Council offers rebates and concessions for eligible pensioners who own and occupy a rateable property. 
 

About the Pension Rebate

Council provides a rebate of up to a maximum of $250.00 per rating year to eligible pensioners. This rebate is funded 45% by Council and 55% by the State government. The rebate amount is fixed and does not increase with inflation or rate increases. 

Pensioners who are granted a rebate with Council will have their Rates and Charges Notices automatically adjusted going forward, provided there has been no change to their eligibility.
 

Eligibility Criteria

Under State legislation, you must satisfy all of the following criteria to be an “eligible pensioner”:

• You hold a current pensioner concession card issued by either Centrelink or the Department of Veteran's Affairs. (Ratepayers can check with Centrelink or Veteran’s Affairs to see if they are entitled to a Pensioner Concession Card for the purposes of Council Rates and Charges concessions.)

• You (solely or jointly) own the dwelling for which a rebate is sought

• The property is your sole or principal residence.

Please contact Council immediately if your eligibility changes.
 

How to Apply

To apply, please:

• complete and submit a Rates Pensioner Concession Rebate Application form,
• include a copy of the front and back of your Pensioner Concession Card with your form

How the Pension Rebate is Calculated

The rebate amount granted will be proportionate to the percentage of ownership and to the date from which the applicant became eligible.
Applicants who become an eligible pensioner during the financial year will receive a rebate proportionate to the number of full quarters in which the applicant became an eligible pensioner (Local Government Act 1993, Section 575). This is illustrated in the table below:

Backdating of Pension Rebates

Council will retrospectively grant rebates (backdate) only up to 12 months prior to the submission date of a pensioner application form, upon confirmation of eligibility during the backdated period.

Termination of Pension Rebate

When a person ceases to be an eligible pensioner, dies or sells the property, a proportion of the rebate granted for the financial year is written back as payable. This applies in the same manner as a granted rebate - the write back will equal the number of full quarters remaining in the year.
 

Other financial assistance offered by Council

Hardship Assistance

Council is committed to assisting customers who are experiencing adverse financial hardship, and offer payment arrangements such as interest free extensions and interest free payment plans to ease the burden.
If you receive a rebate on your Council rates, you can still apply for assistance. Visit our Hardship assistance page for more information and to apply.

Additional Assistance for Pensioners

• pay their rates in monthly instalments at no additional cost
• defer payment of rates until the sale of their property without being charged penalty interest

I want to...

• Pay my rates

  You can pay your rates by phone, direct debit, BPAY, at the Post Office or at one of Georges River Council Customer Service Centres. Please see your rates notice for details about these types of payments or visit Council's Pay my rates page.
  
  The quickest and easiest way to pay your rates is with BPAY or via a credit/debit card using the internet or phone. The phone number for this service is Ph: 1300 323 269.  You will need your Biller code (34405), your customer reference number (which can be found on your rates notice) and a Visa, MasterCard or American Express card.

  Please note the following for credit card payments:

  • American Express – 1.4% surcharge

  • Visa and Mastercard – Nil surcharge

  • Diners Club – Not accepted

  Diners Club is no longer accepted.

• Set up direct debit for my rates payments

  Ratepayers can arrange to have their bank account debited on a quarterly or annual basis by completing a Rates Direct Debit Form. 
  
  This form can be used for new arrangements or for amendments to existing arrangements.  This application can take approximately 10 working days to process so please keep this in mind if a due date is approaching. Please refer to the form for submission dates.
  
  If you wish to cancel an existing arrangement, please advise council in writing. 

• Change my postal address for rates notices

  It is your responsibility to advise Council of your new address and contact details. To update your details complete the online Change of Postal Address form on our website.
  
  Please note: A change of address will not be accepted by Council over the telephone.

• Receive my rates notices by email

  Ratepayers may register here to receive their notices via email instead of by post. The notice and any other information is attached in Adobe PDF form.

  If you have registered to receive your rates notice by email it is important that you still update your postal address details as some other important correspondence from Council may still be sent in the mail.

   

• Receive my rates notices via BPAY View

  To receive your rates notices via BPAY View instead of via post, please apply through your financial institution.

• Update my name on my Rates and Charges Notice

  Council records reflect the name that is listed on the Certificate of Title for your land.

  If your change of name is due to sale, purchase, marriage or change of name certificate you will need to officially change your name on your land title first. Contact NSW Land Registry Services on telephone 02 8776 3575 or visit their website at https://www.nswlrs.com.au for further information.
  
  If you wish to change the name due to death, Council will update the title of the deceased individual to “Estate of the Late” after receiving a copy of the Death Certificate or advice from Centrelink during the Pension rebate confirmation process.

  Name details are only updated after we receive advice from the NSW Land Registry Services.