In Person

You can pay in person at Council’s Customer Service Centre at 16 Memorial Avenue, Merrylands. Please bring your whole rate notice with you. You can pay by cash, cheque, EFTPOS, MasterCard or Visa. A credit card service fee of up to 0.8% applies.

Office hours are Monday to Friday 8.00am to 4:30pm.

Online Payments

You can pay your Rate account online using your Mastercard or Visa.
A credit card service fee of up to 0.8% applies.
Pay Online

Over the Phone

Pay 24 hours a day, 7 days per week for the cost of a local call, with the exception of mobile phones which will be charged at mobile phone rates, by calling 1300 858 459. MasterCard or Visa cards are accepted. A credit card service fee of up to 0.8% applies.

BPAY

BPAY allows you the opportunity to pay over the phone, or through the Internet, from your cheque, savings or credit card account (Visa or MasterCard only). Please quote Biller Code 5637 and your Reference Number (on the Rate Notice).

To make use of this option, you must initially contact your financial institution to ensure the BPAY facility is available at that institution.

Provided you have sufficient available credit or balance, the payment will be processed and you will be issued a receipt number for the bill payment.

Direct Debit

This method allows Council to debit your bank/credit union/building society account. Payments of your rate account via Direct Debit can be quarterly; or payment in full; or by an agreed arrangement with Council of weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments. The amount payable will be automatically deducted from your nominated account on the due date for payment.

Simply request an application form by downloading the Direct Debit Request form , or telephoning Council on 02 9840 9700, or calling into Council’s Customer Service Centre at 16 Memorial Avenue, Merrylands. Complete and return the application to Holroyd City Council.

By Mail

Simply include your cheque or money order payable to Holroyd City Council, together with the detachable deposit slip portion of the rate notice, to:

Holroyd City Council
PO Box 42
MERRYLANDS NSW 2160

All correspondence for Council should be posted to Council’s administration office PO Box 42, Merrylands NSW 2160.

Pay at any Commonwealth Bank

Fill in your details on the deposit slip and give the whole rates notice to the teller. They will stamp the top half and give it back to you as your receipt. You do not need to have an account with the Commonwealth Bank and they will not charge a transfer fee.

Pay at any Australia Post

You can pay in person at any Post Office. Please present the notice intact. A paper receipt will be issued.

You can also pay by phone on 13 18 16, 24 hours a day, 7 days per week for the cost of a local call, with the exception of mobile phones, which will be charged at mobile phone rates.

You can pay over the internet using POSTbillpay. Please quote the POSTbillpay code of 0281 and your POSTbillpay Reference number as per the deposit slip on the front of the notice.

When making an Australia Post phone payment or internet payments only Mastercard and Visa cards are accepted.

Centrelink Customers – Centrepay

If you are a Centrelink customer and wish to use Centrepay to pay your rates, download the Centrepay Deductions form or ask our Customer Services staff for a copy. This form is also available from Centrelink offices. Centrepay is a voluntary, free service to Centrelink customers. The money you specify is transferred from your Centrelink payments, pensions and allowances. You may choose to start, stop or change your deductions at any time.

Payment Due Dates

If you are making a single payment for the full years rates and charges, your payment is due on or before 31 August 2012.

If you are paying by quarterly instalments the due dates and the amounts payable for each instalment are shown on your Rates Notice. We will send you an instalment notice for the second, third and fourth instalments, one month before the payment is due.

The due dates for each instalment are as follows:

1^st Instalment – 31 August 2012

2^nd Instalment – 30 November 2012

3^rd Instalment – 28 February 2013

4^th Instalment – 31 May 2013

What happens if my payment is late?

If your quarterly payment is not paid in full by the due date you will have to pay interest on the amount owing. The interest charge is simple interest calculated daily, at the rate of 10% per annum. Please ensure your payment reaches Council by the due date shown on your notice. If you are paying by mail, you should make allowances for the time it may take.

I’m having difficulty making my payment!

In certain circumstances, alternate arrangements for payment of Rates and Charges may be made but interest charges still apply. Please contact Council’s Rates section on (02) 9840 9700 if you have difficulty in paying Rates and Charges by the due dates shown on the front of this notice.

Council may offer help to ratepayers who are experiencing genuine financial difficulties in paying rates and charges. Please see the Council Hardship - Rate Relief Policy for details.

