Rates Pensioner Rebate
Pensioner Rate rebates are available and funded by the State Government.
If you have a current Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card or Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) Gold Card specifying 'War Widow', 'TPI', SRD or WDP, you may be eligible for a concession on your rates.
Please note a Health Care Card is not eligible for the Pension Rebate.
For Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) Gold Card EDA or POW, the Victorian Government provides this concession directly to the cardholders.
Phone the Concessions information line on 1800 658 521 (toll free) for an application form or download the form at https://services.dffh.vic.gov.au/municipal-rates-concession.
In 2024/2025 the State Government concession is $259.50, with a further concession of $50.00 available from the State Revenue Office for your Fire Services Property Levy (Total concession = $309.50).
For retrospective claims for 2023/2024, the State Government concession is $253.20, with a further concession of $50.00 available from the State Revenue Office for your Fire Services Property Levy (Total concession = $303.20).
Once your application has been approved, the concession will be annually deducted for as long as you remain eligible and will be shown on your annual rates notice.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the concession you must meet the following criteria:
- you must have a current valid Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card or DVA Card (War Widow, TPI, SRD or WDP Gold Card)
- you must be the person responsible for payment of the rates (i.e. be named on the rates notice)
- the property for which you are paying the rates must be your principal place of residence
- the name and address on the rates notice must be the same as that on your concession card.
Additional information is available on the DHHS website
Apply for the Pension Concession
To receive the concession, you need to lodge an application with Council.
Your application must include:
You can return your application to Council in person, via mail or email. Please ensure a copy of your concession card has been included to avoid delays in processing your application.
For further information, please call Council's Rates Department on 03 5232 9400.
Retrospective Concession Claim
If you were eligible for the rates pension concession in the previous financial year but did not claim the concession, please complete the application for retrospective pension concession form and return it to Council.
You can only claim the concession on a principal place of residence once for the financial year.
Retrospective Pension Rebate Form(PDF, 59KB)
What if I claimed the concession on another property?
If you have moved and claimed the concession on a previous property, you will not be able to claim the concession on a new property in the same financial year, you may however apply for the concession for the next financial year if you meet the above criteria in the next year.