether or not the pieces of land are contiguous; or
(ii)                 Which

1. As to all the pieces except one, are farm land farmed as a single enterprise occupied by the same person or persons; and
2. As to one piece contiguous with at least one of the other pieces, is the principal place of residence of that person or on of those persons.

What is Farm Land?The term “farm land’ is defined in section 4 (1) of the Local Government Act to mean;
‘Land used wholly or mainly for the business of primary production’

If you believe you meet the criteria for consideration as a Single Farm Enterprise, please complete the attached application form,and forward it to: 
email:  council@robe.sa.gov.au post :      District Council of Robe, PO Box 1, Robe  SA  5276

Single Farming Enterprise Application Form