How to pay
You can make a payment using any of the following methods:
- Online – use a credit card to pay online
- Phone – call our 24-hour phone hotline on 1300 301 185 and pay by Mastercard or Visa
- BPay banking – quote Biller Code 5157 and the reference number on your Rates Notice, to pay from your bank account, Mastercard or Visa
- Direct debit – by application only, pay from a nominated bank account in monthly instalments, quarterly instalments or a lump sum - applications to pay by Direct Debit closed on 31 August 2018.
To update your banking information with us, download and complete a Direction Debit Application Form below.
- In person – bring your Rates Notice to our Civic Centre offices and pay by cash, cheque or EFTPOS
- Australia Post - over the counter by cash, EFTPOS, cheque, Mastercard or Visa credit card, phone 13 18 16 and pay by Mastercard or Visa or visit the Australia Post website and pay by Mastercard or Visa
- By mail - attach the payment slip of your Rates Notice to your cheque (crossed not-negotiable) or money order and mail to:
City of Whittlesea
PO Box 2002
Preston VIC 3072
Receipts
You will only receive a receipt if you pay in person at our offices or your local post office.
Payment arrangement
If you are having difficulty paying your rates, you can request a payment arrangement by contacting our recovery agency, Australian Receivables Limited.
- phone 1300 303 855
- visit the Australian Receivables Limited website
Financial hardship
If you are seeking financial counselling, phone Kildonan Uniting Care on 8401 0100 or visit the Kildonan Uniting Care website.
Pensioner concessions
If you hold a current Pension Concession Card, Veteran’s Affairs TPI or War Widow Gold Card, and live at the property shown on the Rates Notice, you may be eligible for a concession.
Full details about the concession can be found on the Department of Human Services website.
Note: Health Care Card holders are not eligible for a rates concession.
The maximum rates concession for 2018/2019 is $229.40. An additional concession of $50 is also available on the State Fire Services Levy.
To apply for a concession, do the following:
Receiving your rates notice
We post the annual rates notices to all property owners during July.
If you have just moved into your newly constructed home, we will automatically send you an updated rates notice.
Find out how you can estimate your new rates amount after a supplementary valuation.
Quarterly instalment rate notices are posted in early November, February and May.
Receive your rates notice online
You can receive your rates notice online through your internet banking provider, using BPAY View.
By using BPAY View, you can conveniently and securely receive, pay and store your rates notices online.
How to register for BPAY View:
- Register for internet banking with your bank.
- Log into your internet banking account.
- Look for the BPAY View or View Bills section.
- Register to receive your Council rates notice by entering:
- The Biller Code: 5157
- Your BPAY View registration number: (Use your BPAY REF No from the bottom of your rates notice)
- Your surname: your surname exactly as it is shown on your rates notice.
Your next rate notice will be automatically sent to your internet banking account.
Pay in instalments or lump sum
To better manage your household budget you can choose to pay your rates in:
- Quarterly instalments
- Monthly instalments – by application only (applications have now closed and will re-open in 2019)
- Fortnightly instalments – by application only (applications have now closed and will re-open in 2019)
- Lump sum
If you don't pay on time, you may pay penalty interest charges (state law sets this at a yearly rate of 10 per cent).
Quarterly instalments
When you make payment of the first quarterly instalment by the due date, you will receive a reminder notice for each of the remaining three instalments.
If full payment of the first instalment is not received by the due date, your account will revert to the lump sum option (shown below) and you will not receive reminder notices for each of the remaining three instalments.
Monthly instalments – by application only
You can pay your rates in 9 monthly instalments by submitting an application to Council between June and August each year.
We do not post a separate rate notice for each monthly instalment.
Applications for monthly instalments closed on 31 August 2018 and will re-open in 2019.
Fortnightly instalments – by application only
You can pay your rates in 18 fortnightly instalments by submitting an application to Council between June and August each year, as long as you do not have any overdue rates and charges.
We do not post a separate rate notice for each fortnightly instalment.
Learn more about applying for fortnightly instalments below under Plan'n'Pay.
Applications for monthly instalments closed on 31 August 2018 and will re-open in 2019.
Apply for Plan'n'Pay
You can apply to pay for your rates either monthly or fortnightly. We will accept applications until Friday 31 August 2018.
The following conditions apply for Plan'n'Play:
- we will process your application no later than 14 days prior to the first due date of payment
- we reserve the right to refuse your application if the rate account is overdue
- we expect regular payment (i.e. every fortnight or monthly as indicated in your application)
- we accept an application on the basis that all rates and charges will be fully paid by 31 May 2019
- we will cancel the application if payments are not kept up to date and reverted to quarterly instalments
- a $15 service fee (inc. GST) is added to the rates account even if you intend to make payment via Bpay
- a $15 service fee is added to the rates account if a second or replacement card is requested.
Lump sum
The due date for this payment option is 15 February 2019.