2026/27 FINANCIAL POLICIES · Attachment 8 - General Rates and Charges Debt Management and Recovery Policy

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Attachment 8 – General Rates and Charges Debt Management and Recovery Policy
 •    sustainability: by ensuring overdue rates and charges remain at a level that does not
      substantially and negatively impact Council services.

 SCOPE

 The Policy outlines Council’s recovery procedures and applies to all Council ratepayers
 and debtors. Council will exercise its rates and charges recovery powers in accordance
 with chapter 4, part 12 of the Regulation, to maintain liquidity through adequate cash flows,
 to fund operations.

 REVIEW

 This Policy will be reviewed at least once per Council term (every four years) and otherwise
 whenever Council considers review necessary or prudent.

 DEFINITIONS

Term                   Meaning

Act                    The Local Government Act 2009.

CEO                    Council’s Chief Executive Officer.

Council                Noosa Shire Council, the body of elected members responsible for the
                       good rule and local government of Noosa Shire, established and
                       continued by the Local Government Act 2009.

Councillors            Council’s elected members.

Executive Team         Council’s administrative team of senior executive officers, comprising the
                       CEO and five directors.

Regulation             The Local Government Regulation 2012.

Shire                  Council’s local government area as defined by the Regulation (section 6
                       and schedule 1).

 To assist in the interpretation of the Policy, refer to the dictionary schedules contained in
 the Act and the Regulation for definitions.

 COUNCIL POLICY

 Council is committed to the collection of overdue rates, charges, and sundry debts in a fair,
 equitable and efficient manner, duly considering financial hardship case-by-case. Council
 will be duly diligent in the application of administrative processes relating to payment
 arrangements and the selection of various actions for the effective recovery of overdue
 debts.




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Attachment 8 – General Rates and Charges Debt Management and Recovery Policy

 Debt Recovery Process

 Initial recovery
 Initial recovery will commence with a reminder notice to the debtor, stating the nature and
 amount of the debt. The reminder notice will be issued within 30 days of the amount owing
 under the rate notice or invoice becoming overdue, and will allow fourteen (14) days to
 respond.

 For overdue sundry debts or charges the subject of regular statements of arrears
 (generally monthly) given to the debtor, no further reminder notice will be sent. Statements
 or arrears state the amounts owed, their descriptions, and relevant payment terms.

 If a ratepayer who has received a reminder notice or arrears statement does not make full
 payment, or does not enter into an acceptable payment arrangement with Council, the
 matter will be referred to Council’s debt collection agency without further notice. The table
 below provides indicative maximum threshold values for guidance purposes only; however,
 Council will consider both the materiality and age of arrears when determining whether to
 refer the matter to its debt collection agency. For properties classified as "Shopping
 Centres", "Retirement Villages", or "Other", Council will assess each case individually,
 based on its specific circumstances.

 Rates

Classification                   Categories                                          Threshold
Residential / Non-Residential    1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 21, 22, 23, 24       $1,000
Non-Strata Residential           25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36        $1,500
Shopping Centres /
                                 3, 4, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20                  Case-by-Case
Retirement Villages / Other

 Sundry debtors and charges

Category                                   Threshold
Sundry debtors and charges                  $1,000

 Advance Recovery

 Where initial recovery action is unsuccessful, and after due consideration of all relevant
 factors, Council may elect to take either or both of the following actions:

 1.    Legal action

 Legal action may be undertaken in the relevant jurisdiction by a mercantile agent or
 solicitor acting on Council’s behalf, pursuant to section 134 of the Regulation. Before legal
 action is implemented, a letter of demand will be issued by the agent or solicitor. Legal
 action is a last resort (short of statutory sale), and may be undertaken if the debtor fails to
 adhere to an agreed payment plan or fails to respond to communication attempts made by
 Council’s agent or solicitor.

 All recoverable costs of pursuing debt recovery will be passed to the debtor.




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Attachment 8 – General Rates and Charges Debt Management and Recovery Policy
 2.    Sale of land (rates debts only) – Rates only

 An annual process will be undertaken to identify properties concerning which rates and
 charges have been overdue for at least three (3) years, and which the Regulation
 empowers therefore empowers Council to sell to recover the arrears. A list of the identified
 properties will be presented to Council with a recommendation that it resolve under
 Regulation section 140 to sell.

 As soon as practicable after the resolution, a Notice of Intention to Sell, containing the
 details that section 140(4) prescribes, will be issued to all interested parties, i.e. the
 landowner, the holder of any registered interest in the land, and any encumbrance, or
 trustee of the land who has given Council notice of their interest in the land.

 This policy does not preclude Council from taking action to sell land earlier than three years
 after the rates/charges become overdue, where it is enforcing a judgment ordering
 payment of the arrears.

 At any time, Council will end recovery action if the overdue rates and charges, including all
 recovery expenses incurred (recovery costs), are paid in full. The CEO has the authority to
 remove a property from the sale list, or to defer a sale, by rescheduling the auction to
 another date within the timeframes prescribed by Regulation section 141.