The Independent Pricing & Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for Local Government determined that NSW councils may increase their general income by not more than 3.6% above the general income for the 2011/2012 financial year.
Valuer General Newsletter July 2012

Calculation of Residential Rates

The following is an example of how rates will be calculated on a residential property with a land value of $220,000:
Residential Rate (Ad Valorem)* 0.00165017 x $220,000 = $363.04
*(Land Value multiplied by Rate in $)
Residential Rate (Base Charge) = $354.07
Residential Infrastructure Special Rates (Ad Valorem) 0.00021048 x $220,000 = $46.31
Standard Domestic Waste Service 240 Litre Bin = $417.00
Stormwater Residential Charge = $25
TOTAL = $1,205.42

Calculation of Business Rates

The following is an example of how rates will be calculated on a Business property with a land value of $250,000:
Business Rate (Ad Valorem)* 0.00528949 x $250,000 = $1,322.37
*(Land Value multiplied by Rate in $)
Business Infrastructure Special Rates (Ad Valorem) 0.00034272 x $250,000 = $85.68
Stormwater Business Charge = $25.00 (per 350 square metres – capped at $500)
TOTAL = $1,433.05

Calculation of Business Minimum Rates

The following is an example of how rates will be calculated on a Business property with a MINIMUM land value of $90,000:
Business MINIMUM rate = $787.88
(NOTE: $787.88 is levied on all BUSINESS properties with a Land Value of $149,138 or less)
Business Infrastructure Special Rate 0.00034272 x $90,000 = $ 30.84
Stormwater Business Charge = $25.00 (per 350 square metres – capped at $500)
TOTAL = $843.72

Residential and Business Infrastructure Special Rate

In 2007/08 Council resolved to implement a major long term infrastructure initiative titled the “20 Plus” Asset Management Plan Proposal.
The Proposal is a 20 year and beyond long term plan designed to help address the growing gap that has emerged between the funding required to effectively manage Council’s considerable portfolio of infrastructure assets and available funding.
To address the growing funding gap Council introduced in 2007/2008 a “Special Infrastructure Rate” on an ongoing basis, coupled with a Stormwater Levy. This is the sixth year in which these rates have been levied.

Infrastructure works include:

• Roads (Construction, replacement, repair & renewal)
• Kerb & Guttering (Construction, replacement, repair & renewal)
• Pavements/Footpaths (Construction, replacement, repair & renewal)
• Footpaths & Cycleways (Construction, replacement, repair & renewal)
• Buildings & Community facilities (Construction, replacement, repair & renewal)
• Drainage & Flood Mitigation Works (Construction, replacement, repair & renewal)
• Bridges (Construction, replacement, repair & renewal)

Mixed Development Rating

In general, Mixed Development rating allows for a property to receive a combination of Residential and Business rates (providing a form of rating relief, in most cases) due to the property having dual usage. For example, a residential property may also double as a preschool, or doctor’s surgery, or solicitor’s office, etc. Therefore, the residential and business rates will be levied, according to the proportion that each usage has to the whole of the property.

Previously, Mixed Development land was categorised according to its dominant use. Therefore, if a property was used for dual purposes of (for example) a residence and a preschool, and the pre-school was determined to be the dominant use, the property would have been categorised and rated as BUSINESS.

The Local Government Act, 1993 was amended during 1997, by the Local Government Amendment Act 1997, which provided for Mixed Development rating and took effect from 1 July 1997.

The amendment allows a parcel of land occupied, or used solely as one building comprising a residence and a business, to be considered for Mixed Development rating, if it can be separately occupied for both business and residential purposes. If it is not currently occupied, or used; it must be constructed, or adapted, or designed, so that it can be separately occupied for both residential or business purposes.

The Valuer General’s Department supplies Council with a Mixed Development Apportionment Factor (MDAF), for land subject to Mixed Development rating. The MDAF is determined by calculating the proportion that the rental value of the business part, bears to the rental value of the land as a whole. The result is expressed as a percentage.
Rates and charges are apportioned according to the MDAF. If, for example, a parcel of mixed development land has an MDAF of 60%, rates and charges would be apportioned as: Residential 40% and Business 60%.

Any additional information you may require regarding Mixed Development rating, can be obtained by contacting Council’s Rates Section on 02 9840 9700.

For a comprehensive schedule of Council’s fees and charges, see the 2012/2013 Adopted Fees and Charges.

Ordinary and Special Rates and Domestic Waste Service charges are all exempt from the GST in accordance with A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Exempt Taxes, Fees and Charges) Determination 2000 (No 2) Division 81.

Change of Name

If you have changed your name and would like Council to amend our records, please supply a copy of your Marriage Certificate or your Change of Name by Deed Poll certificate either by faxing 9840 9734 or sending it to

PO Box 42

MERRYLANDS  NSW  2160

Email: hcc@holroyd.nsw.gov.au

Please note: This change of name through Council’s records will not change the ownership name of a certificate of title and will need to be changed through the NSW Land/Property Information (LPI), formerly known as the Land Titles Office Land Property Management Authority formerly.

Change of Postal Address

Notification must be in writing, we cannot accept notifications of change of address over the telephone. Please use the online change of address form

Post in a change of address form, send an email to hcc@holroyd.nsw.gov.au or fax to 02 9840 9734. If your current postal address is different from the address shown on the front of the Rate Notice, please notify us immediately in writing by fax, post or email. If you have an agent managing your property they may advise us directly in writing on your behalf.

