Drought rate rebate
To assist primary producers who have been detrimentally affected by drought leading to financial difficulty, assistance is available in the form of a rebate on Local Government Rates.
Applications for this assistance have now closed.
What assistance is available?
A rebate of 50% is available of the rates paid (excluding excess water consumption charges and accrued interest or charges on overdue rates) by an applicant.
Terms and Conditions
Our programs are subject to terms and conditions that identify the required eligibility criteria for each scheme. If you are interested in applying for a rebate, you must:- be a primary producer (or a primary producer in a partnership, proprietary company or trust engaged in a primary production enterprise)
- own or lease/sharefarm the primary production property and be required to pay rates under the lease/sharefarm agreement
- have been receiving Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payments from Centrelink within 90 days immediately before the issue date of the rates notice
- have paid the rates for which the rebate have been claimed during the eligibility period from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2008 for a primary production property or an off farm residence in an Exceptional Circumstances declared area.
For further information regarding the eligibility criteria, please contact us on Freecall 1800 623 946 or view the scheme Guidelines for a guide to the Drought Rate Rebate Scheme Guidelines (25KB)
Drought Rate Rebate Scheme Guidelines (85KB)
Completing your Application
To apply for the Drought Rate Rebate Scheme please ensure that the following documents are submitted with the application form:
- a copy of an Income Statement or letter from Centrelink that demonstrates that the applicant was receiving Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payments within 90 days immediately before the issue date of the rates notice (the Income Statement or letter can be requested from Centrelink by contacting them on 13 23 16)
(NOTE: Exceptional Circumstance Certificates and Exceptional Circumstance Relief Payment Statements cannot be accepted) - the original rates notice/s (these will be returned to you). Please submit all notices from 1 July 2006 that you would like to apply for the rebate
- evidence of full payment of rates notice including a valid council issued receipt or letter stating that full payment of the relevant rate notice/s has been received, or other evidence with contains sufficient detail of full payment.
Further Information
The Drought Rate Rebate Scheme Fact Sheet (157KB) details concise information about the scheme programs.
Should you have any queries regarding this program, please contact us on Freecall 1800 623 946 or contact your nearest Client Liaison Officer in one of our regional offices.