Rates

Rates in South Burnett Region are levied six monthly effective from 1 July 2016.

Ratepayers will usually receive their six monthly rate notices in August and February and have 30 days to pay their rates to receive the 10% discount offered by Council. Water usage charges are also included on the six monthly rate notices.

For specific information about rates and charges, please refer to the related documents at the bottom right of the page.

Supplementary Notices may also be issued at various times during the year to some ratepayers to account for changes to their services or unimproved valuations (for example, sewerage pedestal rates after building a new house on vacant land; commencing a garbage service, etc.).

These supplementary notice charges also attract a 10% discount providing all rates and charges are paid by the due date.

Rate payments must be received by the due date to receive a 10% discount. In order to take advantage of the discount we offer for early payment - the full amount, including any rate arrears and interest must be paid on or before the discount expiry date. Electronic payments processed after the nominated Payment Cut-off Time on the due date by your financial institution or bill payment service will not be eligible to receive discount.

Please note that the discount does not apply to State Emergency Levies, water usage, rural fire levies, environmental levies, road levies, waste management levies and community rescue and evacuation levies and interest charges, and residents with rates in arrears are not eligible for a discount until their arrears have been brought up to date. In addition, outstanding rates attract an interest charge of 8.17% pa, compounded daily.

The Queensland State Government will subsidise 20% (maximum $200.00 pa) of the rates for approved pensioners by way of a rebate. Council also offers a subsidy of 20% (maximum $200.00 pa) off rates for approved pensioners. Council also offers an additional concession of 50% of the waste recycling collection charge for eligible pensioners who pay for a recycling service.

For new applications, Council can only apply the subsidy to the current six monthly rating period. No backdating of pensioner subsidy is authorised by the State Government.

Application forms for the rebate must be lodged by June 30th each year. These forms are available from Council's offices or online via the Rating and Property forms area.

A full list of payment options is available here.

Rates can be paid in person at Council's offices in Blackbutt, Kingaroy, Murgon, Nanango, Proston and Wondai or by posting cheques or money orders to Council at the address stated on your rate notice.

EFTPOS facilities are available at all Council offices. Most debit or ATM cards are accepted.

Rates can also be paid using BPAY. Please contact your participating financial institution to make a payment from your cheque, savings or credit card account. The BPAY Biller Code and reference number are located on the front of the Council's rate notice under the due date. Follow the recorded prompts to make a payment from your nominated account.

Rates can also be paid using POSTbillpay, via Australia Post branches, or by telephone or internet. You can make your payment from your cheque, savings or credit card account.; The POSTbillpay biller code and reference number are located on the front of Council's rate notice under the due date. Follow the prompts to make a payment from your nominated account.

Credit Card Payments can also be made over the Phone by phoning 13 18 16 and following the prompts.

Centrepay is a voluntary bill-paying service which is free for Centrelink customers. Use Centrepay to arrange regular deductions from your Centrelink payment. You can start or change a deduction at any time. The easiest way to do it is through your Centrelink account online in myGov.

Council is always prepared to accept any reasonable arrangement for the settlement of rates. This includes paying by instalments. If you are having difficulty in paying your rates, please contact the Rates Department. The Application to Pay Rates by Instalments(PDF, 741KB) form is available online or from Council's offices.

Please note, however - in order to take advantage of the discount we offer for early payment - the full amount, including any rate arrears and interest must be paid on or before the discount expiry date. Electronic payments processed after the nominated Payment Cut-off Time on the due date by your financial institution or bill payment service will not be eligible to receive a discount.

You can also pay your rates in advance and/or by instalments simply by making deposits through your bank using the Biller Code and Customer Reference No. on your rate notice. Many people find this helpful when budgeting for their commitments.

Water Meter Readings are recorded every six (6) months in May/June and November/December each year.

The water usage for that 6 month period is then allocated to each "tier" on a meter by meter basis. The volume of water allocated to each tier varies according to the size of the water meter.

