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Rates information

Rates Enquiries:
Telephone: (08) 9461 3296
Email: rates@cityofperth.wa.gov.au
Have you changed address?
Advise us of your new details using our Change of Address Form.

Paying Rates
All rates are due 35 days after the date of issue. The City offers a number of options for the payment of rates, including two instalment plans.

Please note that for Direct Debit payments, an administration fee of $40.00 applies.

Option One: Up front payment of the total amount (There are no additional costs for this option). Full payment 35 days after the date of issue.
Under this option, the ratepayer is automatically entered into a prize draw.
Option Two: Two Instalments (This option incurs a $40.00 administration fee and a 5.5% per annum instalment interest charge)
All arrears, half the rates, administration fee and instalment interest charge, and the full waste management charge are payable within 35 days of the rate notice being issued. The balance will be payable approximately 2 months later, as indicated on the notice.

             
Option Three: Four Instalments (This option incurs a $40.00 administration fee and a 5.5% per annum instalment interest charge)
The City also offers a four instalment plan. All arrears, one quarter of the rates, administration fee and instalment interest charge, and the full waste management charge is payable within 35 days of the rate notice being issued. The balance will be payable in three equal instalments approximately 2 months apart, as indicated on the notice). 

 

Late payment interest of 11% per annum is charged on all payments oustanding after their due date.

How to Pay

  • In person at Council House, Ground Floor, 27 St Georges Terrace, Perth
    Payments can be made by Cash, Cheque, EFTPOS or by Credit Card. *
    Cashier Hours - Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5.00pm (Excl Public Holidays)
  • In person at any Australia Post office. Payment is limited to a maximum of $10,000.00.
  • By mail to City of Perth, GPO Box C120 PERTH WA 6839.
    Cheque or money order payments are to be made payable to CITY OF PERTH and crossed "Not Negotiable"
  • Online by Credit Card
  • By Direct Debit from your Financial Institution (download and complete Direct Debit Form on this page) 
  • Over the Phone by Credit Card * by calling 1300 366 563.

* Note - Credit card payments are limited to $5,000 per card, per rates account, per year. Only Mastercard and Visa are accepted.

 

OBJECTS OF DIFFERENTIAL RATES

PLEASE NOTE: New Objects of Differential rates will be effective as of 1 July 2013 - View full details here.

The office of the Valuer General provides the City with Gross Rental Values (GRV) on a triennial basis. These were applied for the purpose of Rating effective from 1 July 2011, together with the use of ongoing interim valuations from the same source. The overall increase is in line with the expected increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), together with the impact of adjustments to rate differentials to match rates raised from ratepayer classes to applicable costs.

The City has combined the Hotel, Retail and Commercial differential rates in a ratepayer class to be known as Commercial.  This arose after a review of the costs attributed to each ratepayer class and takes into account the triennial revaluation of gross rental values pertaining to each category as recently conducted by the Valuer General.

The City of Perth imposes differential rates under the provisions of Section 6.33 of the Local Government Act 1995 on all rateable land within the City according to the predominant purpose for which the land is held or used, as determined by the City. The objects and reasons for the imposition of each differential general rate are:

Residential
The residential category covers properties that are used for singular and multi-dwellings. The residential rate is 3.898 cents per dollar of GRV. The residential rate is set at a relatively low level to support the City’s aim of encouraging people to reside in the city.

Office
The majority of properties within the City are used for office accommodation. The GRV of the office sector represents the largest percentage of the total rateable values. The City has set a rate for the office sector at 2.565 cents per dollar of GRV.

Vacant Land
The rate of 5.130 cents per dollar of GRV applies to all vacant lands within the district. The higher rate is imposed to discourage holding  undeveloped land within the City which reduce the amenity of the area and to encourage it's early development.

Commercial
This classification has been utilised to consolidate Hotel and Retail with the former Commercial category into one ratepayer class.  The category includes wholesalers, warehouses, industrial, entertainment and sporting facilities.  The incorporation of the former Hotel category includes hotels, short-stay serviced apartments, hostels, board and lodging accommodation.  The Retail sector comprising mainly shops has also now been classed as commercial.  All these assets have a common factor in being commercial operations with the object of attracting visitors and tourists to the City to contribute to City vitality.  The City supports this ratepayer clause to a material extent with marketing and promotional programmes.  The City has set a rate for this sector at 4.876 cents per dollar of GRV.

Minimum Payment
The City imposes one general minimum rate payment that applies to all rateable properties within the City. The minimum payment has increased from $560 to $594 this budget year. The minimum payment which impacts mainly in the residential category has been maintained at a relatively low level within the metropolitan area to support the City's strategy of encouraging living in the city.

Waste Management Service
The City has a separate waste management charge, to encourage waste minimisation. The charges are recorded separately so that ratepayers can easily identify them. In keeping with the "user pays" principle, those ratepayers who wish to make greater demands on this service will also contribute more to maintain it.

  • The basic residential waste management charge is $170.00. Registered pensioners who hold a Pensioner Concession Card, or ratepayers who hold both a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card and a WA Seniors Card will receive a 50% rebate on this charge, which is funded by the City of Perth.
  • The basic non-residential waste management charge is $246.00.
  • Additional services are available if required for $185.00 per service (GST inclusive)
  • A 660 litre Bulk bin is $887.00 (GST inclusive)
  • Recycling $122.00 (GST inclusive)

These waste management charges are annual charges for each weekly collection.


Goods and Services Tax (GST)

GST does not apply to Local Government Rates or the Basic Waste Management Charges. All other Rubbish Service charges, however, are subject to GST.


Rates and Ownership Details
The City provides the following rates and ownership details:

    Street Order Roll - Paper Copy (*This cannot be purchased for Commercial purposes) Cost $200.00
    Property Orders & Requisitions Cost $80.00
    Rate Enquiries Cost $35.00

*Note:  Amendments to the Local Government (Administration) Regulations 1996 now restrict the availability of electoral and rate record details to the public.  A person wanting a copy of information of the rate record (street order roll) must now complete a statutory declaration confirming that the information will not be used for commercial puruposes.

“Commercial purpose” is defined as: to seek to obtain by formal application a public record for the purpose of the sale or resale or the producing of a document containing all or part of the copy, printout or photograph for sale, and/or obtaining of names and addresses from the public record for the purpose of solicitation, and/or monetary gain from the direct or indirect use of the public record. 


Rebates:

Pensioners/Seniors
Eligible Pensioners or Seniors may qualify for a concession from Council Rates and the Emergency Services Levy. Please contact the Council Rates section on 9461 3120, or the Water Corporation on 1300 659 951 for further information or to obtain an application form.

Inner City Residential Rate Relief Scheme
Purchasers of a new residential property within the area bounded by the Mitchell Freeway, Swan River, Victoria Avenue and Wellington Street may qualify for a rebate from Council rates for a period of three consecutive financial years. More information is available on the application form which can be downloaded here, or by contacting Council's Rates section on 9461 3120.

Heritage Rate Concession
Owners of rateable property that is included in a City of Perth or Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority heritage list can apply for a discount on their general rates to assist with the care and maintenance of their property. Details and an application form can be found in the Heritage section of the City of Perth website.

Rates Exemptions

Under S6.26 of the Local Government Act 1995, some organisations or lessees may be eligible to apply for a rates exemption.

Charitable organisations, religious bodies, government agencies etc may be eligible to apply for rates exempt status.

The application form for a rates exemption can be downloaded by clicking on the link on the top right of this page. The completed form can be sent to the City of Perth along with all supporting documentation for it to be assessed. A decision will be prepared and you will be advised of the outcome in due course.

Rates exemptions will remain in place for a period of 3 years (unless circumstances of the exemption change) when a review will be undertaken to determine if the exemption is to continue.

If you want to find out more information about whether or not you may be entitled to apply for a rates exemption or have any questions about the application form, please contact the Rates Department on (08) 9461 3295.

Download the Rates Exemption application form.

Emergency Services Levy (ESL)

The State Government introduced an Emergency Services Levy (ESL) in 2003/04 to fund the services provided by the Fire and Emergencies Services Authority of Western Australia (FESA). Local Councils across the state are required to include the levy on their rates accounts and collect it on behalf of FESA. Enquiries regarding ESL may be directed to FESA on:
Telephone 1300 136 099 or by visiting http://www.fesa.wa.gov.au/

2012/13 rate for ESL is 1.19 cents per dollar of valuation - in FESA's Category 1 Area.


Changes to ownership or postal address details

All changes of property ownership or the postal details for your rates account must be advised to Council in writing by:

  • Lodging the advice in person to Council House, 27 St Georges Tce, Perth
  • Posting the advice to City of Perth, GPO Box C120, PERTH WA 6839
  • Faxing the advice to (08) 9461 3069
  • Emailing the advice to info.city@cityofperth.wa.gov.au

Failure to do so may result in your rates account being issued incorrectly and incurring late payment penalties.


Contact Us

More information can be obtained by contacting Council's Rates Section:

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