The money that you pay to us in rates is used to provide services that benefit the entire community and make up roughly 50% of our annual revenue every year.

These services include things like:

• Road maintenance
• Maintenance of public facilities including recreation, parks, halls and public toilets
• Waste disposal
• Street lighting
• Strengthening the economy of our community
• Protecting the environment
• Community events, and much more

You can find a copy of our Rates and Charges Policy here 

Your rate payments for this financial year are due on:

• Installment 1 is due on 31 August 2024
• Installment 2 is due on 30 November 2024
• Installment 3 is due on 28 February 2025
• Installment 4 is due on 30 April 2025

If you pay your rates in full on or before the first instalment due date, you will receive a discount of 2%. (If making your payment online or through another provider like the post office, you will need to allow three working days for the money to be received by us.)

Pay online here – Just click on this link and follow the prompts

Pay online here – Just click on this link and follow the prompts

In person – at our office located at 32-34 Georges Bay Esplanade, St Helens. We accept, cash, cheque, Visa and Mastercard (we do not accept Diners Club or American Express).

By phone 

Call our office on (03) 6376 7900 and make your payment by credit card over the phone.

Direct Debit

Direct Debit is free to set up and allows payments to be made weekly, fortnightly, monthly, by instalment or in full on the due date of the first instalment. If you would like to arrange this or would like further information please contact us or fill in this form Direct Debit – Rates Request

Bpay

This can be done through your bank or credit union online. You will need the Biller Code and Reference Number which can be found on your Rates Notice.

Post Office

You can pay your rates in person, over the phone at any Post Office or online. Simply drop in, phone 13 18 16 or follow this link.

Mail – If it is difficult for you to get into the office you can post us a cheque, credit card details or money order to 32-34 Georges Bay Esplanade, St Helens, TAS, 7216.

If you are having difficulty paying your rates, please contact us, we are here to help and can arrange a payment schedule for you.

If you don’t pay your rates for three or more years, by law we are able to sell your property at a public auction to recoup costs. This is of course a last result and is in accordance with Section 137 of the Local Government Act 1993 .

Your rates notice is made up of at least three components, the most significant being the General Rates charge. When calculating your general rates charges for the year councils are guided by the Assessed Values of your property which are determined by the Valuer General. A full valuation occurs every six years with an interim adjusted valuation provided every two years.

The other charges on your rates notice will be;

• A waste infrastructure charge (decided by Council), and
• Fire Levy (determined by the State Fire Commission and collected by Council on their behalf.)

The waste infrastructure charge goes towards the maintenance and capital improvement of current waste transfer sites, disposal of waste from these sites and the provision of waste services in towns, parks and reserves just to name a few.

In addition to the above charges you may also have the following;

If you are within a recycling/waste collection zone, the following charges apply to any property other than one that is totally vacant (not used for any purpose).

• Wheelie Bin Charge
• Fortnightly recycling collection service (decided by Council)
• Fortnightly waste collection service, with an additional four collections throughout the year at peak times (decided by Council)

These charges are based on the number of services provided to the property.

You can find the most recent Rates Brochure 2024 2025  and this financial year’s Rates Resolution 2024-2025 You can also find a copy of our Rates and Charges Policy.

If you have owned your property or are the eligible ratepayer listed on the property on or before 1 July of the current financial year, have occupied the property as your principal place of residence on or before 1 July of the relevant financial year, and receive one of the following pensions or payments, you may be eligible for a rebate.

• Age
• Sole Parent
• Health Care Card (Tasmania)
• TPI/War Widow
• Service
• Widow
• Wife/Carer
• Invalid, disability supported or sheltered employment allowance.

You must have owned the property or be the eligible ratepayer listed on the property on 1 July 2024, and it must also be your principal place of residence at that time.

Applications for Rate Remission must be returned to us before 31 March of the financial year they are related to.

Council will do an online check to assess your eligibility for a remission, or you may wish to do this yourself with Centrelink prior to submitting the application form.

Note: The Department of Treasury and Finance has the final say as to your eligibility for a pensioner rate remission. They also set a maximum amount that can be claimed each financial year, this is dependent upon whether or not you are also eligible to receive a remission on your water and sewage charges from Tas Water.

Council offers rate relief to land owners with conservation covenants attached to their property titles who help conserve the municipality’s significant flora and fauna.

Owners with eligible conservation covenants can apply for a rate relief of $5 per hectare protected, after paying their rates. Covenants need to be registered under Part 5 of the Tasmanian Nature Conservation Act 2002. Covenants are not eligible where they are created to obtain private or commercial use or development right, including as part of a planning application or permit for a development.

Details of the conservation covenant rate relief scheme are set out in Council’s Conservation Covenant Support Policy.

If you move it is important that you let Council know, you can do this by email to admin@bodc.tas.gov.au, visit our office at 32-34 Georges Bay Esplanade, St Helens or by completing this Change of Postal Address form.

Please Note:  If you are changing a postal address for more than one person, each owner must sign the form or if emailing a change, you must acknowledge that you have permission on behalf of all owners to make the change.  If you are unsure please contact Council on 03 6376 7900.