Queensland’s Logan City Council has made rates payment easier for residents through a barcoded rates card.
Introduced last August, the card allows ratepayers to pre pay their bill, or pay by instalments of $50 or more after the due date, at any Australia Post outlet.
Developed specifically by Logan City Council, it is the first of its kind used by a local authority in Queensland.
The cards are made on site and take only seconds to create for customers.
CEO Gary Kellar said the cards replace the old payment book system, which could only be used at Council’s administration centre or its approved bank.
“This new system is better for ratepayers, because it offers more payment options, particularly outside the City,” he said.
“Absentee landlords living interstate can use the card to pay their Logan rates at their own local post office.
“It is also better for Council, because the cards are cheaper to produce.”
He said the payment books cost Council about $3.50 each, while the rates card cost 35 cents each to produce.
“The ability to pay rates in instalments at Australia Post outlets also minimises queues at Council, particularly in the last days before the prompt payment discount ends,” Gary Kellar said.
Already, the rates from more than 2,000 of Logan’s 60,000 rateable properties are paid through the cards. The cards can also be transferred with the property.
This is due to the fact that the barcoded information is linked to the property’s address, rather than the owner.
Since entering the card in the Local Government Innovation Awards, Logan has had numerous inquiries about the system from other Councils around Australia.
For further information contact Paula Weston, Media Officer, telephone (07) 3826 5204.
