Refund or transfer of rates payments

If you have overpaid rates to your property or made a payment to the wrong account, you can request a refund or transfer the payment to another rates account.

Only the person who made the payment can request a refund or transfer.

If submitting on behalf of a company, you must attach an authority to act form from the owner or director giving you permission to act on their behalf.

Refunds

  • Approved refunds can only be deposited into a bank account.
  • Refunds cannot be returned to a credit card.

Transferring payment to another property

Please ensure your unique payment reference number is updates so future payments are applied to the correct rate account.

If your property is classified in the owner‑occupied general rate category and the payment was made before the due date, Council may also review:

  • eligibility for the prompt payment discount
  • if any late payment interest can be waived.

You do not need to submit a separate request for these reviews.

Do not complete this form if you have already disputed the payment with your bank.

Proof of payment

You must provide non‑editable proof of payment, including:

  • the payment receipt, a bank statement showing the transaction or the original Australia Post or over‑the‑counter receipt, and
  • if requesting a refund, a bank statement header showing the BSB and account number of the bank account where the refund will be paid to.

Please redact information on your bank statement that you do not wish to share.

If the evidence provided is not sufficient, we will contact you.

Payments made near a property settlement

If the payment was made close to a property settlement, you must provide written confirmation from both the seller’s and purchaser’s solicitors stating that:

  • the overpayment was not part of the settlement, and
  • the refund can be issued by Council.

Processing time

We aim to review requests within 10 business days. Processing times may be longer during peak times.

Submit your request

Frequently asked questions

Why does Council need proof of payment to process my request?

When a payment is received by Council, in most cases, we can’t see any details of where the payments came from. We ask for proof of payment so that we can reconcile against our records and investigate further.

How much evidence do I need to provide?

We ask for proof of payment for the total value of the refund or transfer of payment amount requested. If these payments were made in increments, you need to supply proof of the individual payments made.

What is sufficient proof of payment?

The best form of proof of payment is your bank statement. Bank statements show your payment details made to Council (You can hide all of your other transactions if you want on the statement). The statement needs to include the payment reference details, date, time, amounts paid and the associated account name it originated from - example of a bank statement(PDF, 168KB).

If you can provide any other non-editable acceptable forms of proof, then we will review that as well.

I have Direct Debit set up with Council, do I still need proof?

We ask you to supply as much information as you can, however, as the transaction was set up by Council, we may be able to trace payments made from the same account. If the account details do not match, then we will ask you to supply more information.

I have paid the wrong rates assessment number

Don’t worry, if you can supply proof that you have paid the incorrect rates account, we may be able to transfer your funds to the right rates assessment. Just make sure you delete all incorrect payment reference details for future payments.

I have sold my property recently and accidentally paid the wrong rates account

If you have made a payment close to a property settlement, you will need to provide sufficient proof of payment and written confirmation from both the seller and purchaser’s solicitor to make sure rate adjustments were not made in the property settlement.

Do I have to get a refund or transfer of payment?

No, if you don’t request a refund or transfer of payment any overpayments made to the individual rate account will contribute towards a credit balance on your next quarterly rates notice.