Learn if you’re eligible for Council rates discounts, relief, concessions and exemptions.
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You may be eligible for a saving or exemption on your Council rates. These include:
You could be eligible for an early rates payment discount of up to $60 per year.
To be eligible for this discount, you must:
For more information, read the Resolution of Rates and Charges in Council's Annual Plan and Budget.
You're eligible for rate capping if you're the owner-occupier of a residential property (Category 1, 1GA, 10, 10AA and 10GA).
This caps any increase on your general rates to a maximum of 7.5% (based on the previous year's net general rates). If the general rate increase is higher, Council will credit you the amount over the cap.
You don't need to apply for rate capping. It’s automatically applied once your owner-occupier status is recorded.
The following conditions also apply:
The owner of the land must live permanently on the land.
The concession does not apply to any land held in the name of a trust or company.
To learn more about rate capping, read the full rates summary in Council's Annual Plan and Budget.
Council offers certain rates exemptions to eligible ratepayers. These include exemptions from:
You may be exempt from paying the one-off $309.30 Rate Account and Establishment Fee if you meet certain criteria.
You can apply for an exemption if:
You’re not eligible for this exemption if you’ve purchased:
You can apply for an exemption online by using our Rate account rebate application form.
Alternatively you can apply for an exemption by downloading a hardcopy form.
You can submit the completed form:
Certain properties may be exempt from paying general rates. These include properties used for the following purposes:
To apply for a general rates exemption for one of these properties, you must:
To submit your application, you can:
Rates rebates are available for certain ratepayers, including:
There are two types of Council rebates available to pensioners: maximum and partial rebate.
The maximum rebate is available to people on a full pension. Under this scheme, Council grants a 40% rebate on rates up to a maximum of $312 per quarter ($1248 per year).
You may be eligible for this rebate if you receive the:
A partial rebate is available to people on:
Under this scheme, Council grants a 20% rebate on rates up to a maximum of $156 per quarter ($624 per year).
You may be eligible for this rebate if you receive a:
You may also be eligible if:
To be eligible for the maximum or partial pensioner rebate, you must:
If you receive a pension/allowance, you’ll need to provide:
If you’re applying for a maximum or partial rebate, you'll need to provide:
To apply for a pensioner rebate on Council rates:
If you are a life tenant, resident of a retirement village or beneficiary of a special disability trust, you can only apply at a customer centre or ward office.
For eligible pensioners, the State Government grants a 20% rebate on rates accounts. This is up to a maximum of $50 per quarter ($200 per year) plus 20% of the fire levy.
The State Government subsidy can be used with Council's pensioner rebates. This means an eligible person could receive a maximum or part rebate from Council, in addition to 20% from the state.
To be eligible for this subsidy, you must hold a current Centrelink Queensland Pensioner Concession Card (PCC).
To apply for the Queensland Government subsidy, you can:
If you are a life tenant, resident of a retirement village or beneficiary of a special disability trust, you can only apply at a customer centre or ward office.
If the property is under joint names, all applicants who receive a pension must provide the relevant information.
For example, two owners on a pension must both produce pension cards and proof of payment.
Where one owner receives a pension and another is listed as their partner on their Pensioner Card, they may be entitled to an additional rebate.
If a joint owner dies, the remaining owner must reapply for the discount and provide a death certificate.
Life tenants need to provide:
If life tenancy is for more than one person, all applicants must supply the required information. For example, if two owners are both on a pension, each owner must produce a pension card and proof of pension payment.
If a person doesn’t receive a pension/allowance, then a copy of their Queensland Pensioner Concession Card is all that’s required.
Beneficiaries of a special disability trust need to provide:
You can apply for a maximum or partial rebate if you’re a tenant of a:
These facilities must have agreed to pass on rebates to eligible tenants.
You’ll need to provide:
If a pensioner's rate account goes into arrears by $30 or more, Council will remove its rebate. When the outstanding amount is paid in full, the reduction will be automatically reinstated from the following quarter.
If the outstanding amount can't be paid, the rebate can be reinstated if a payment plan is agreed to.
The State Government component of the reduction will continue even if the rate account is in arrears.
If you need help with understanding the criteria or the application process, contact Council.
Council offers a 50% rebate on general rates for certain not-for-profit organisations. They must provide or support the residents of Brisbane through:
Council offers a partial rebate of 20% on general rates for not-for-profit organisations that provide affordable housing in the Brisbane local government area.
We also offer a 100% rebate on most rates and charges to eligible not-for-profit kindergartens.
Partial Rate Rebate Scheme Application – Community or Welfare Organisations
Partial Rate Rebate Scheme Application – Affordable Housing Providers
Partial Rate Rebate Scheme Application – Kindergartens
Partial Rebate of General Rates – Not-for-profit Organisations
Partial Rebate of Rates and Charges – Not-for-profit Kindergartens
Partial Rebate of Rates and Charges – Affordable Housing
You can read the Resolution of Rates and Charges in Council's Annual Plan and Budget.
You’re eligible for the Bushland Preservation Rebate if your land is covered by the:
This rebate is automatically applied to eligible rate accounts.
Land covered by these agreements is exempt from Council’s Bushland Preservation Levy.
If you’re experiencing financial hardship, you may be eligible for assistance from the Independent Rates Relief Tribunal. The tribunal has been set up to help people who are having difficulty meeting basic living expenses due to:
You’re not eligible for this rates relief if you’re a property owner who:
All owners of the property will need to provide supporting documentation. This includes:
Before you begin your hardship application, you can discuss your circumstances with us by calling Council on 07 3403 8888.
To apply for assistance, you can:
Once you submit your application, we’ll contact you within 7 working days.
Pay your rates account by the due date to receive up to $60 off your bill each year (if eligible). Learn more about the early payment discount.
Alternatively, you can check if you’re eligible for any other rebates, relief or exemptions.
You are eligible to receive the Queensland Government Subsidy and a Council rates rebate if you meet the relevant criteria for both payments.
If your rates account is in arrears by $30 or more, Council will remove any pensioner rebates. When the amount owing is paid, any rebates will be reinstated from the following quarter.
Your rebate will also be reinstated if you agree to a payment plan within a reasonable amount of time. If repayments aren’t consistently made, any pensioner rebates will be removed for the next rate account period. This only applies to customers who:
If you receive the Queensland Government subsidy, this subsidy will continue even if your account is in arrears.
For more information about pensioner rebates:
