[Anthony Egan]

Hi Cherie

Gunnedah Shire is a Local Water Utilities (LWU) and we provide the amount of any water usage charges due and payable at the time of issue of the 603 Certificate as provided by section 603(3)(a) of the Local Government Act (the Act).

In addition, we also offer a “Special Water Meter Reading Certificate” under Section 608(2) of the Act. This certificate includes a special reading of the water meter at the time of application, details of the average daily water consumption for the meter, year to date water consumption and general information about Council’s Three Tier Tarriff System for residential properties. The price for this certificate is set at the price of the 603 Certificate.

We have smart meters installed across the LGA which makes this process straight forward, as there is no need to send a member of staff out in the field to read the water meter to complete the certificate.

Happy to share a copy of our Special Water Meter Reading Certificate if required.

Cheers

Anthony

[Anthony Egan]

Hi Bec

Interest can be applied to funds held in trust by local councils in NSW, but it depends on the type of fund and the council’s policy. For certain security deposits, interest is calculated and paid to the depositor upon refund, less an application fee, while for other funds, the interest may be retained by the council or applied to public benefit.

At Gunnedah Shire Council, we have a mixed bag of Trust Accounts, in which the Trust Deeds specifies that interest is paid, and other accounts have no interest paid, including surplus proceeds from the Sale of Land for Rates.

I also noticed proceeds remitted to the NSW Office of State Revenue in accordance with the Unclaimed Moneys Act, 1995 after six years are not paid any interest whilst being held by State Revenue.

Regards

Anthony

[Anthony Egan]

Hi Carmel

I suggest that you refer to NSW Government FA450 Local Government records retention document which identifies records created and maintained by NSW councils which are required as State archives, and to provide approval for the destruction of certain other records after minimum retention periods have been met. It applies to all records of council business and administration. This document was approved on 14 February 2025 and supersedes GA39 General retention and disposal authority: local government records.

This document can be accessed at:

https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/recordkeeping/records-retention-and-disposal-authorities/local-government-records-fa450

A search of this document mentions rate notices twice in sections FA450-20.05 and FA450-20.07, of which FA450-20.05 is the most relevant which advises to “retain minimum of 7 years after action completed, then destroy.”

Hopefully, your Records Team are across this document and should be able to provide further guidance.

Anthony

[Anthony Egan]

Based on the current legislation there is no requirement for the postponed rates and charges to be paid when a property is sold/transferred.

When we issue a 603 Certificate for a property that has postponed rates, we include the following statement:

“This property is subject to postponed rates and, under Section 597 of the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW), the entitlement to the same ceases if the whole of a parcel of land used or occupied solely as a site for a single dwelling-house, or as rural land, ceases to be so used or occupied. The balance of the postponed rates and interest at the date of this certificate totals $x,xxx.xx.”

We also provide the requesting solicitor an Application for Postponed Rates for the purchaser to complete and return to Council to confirm that they are aware of the potential liability if the use of the property changes under their ownership.

We have also noticed that when a property has been sold/transferred and the new owner has not completed an Application for Postponed Rates, the Valuer General does not provide a postponed land value component for the rate assessment following a General Revaluation.

Regards

Anthony

[Anthony Egan]

Hi Lyndall

I agree with Tracey in that you should be using the online request form using the link below.

https://www.valuergeneral.nsw.gov.au/services/contact-us.htm?execution=e1s1

Once submitted you will receive a reference number to assist with tracking.

[Anthony Egan]

Hi Emma

The answer to your question can be found in Part 2 of the Government Telecommunications Act 2018 (NSW). https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-2018-067#pt.2

The NSW Telco Authority is constituted by, and functions under, the Government Telecommunications Act 2018 (NSW) to operate and maintain mission-critical operational communications services for public safety and government agencies within NSW. The NSW Telco Authority holds responsibility for coordinating telecommunications services support during emergencies under the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989 (NSW), has a central role in coordinating spectrum holdings on behalf of government agencies and manages major digital connectivity programs for the NSW Government.