Change of Property Ownership

Due to the problems experienced by Council because of the number of quite lengthy delays in the receipt of notification of a change of ownership, a Notice of Sale or Transfer of Land form is now available from Council for completion by the Purchaser’s solicitor, or conveyancer.

The form will only be accepted if all the information required on it is fully completed and it is signed by the transferee’s (purchaser’s) solicitor. Council’s records will be noted with the information given on returned form.

Please phone Council’s Revenue Section on 9840 9700 if you require a Notice of Sale or Transfer of Land form.

If you are selling or leasing a property, the Australian Taxation Office’s GST and Property Guide will help you determine if you have any GST obligations.

All owners and or occupiers should display their house number so that it can be clearly seen from the road. The house number should be displayed on the facade of the house and/or the letterbox. Reflective numbers are highly recommended.

There should be no obstructions to viewing the house number from the road and the number should be in good repair that is fully legible. Reflective kerbside numbering, in addition to the facade of the house and/or the letterbox, is encouraged and highly recommended.

• Policy on Displaying House Numbers
• Requirements for Organisations Providing House Numbering Services

A fee of $6.70 per notice is payable for a copy of your Rate notice, a Statement of Account or a copy of your Instalment notice for the current financial year.

Copies of previous financial year’s notices incur a fee of $22.60 per notice.

Payment of fee must be made prior to issuing a copy of the notice.

You may apply for a postponement of rates if you are the person responsible for paying rates for land on which there is a single dwelling house, that is used or occupied and which is zoned for the purpose of industry, commerce or the erection of residential flat buildings;

or

You are the person responsible for paying the rates for land, which is capable of subdivision and on which there is a single dwelling house that is used or occupied as such.

The rates postponed relate to the portion of the value that the Valuer General determines is related to its zoned or permitted use.

If you wish to discuss whether you are eligible to receive the benefit of postponed rates, or would like an application form to be sent to you, please call Council’s Rates Section on 9840 9700.

If you are a pensioner liable for rates and charges on the property, you may be entitled to a rebate.

All NSW councils give a mandatory rebate of up to $250 to eligible pensioners. Holroyd City Council is one of the few councils that also grants an additional voluntary rebate of $15, to all eligible pensioners.

The Mandatory Rebate

If you are an eligible pensioner, you are liable for the rates and charges on a property, which is your sole or principal residence, and you have a current pensioner concession card issued by Centrelink, or you have a current pensioner concession card issued by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs because:

• you are a widow or widower of a member of the Australian Defence or Peacekeeping Forces, or
• you are the unmarried mother of a deceased unmarried member of either of those forces, or
• you are a widowed mother of a deceased unmarried member of either of those forces, or
• you are a TPI or EDA under the Veterans Entitlement Act, 1986, or
• you receive a general rate of pension adjusted for extreme disablement under section 22 (4) of the Veterans Entitlement Act 1986 of the Commonwealth, or a special rate of pension under section 24 of that Act.

Please Note:

• You may claim a rebate effective from the date of your PCC and it will commence from the start of the next quarter.
• If you cease to qualify as an eligible pensioner you will not be entitled to receive a rebate for the remainder of that year. It will cease at the end of the quarter and part of the pension rebate will be added back onto the rate account.

The rating category or sub-category is shown on your Rate Notice. If you don’t agree with the category we have given your land, you can ask for a review.

A request for a review must be in writing on an “Application for Change in Category of Land Categorisation for Rating Purposes” form which is available from Council’s Customer Services Section, or you can phone Council’s Rates Section on 02 9840 9700 and ask for the form to be posted or faxed.

Of course, if the category of your property is different to that shown on the Rate Notice, it is your obligation to notify Council of the correct category.

If you are dissatisfied with Council’s declaration of the category of your land after it has been reviewed, or the date the category of your land is to take effect: you may appeal to the Land and Environment Court within 30 days after the declaration is made, under Section 526 of the Local Government Act, 1993.

The certificate states the amount (if any) due or payable to Council by way of rates, charges or otherwise for a parcel of land.

Solicitors, real estate agents and members of the public, etc, may apply for a Section 603 certificate accompanied by the approved fee.

The application is processed by the Cashier and a receipt is issued. The receipt details are noted on the application form and forwarded to the Rates Section for processing.

Fees

• There is a statutory fee of $65.00 payable for each Section 603 certificate. GST is not applicable.
• If you require a copy of the Certificate to be faxed to you, there is an additional fee of $22.70 per certificate payable.
• If a refund of the Section 603 certificate is required, there is an administration charge of $18.50 payable.

Processing Time and Ordering of Section 603 Certificates

The usual processing time for a Section 603 certificate is 48 hours from the date of receipt and payment. The certificate may be ordered through the mail, or over the counter at Council’s Administration Centre.

If you are purchasing a property you may also want a Section 735A Application for Outstanding Notices/Orders.