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Eligible pensioners in the Redlands Coast can get assistance through concessions.
Approved pensioners on Redlands Coast are eligible for two types of concessions on their property rates:
- Council rebate
- State Government subsidy
Council rebate
Pensioners can apply for a rebate against their general rate - this is the part of the rate notice relating to land valuation, not the council charges.
Redland City Council handed down its 2024-25 Budget on 27 June 2024, the total pensioner rebate remains as $335 for full pensioners and $167.50 for part pensioners. These are some of the most generous pensioner rebates in South East Queensland.
To be eligible, applicants must be the registered owner and resident of the property for which the rebate is claimed. Applicants must also be in receipt of a payment from Centrelink or Veterans Affairs and have one of the following pensioner cards:
- Queensland issued Pension Concession Card.
- Department of Veterans Affairs Entitlement Card.
- Department of Veterans Affairs Gold Card.
Part pensioners are also eligible.
For an explanation of the current situation for retirement villages, refer to information for residents of leasehold retirement villages
How to apply for a council rebate
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1. Make sure you have time to apply
Applying for a pensioner rebate typically takes about 10 minutes. You'll be able to save your application and resume later if you need more time.2. Gather your information
You will need the following to complete and submit your application:- The property number which can be found on your rates notice or by contacting Council
- A photo or saved copy of your pension card to upload
3. Complete the online form
Submit your request to apply for a Pensioner Rates Rebate4. We'll review your application
You can expect to hear from us by email or letter once we have processed your application. -
To apply, download and complete the pension rates concession form [PDF, 0.3MB]
Once completed, you can submit your form in person, by email, fax or post.
In-person at either of our customer service centres - open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm:
- Cleveland - Corner of Bloomfield Street and Middle Street
- Capalaba - Capalaba Place, Noeleen Street
- Victoria Point - High Street, (Victoria Point Library - open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm)
Original concession/ entitlement/ gold card must be present upon application.
Email: rcc@redland.qld.gov.au
Fax: (07) 3829 8765
Post: Redland City Council, PO Box 21, Cleveland, Qld 4163A copy of the front and back of your concession/ entitlement/ gold card must be included when emailing, faxing or posting.
Further information about council rebates
The council rebate is paid according to the proportionate share of ownership of the pensioner applicant.
This concession is not transferable from another property. If you move into a new property you must submit a new application. However, if your application is received within 90 days of the property settlement the council rebate will continue uninterrupted.
For pensioners applying for the first time, the council rebate will start from the latter of either the date of application or the date of purchase of a property.
If a rate payment is overdue, pensioners are subject to the same conditions as all ratepayers.
State Government subsidy
Pensioners can also apply for a state subsidy. This can give a further reduction on the rate notice issued by the council.
The State Government subsidy will apply from the first day of the next rating quarter.
For further information and application forms, visit the rates subsidy page on the Queensland Government’s website.
Information for residents of leasehold retirement villages
Current pensioner rebates
To be eligible for the rebate, applicants must meet the requirements for the Queensland Government's rates subsidy. Tenants or leaseholders are not eligible. This is because the property owner pays rates on the property, not the tenant or leaseholder.
Request to extend pensioner rebates
Prior to adopting the 2016-17 Budget, Redland City Council was asked to investigate the possibility of extending pensioner rates rebates to tenants of local leasehold retirement villages.
In adopting the previous Budget for 2016-17 councillors voted not to extend pensioner rebates beyond the current arrangement. The reasons for this are explained below:
1. Equity
With other tenants
Extending pensioner rebates to residents of leasehold retirement villages would contradict Council’s current policy of only allowing owner/occupiers to access the rebate.
It would also create inequity between pensioners in retirement villages and local pensioners in privately owned rental properties who would not have access to the rebate.
Across retirement villages
Residents of retirement villages pay a service charge to the owner of the facility, which it is assumed includes rates and utilities and possibly other charges that differ from residence to residence and village to village.
The calculation and billing of these charges is determined by the owner of the facility and as such Council has no visibility of what is and isn’t included. This makes it very difficult for Council to provide an equitable rebate across all retirement villages because each owner may use a different calculation or include different costs in their respective service charge.
2. Council systems don’t support change
Council is able to provide a rebate to the owner/occupier of properties because we have a direct billing relationship with them through our current rating system.
In comparison, the billing relationship Council has with leasehold retirement village schemes is with the owner, not the residents. This makes it very difficult to administer any rebate system with residents who live in these facilities.
3. Current system offers a better outcome for pensioners
Comparing General Rates to service charges
In investigating this request, Council compared the rates and charges paid by residents in leasehold retirement villages with what is paid by a resident eligible for pensioner rebate on their General Rates - this figure is an assumption and is calculated by dividing the total rates and charges applied to leasehold retirement villages by the number of leasehold units to find what portion each unit pays.
This showed residents in leasehold retirement villages pay much less than owner/occupiers receiving pensioner rebates, meaning residents of leasehold retirement villages are better off under the current arrangement.
When all fixed Council charges are taken into consideration, the average saving (based on 2016-17 figures investigated) for a leasehold retirement village resident is $1,444 in comparison to a property receiving a part rates rebate, and $1,279 when compared to a property receiving a full rates rebate.
Compared to other cities
Presently the Gold Coast City Council, Brisbane City Council, Cairns Regional Council and Toowoomba Regional Council provide a rebate to pensioners in retirement villages.
However, each Council rates these premises at a different rate in the dollar, with all of them charging a higher rate in the dollar than Redland City Council. This means that despite these other cities offering a pensioner rebate to residents of leasehold retirement villages, Redlands Coast residents in retirement villages pay the lowest rate in the dollar compared with these other Councils.