 For full details of the procedures for sale process, refer to Regulation chapter 4, part 12,
 division 3, subdivision 2 (section 138 et seq).

 Consideration of advanced recovery action will take account of any security held for the
 debt, prospects of successfully recovering the debt, and the cost-effectiveness of the
 method employed.

 Debt Recovery – supporting procedures

 Application for Rates Relief on the Grounds of Hardship

 Ratepayers may apply for relief based on hardship, the application to be supported by
 relevant documentation as outlined in the Rates and Charges Financial Hardship Policy.

 Where hardship has been established, all reasonable steps will be taken to establish
 a payment arrangement or negotiate settlement of the debt. Debtors are expected to take
 responsibility for their debt obligations and to organise their affairs in such a way as to be
 able to discharge the obligations when required.

 Instalment Payment Plans

 Council has not made a resolution under Regulation section 129 to allow payment of rates
 or charges by instalments. At its sole discretion, Council will assess case-by-case whether
 to enter deferment plan agreements for Regulation section 121, allowing ratepayers to pay
 levied rates and charges by instalments. Council will only accept instalment plan
 applications received in writing.

 Section 125(3) of the Regulation allows Council to include in an agreement for deferment
 made for section 121 a condition requiring the ratepayer to pay an additional charge in
 return for Council agreeing to defer payment of the rates or charges.




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Attachment 8 – General Rates and Charges Debt Management and Recovery Policy

 Any Council agreement to allow a deferment of rates will require the ratepayer to adhere to
 an approved payment plan, and, in return for the deferment, to pay an additional amount
 equivalent to the interest that would have been applied had the deferment not been
 approved.

 Council will consider applications for instalment payment plans submitted on the approved
 form or as detailed in acceptable written or electronic form.

 Council will assess applications for instalment payment plans entailing payments being
 made at least monthly and the outstanding balance being cleared by the end of the rating
 period of the same financial year (31 December or 30 June).

 At the discretion of the Revenue Services Manager, Council may accept, though it will not
 encourage, instalment payment plans that fall outside the above-mentioned timeframes
 where there are extenuating circumstances and where the balance owing will be cleared
 prior to the due date of the next rate levy. Consideration will be given to whether the
 applicants have adhered to previous payment plans.

 Council will not agree to an instalment payment plan where the proposed duration will not
 ensure extinguishment of the debt in a reasonable time.

 Where an instalment payment plan meets the criteria set by Council and is approved,
 written acceptance of the plan will be provided to the ratepayer. This correspondence will
 also advise that the outstanding account may be referred to Council’s debt collection
 agency if the ratepayer does not adhere to the approved plan.

 Instalment payment plans will be reviewed regularly to confirm ratepayer compliance.

 Payment Plan Default

 Where payments have not been received in accordance with the approved payment plan,
 the ratepayer will be advised in writing of the default and the account may be referred to
 Council’s debt collection agency without further notice to the ratepayer. A payment plan
 may be reinstated if the arrears under the plan are paid. A payment plan may be
 renegotiated where there has been substantial compliance with it.

 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

 Councillors
 Councillors consider and adopt the Policy.

 CEO and Executive Team
 The CEO and Executive Team endorse the Policy for Council adoption and provide
 leadership and commitment in complying with the Policy and relevant legislation and
 documents.

 Revenue Services
 The Revenue Services branch oversees the administration of the Policy, including the
 management of the debt collection process, and provide aged debt reports and other
 necessary information to the Executive Team for review. An annual report is to be
 presented to Council where properties are recommended for sale due to overdue rates and
 charges.



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Attachment 8 – General Rates and Charges Debt Management and Recovery Policy

 Financial Services
 Overall oversight of the collection of sundry debt is undertaken by the Financial Services
 Manager. Where possible outstanding charges (including infrastructure charges) are
 transferred to the relevant rate assessment.

 Council Officers
 Relevant managers/officers responsible for any sundry debt are required to engage in debt
 recovery process as and when required.

 All Council staff are bound by the principles outlined in the policy.


 RELEVANT LEGISLATION AND POLICIES

 Local Government Act 2009
 Local Government Regulation 2012
 Revenue Policy
 Revenue Statement
 Rates and Charges Financial Hardship Policy

 HUMAN RIGHTS AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT

 In developing this policy, the subject matter has been considered in accordance with the
 requirements of the Human Rights Act 2019 and the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991. It is
 considered that the subject matter does not conflict with any human rights or
 anti-discrimination imperative, and supports a human rights and non-discrimination approach
 to decision making by Council.

 This policy should be read in conjunction with the Human Rights Act, Council’s Human
 Rights Policy, and the Anti-Discrimination Act.


 Version control:
  Version      Reason/ Trigger              Change    Endorsed/ Reviewed by   Date
                                             (Y/N)
      1.0      Create new                      Y      Council                 30/06/2025

      2.0      Review                          N      Council                 23/06/2026




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