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

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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