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
 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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