Water Consumption charges are then calculated for each "tier", by multiplying the volume of water used in each "tier", by the charge per kilolitre for the corresponding "tier".

Each six (6) monthly rate notice (issued August & February) will include water consumption charges for the previous six month period.

Tier Range Limits and Charges per Kilolitre for water used up to June 2018 and charged on the August 2018 Rate Notice.

* All Areas: Blackbutt, Kingaroy, Kumbia, Murgon, Nanango, Proston, Wondai and Wooroolin.

Tier Range Limits and Charges per Kilolitre for water used after June 2018 and charged on the February 2019 Rate Notice onwards.

Residential Tariffs are comprised of Residential (1, 201, 203, 301, 401), Rural Residential (910, 920, 930, 940, 950, 960) and Village (3) Rate Categories per the Revenue Statement.

Commercial Tariffs are comprised of Commercial (2, 202, 204, 302, 402), Shopping Centre (9,10,99), Industrial (8, 208, 209, 308, 408), Extractive (211, 212, 213), Coal Mine (414), Power Generation (215, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235), Rural Land – Primary Production (6), Water Pumping and Storage (419) and Other (7) Rate Categories per the Revenue Statement.

Water Consumption used in the period 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024

NB: Water consumption charges on the rate notice are for the prior 6 month period.

Properties not connected to the Proston Rural Water Supply Scheme will be split into separate tariffs - based on their Differential Rate Category. Residential Tariffs are comprised of Residential (1, 201, 203, 301, 401), Rural Residential (900, 910), Multi-units (100, 101) and Village (3) Rate Categories per the Revenue Statement.

Commercial Tariffs are comprised of Commercial (2, 202, 204, 302, 402), Shopping Centre (9,10,99), Industrial (8, 208, 209, 308, 408), Extractive (211, 212, 213), Coal Mine (414), Power Generation (215, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226), Rural Land – Primary Production (6), Piggery (611, 612, 613, 614), Cattle Feedlots (601, 602, 603, 604), Water Pumping and Storage (419), Heavy Industry (508), and Other (7) Rate Categories per the Revenue Statement.

Proston Rural Water Supply Scheme a flat charge of $1.86 per Kilolitre of water consumed.

High Volume Commercial Tariff - In the case of High Volume Business/Commercial Users who consume >200,000 kilolitres of water per annum, Council believes that a modified methodology is more appropriate than that applied to other business users. The standard business consumption charges per kilolitre will apply. However, there will be only two (2) tiers applied to this tariff, instead of three (3).

Water Consumption used in the period 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025

NB: Water consumption charges on the rate notice are for the prior 6 month period.

Properties not connected to the Proston Rural Water Supply Scheme will be split into separate tariffs - based on their Differential Rate Category. Residential Tariffs are comprised of Residential (1, 201, 203, 301, 401), Rural Residential (900, 910), Multi-units (100, 101) and Village (3) Rate Categories per the Revenue Statement.

Commercial Tariffs are comprised of Commercial (2, 202, 204, 302, 402,600,700), Shopping Centre (9,10,99), Industrial (8, 208, 209, 308, 408), Extractive (211, 212, 213), Coal Mine (414), Power Generation (215, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226), Rural Land – Primary Production (6), Piggery (611, 612, 613, 614), Cattle Feedlots (601, 602, 603, 604), Water Pumping and Storage (419), Heavy Industry (508), and Other (7) Rate Categories per the Revenue Statement.

Proston Rural Water Supply Scheme will be charged at a flat charge of $1.97 per Kilolitre of water consumed.

High Volume Commercial Tariff - In the case of High Volume Business/Commercial Users who consume >200,000 kilolitres of water per annum, Council believes that a modified methodology is more appropriate than that applied to other business users. The standard business consumption charges per kilolitre will apply. However, there will be only two (2) tiers applied to this tariff, instead of three (3).

A full list of rating categories is available here.

More information is available here