Based on this information I would suggest that rate assessment would be exempt from rates under section 555 (1) (a) Land owned by the crown, not held under a lease for private purposes, as the activity fits the function of the Authority and is not being used for private purposes.

Anthony

[Anthony Egan]

Hi Brigitte

Happy to share with you Council’s SOL Certificate template and other templates to assist with your sale.

We do an EOI for each sale for an Auctioneer, Conveyancer and Valuer.

In relation to a timeline expect about 6 to 7 months from the Council resolution to conduct the auction to property settlement, assuming a 42-day contract period. Therefore, best time for a report to Council would be in November, which will see the sale occurring in March, settlements occurring in May, resulting in a decrease in your outstanding rates and charges for EOY reporting.

Having said that GSC has a sale scheduled for 25 July 2025, which was reported to Council in March 2025.

Regards

Anthony

[Anthony Egan]

Hi Matt

Likewise, totally agree with what has been mentioned above.

However, as advised in IPARTs Rate pegs for NSW councils for 2025-26 Information Paper, “Councils can increase their general income by up to the rate peg. They may decide to increase their general income by less than the rate peg (or reduce their income) and consult with their communities on rates and service trade-offs that may be needed. If a council increases its rates income by less than the rate peg, it has up to 10 years to catch up this shortfall. A council can only increase its general income by more than the rate peg, if it has an approved special variation (SV) or is catching up on previously foregone increases.”

Note, the catch-up provision is specified in section 511 of the Local Government Act 1993.

The Information Paper also states, “We understand some stakeholders do not agree with councils increasing their income, for various reasons. However, not allowing income to increase in line with changes to their business-as-usual costs could have negative impacts on communities through trade-offs in the services ratepayers rely on.”

A very recent example of a Council not taking up its approved rate peg increase is Port Macquarie-Hastings Council which approved a 0.0 percent rate peg for the 2024/25 Operational Plan, rejecting a council staff recommendation of a 4.6 percent rate increase, despite “concern” from the Office of Local Government.

Suggest that you make contact with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council to see how they are dealing with this reduced income and its impact.

Regards
Anthony

[Anthony Egan]

Thank you all for your comments on this matter.

Anthony

[Anthony Egan]

Hi Dave

If the issue was picked up prior to settlement, you could have contacted the recipient advising of the error and issue an amended certificate.

As the settlement has been finalised you could contact the recipient to advising of the error and hopefully, they can make arrangements with the former ratepayer to make the additional payment. Good luck with this option.

Otherwise, seek permission to write off the amount omitted from the certificate. In doing so document how the error occurred, and the steps that have been taken to prevent an occurrence.

Cheers

Anthony

[Anthony Egan]

Hi Elizabeth

I suggest that you have a look at State Records NSW Recordkeeping resources for local government web page which should hopefully be of assistance.

https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/recordkeeping/guidance-and-resources/recordkeeping-resources-for-local-government

Regards

Anthony

[Anthony Egan]

We received a letter in early December asking for their water and sewer access (connections) charge to made exempt. We responded to their request with the following and have received no further correspondence.

“Council’s water and sewer charges are levied in accordance with sections 501 and 502 of the Local Government Act 1993.

Section 502 deals with charges for actual use of services as opposed to annual charges. It should be notes that a charge for actual use of service is not linked to the fact that a land is rateable or non-rateable. Accordingly, no land is exempt from user charges made under section 502.

Some land is exempt from all rates, other than water supply special rates and sewerage special rates, via section 556. However, land under this section is not exempt from annual charges made under section 501.”

Councils may exempt some land and bodies from water supply special rates and sewerage special rates under section 558 which includes a public charity. As our water and sewerage charges are not levied as special rates this section is not relevant.

However, Council does provide general rate exemption for the property, under section 556(1)(h) as the land belongs to a public benevolent institution or public charity and is used or occupied by the institution or charity for the purposes of the institution or charity.

[Anthony Egan]

Hi Lyndal

I made enquires with the OLG late July and was advised that the working papers are going through the approval process and should be issued in the near future. The reason for the delay is that the work sheets need to be changed to capture the 10 year catch up provision.

Hopefully, we are now closer to the near future.

Regards

Anthony

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