Rates Notice FAQ's
I paid my rates off using the old BPAY before I got my new rates notice what do I need to do?
Nothing at all! We will receive the payment and it will be allocated accordingly. For future payments, our old BPay Biller Code should be deleted as it will be made inactive in the coming weeks.
Why has the BPAY change occurred?
Council’s property and rating system has changed which has significantly changed the payment reference number from the short assessment number to a 13 digit rates payment reference number. Experience has shown that when a BPAY customer updates details via their internet banking system the BPAY systems does not necessarily update the details as expected. This can and has resulted in customers inadvertently paying rates on the incorrect property.
It has been proven that any change a customer wants to make in BPAY requires deleting the old BPAY information and recreating the information from scratch. Changing to a new BPAY biller code and asking for customers to delete the old reference and use the new reference the risk of paying rates on the incorrect property is significantly reduced. It is recognised that this is a change for our customers who use the BPAY internet banking application and the decision to make the change was made in best interests of our customers.
Why were we not informed of these changes in the Rates News?
It was our intention to include this information in the Rates News, however, with significant change comes teething problems. Unfortunately, in this instance, there was a misalignment between printing deadlines for the Rates News and the completion of the Rates Notice. Knowing that we had missed this window of opportunity it was decided that having the information available on other communication platforms when the rates notices were being received would go to filling the gap in some way.
Are direct debits set up through Clarence City Council affected?
Direct Debits where you received a schedule with your Notice of Rates will not change as they have nothing to do with BPay.
However, if you have a regular payment set up (managed via your internet banking) to pay your Rates via our old BPay number you will need to cancel this as our old BPay Biller Code will be made inactive in the coming weeks.
Why have my rates increased?
Under the Local Government Act Council Council is required to use property values determined by the Valuer General. This year the Valuer General has completed the 6 year cycle of “fresh valuation” for Clarence City Council. The average increase in property values across all land use categories is approximately 21%. Clarence uses the Capital Value to determine the apportionment of rates.
The budget increase in rates from 2018/2019 to 2019/2020 is 2.9%. The revaluation does not affect the total amount raised in rates by Council. It does, however, result in the relative share of the rating burden experienced by ratepayers. In broad terms the greater the difference between a property’s valuation increase and the average increase for its sector, the greater the variation (either increase or decrease) in rates will be experienced.