City of Stirling Rates Direct Debit Instalment Option Service Agreement Terms and Conditions (section 6.49 of the Local Government Act 1995) Definitions
- City means the City of Stirling of PO Box 1533, Osborne Park, Western Australia, 6916
- Current rate year means the Rate Year when this agreement is executed
- Direct Debit Authority means the authority attached to this agreement authorising the payment to the City pursuant to this agreement
- Future rate year means all Rate Years after the Current Rate Year
- Direct Debit Amount means the amount specified to be paid by the Ratepayer in the Direct Debit Authority
- Property means the property described in this agreement
- Rate Notice means the rate notice issued by the City to the Ratepayer for the Property for a particular rate year
- Rate Year means the period commencing 1 July in a year and expiring 30 June in the following year (a financial year)
- Ratepayer means the person named as the Ratepayer in this agreement
- Ratepayers Bank Account means the account with a financial institution nominated by the Ratepayer in the Direct Debit Authority
- Rates and service charges means the total amount due in line with a rates notice, including local government rates, the emergency services levy, charges for waste services and security patrol, swimming pool inspection fees, penalty interest, instalment fees, legal fees and direct debit administration fees.
1. What am I agreeing to pay
- The Ratepayer agrees to pay:
- The rates and service charges
- Late payment interest as per Section 6.51(1) of the Local Government Act 1995 and Regulation 70 of the Local Government (Financial Management) Regulations 1996 which will accrue over the payment period
- Any costs incurred by the City as a result of the Ratepayer failing to perform any obligations under this agreement
- Any charges imposed by the City’s bank in relation to the Direct Debit Authority
- Any charges imposed by the Ratepayer’s financial institution in relation to the Direct Debit Authority
- Administration charge for the set-up of the agreement as notified in the adopted budget fees and charges schedule
- Future rate years.
2. Amendments by the City
The City will notify the ratepayer in writing by giving at least fourteen (14) days’ written notice, of any increased variations to the direct debit amount during a rate year to cover any of the following:
- Increase in the rates and service charges
- Change in the rates of interest charged by the City
- Additional interest, costs or charges payable by the ratepayer to the City.
If there is a reduction to the amounts in the ratepayer’s direct debt plan, the City will notify the ratepayer in writing.
3. How do I pay the rates
The ratepayer can elect to pay their rates and service charges in full, in instalments or by rates smoothing. The amount of each payment option is outlined on the rates notice.
The direct debit agreement authorises a payment in full, or in two or four instalments, or on a rates smoothing basis, as elected by the ratepayer. The direct debit arrangement is a legal agreement between the City and the ratepayer.
The ratepayer must check with their financial institution that direct debit is available from their nominated bank account. Direct debit is not available on all bank accounts offered by financial institutions.
The ratepayer must make sure that the bank account details, including the BSB and account numbers which are provided to the City, are correct. If in doubt, the ratepayer must confirm the details with their financial institution.
The ratepayer must ensure that there are sufficient cleared funds available in their account to allow each direct debit payment to be made on the due date.
Should there be insufficient cleared funds in the ratepayer’s account to meet a particular direct debit payment, the ratepayer must arrange for the due payment to be made by another payment method within seven (7) days.
Dishonoured payments incur a fee of $2.75 per transaction. This fee will be added to the ratepayer’s account.
The ratepayer agrees that they are the property owner (or joint owner) or person responsible for paying the nominated rate notice, and that all the other joint owners agree to payment by direct debit.
4. Can I change my direct debit ?
The Ratepayer can make changes to their direct debit arrangement by notifying the City in writing to:
- make any change(s) to their nominated bank account,
- make amendments to the frequency of direct debit payments
- stop or defer a direct debit payment
- or terminate this agreement with at least five (5) business days before the next due debit.
The Ratepayer must complete an online enquiry here or e-mail ratesdd@stirling.wa.gov.au
A change is only permitted if the proposed change still results in the rates and all other payments due under this agreement being paid in full by the last payment date.
5. What happens if I am unable to make a payment
If the ratepayer is unable to make a payment in line with this agreement, they must contact the City’s Rates Team at least five (5) business days before the payment is due to change the payment arrangement.
If no alternate payment arrangement has been made with the City and one of the following scenarios applies, then the City may request in writing immediate payment of the balance of the rates and service charges, and all other fees and interest due under this agreement:
- the ratepayer fails to pay any amount payable under this agreement when it falls due, and does not make that payment within seven (7) days after the due date
- the ratepayer cancels or changes the direct debit authority without written agreement with the City
- the ratepayer’s direct debits fail on a total of four (4) occasions during the rate year for any reason.
If the City delays in enforcing this agreement or gives the ratepayer additional time to pay, that delay and extension of time is not a waiver of the City’s rights to enforce any provision of this agreement.
6. Declined transactions
For declined transactions, the following will apply:
- In the event of four (4) declined payments, the City will cancel the agreement. If the account is not paid in full, or another payment arrangement entered into, the City may commence normal debt collection procedures.
- The City and the ratepayer are unable to enter into a new direct debit payment plan for this current rate (financial) year once a direct debit plan has been cancelled due to four (4) declined transactions.
7. What happens if there is a mistake with the direct debit or a dispute?
The ratepayer should check their account statement on a regular basis to verify the amounts debited from their account are correct.
If the ratepayer believes that there has been an error in debiting their account, they should notify the City immediately by calling (08) 9205 8555 and provide notice in writing to the City as soon as possible so that the City can resolve the query promptly. Alternatively, the ratepayer can contact their financial institution.
If, following an investigation, the City concludes that the ratepayer’s account has been incorrectly debited, the City will credit the overpayment against the next payment due, and direct the ratepayer’s financial institution to adjust the next payment accordingly. The City will also notify the ratepayer in writing of the outcome.
If a ratepayer has been charged a lesser amount, the ratepayer must arrange for the due payment to be made by another payment method. The City will notify the ratepayer in writing of this instruction.
If the City concludes, as a result of investigations, that the account has not been incorrectly debited, the City will provide an explanation in writing, along with any evidence for this finding.
8. Privacy of information
The City takes all reasonable steps to keep information about ratepayers secure, and to ensure that employees or agents of the City who have access to the information do not make any unauthorised use, modification, reproduction or disclosure of that information.
The City will keep any information (including the ratepayer’s bank account details) in the direct debit authority confidential and will only disclose information held about the ratepayer to the extent specifically required by law for the purposes of this agreement (including disclosing information in connection with any query or claim).
9. How do I contact the City?
To contact the City in relation to the direct debit agreement, the ratepayer can contact the City in the following ways:
10. How do I request payment of rates under this agreement?
To request payments pursuant to this agreement, the ratepayer must complete the direct debit request form on the City's website.
Applications for direct debit must be completed and submitted to the City at no later than 13 August 2023, in order for the first payment to commence on 25 August 2023.
An application must be completed for each rate assessment separately.
Upon receiving the direct debit authority, the City will confirm acceptance of the agreement by executing the agreement and notifying the ratepayer in writing via email.
- arrange for a payment to be made by another method for the declined direct debit(s) as per the agreement to pay in full by the last payment date
- check their account statement to verify that the amounts debited from their account are correct.
In the event of four (4) declined direct debit payments in one rate year, the City will cancel the direct debit arrangement and commence normal debt recovery action.
11. Notice
The Ratepayer must notify the City in writing relating to this agreement:
Email ratesdd@stirling.wa.gov.au by post to City of Stirling, PO Box 1533, Osborne Park, Western Australia 6916 or complete a customer enquiry and feedback form here.
The City will notify the Ratepayer in writing by sending a notice via email or post to the address you have given us in the direct debit application
Any notice will be deemed to have been received on the third banking day after issue
12. General Information
Please direct all rates enquiries to the City of Stirling, rather than to your financial institution.
All rate-related communication addressed to the City should include the rates assessment number.
The City of Stirling accepts no responsibility for correspondence not being received, being received late due to postal delays, or for being illegible.