Frequently Asked Questions

 Yes.

All you have to do is request for a copy of your rates notice. This can be mailed out to you or sent via email.

Yes.

The quickest way to request a copy of a rates notice is online.

Yes.

Receiving your rates notice electronically is environmentally friendly and makes it quick and easy to pay your rates online.

We value properties in Hume City on 1 January every year, following Victorian legislation. This is to ensure rates are assessed using current market values.

Property inspections are conducted externally by Certified Practicing Valuers and all relevant sales are analysed by the valuers to build a profile of the level of values for each particular area and property type. The information is then applied to individual properties, taking into account factors such as land size, age, building size and condition.

Rate payers can object to their property valuations within two months of the date of the 2026/27 annual rates notice.

The two month period for objecting to the valuations as listed on the Council rates notice officially closed on Friday 6 November 2026.

You may be eligible for a rates concession through Council and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH).

Eligibility requirements

To get a rates concession you need to have an eligible concession card and meet some other requirements:

• You must hold one of the following eligible cards:
• • Pensioner Concession Card (PCC)
  • Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) Gold Card - Totally and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI)
  • Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) Gold Card - War Widow (WW)
• The name on your concession card must exactly match the name recorded on your rates account.
• The property must be your principal place of residence.

Please note: Health Care Card holders are not eligible for a rates concession.

How to apply

If you believe you are eligible for a concession card, or you have recently become eligible for one, please complete and return the application form linked from this page. If your application is approved, the concession amount will be automatically deducted from your rates notice.

Apply for a Municipal Rates Concession 

Apply for a Pension Rebate Retrospective Claim

Ongoing eligibility

If your application is approved and your circumstances do not change, you don’t have to reapply each year.

Every year, Council will check your details with Centrelink or the Department of Veterans' Affairs. If you are no longer eligible, we will contact you to let you know the concession has been removed.

As part of this check, some eligible people may be accidentally removed from Council's records. This can happen for a number of reasons, even though you may still qualify for the rebate.

If you have received a notice from us about your eligibility for the concession, it is likely your concession has been removed from our system after the most recent check. If you feel you are still eligible for the rates concession and want to keep receiving it, please submit a new application. 

If you have recently reapplied for the rates concession, please disregard the notice.

More information

For further information about eligibility and concessions, visit the Department of Family, Fairness and Housing’s Municipal rates concession page.

Yes.  

You can arrange to pay your rates via direct debit or a payment booklet in:

• Four instalments as per the due dates on your rates notice
• Monthly payments starting 30 September and ending 31 May (9 total instalments per financial year); or
• Weekly/ fortnightly payments

Set up a payment arrangement 

You can apply for a weekly, fortnightly or monthly direct debit payment plan to spread the payment of your rates. If you currently have an existing payment plan set up with us, but now need to make changes, you can apply for a new payment arrangement.  

Create or change a payment arrangement 

Centrepay is a voluntary bill-paying service which is free for Centrelink customers. Use Centrepay to arrange regular deductions from your Centrelink payment. You can start or change a deduction at any time. The easiest way to do it is through your Centrelink account online in myGov.

Yes.

The quickest and easiest way to update your details with us is online.

Rates across Hume are calculated annually based on the total amount of money required to provide and maintain essential services and infrastructure for the Hume community.

This income is then divided by the total combined value of all properties in Hume and is then known as the rate in the dollar, which for the 2026/27 financial year is $0.0021791

Capital Improved Value (CIV)

Council calculates rates for each property by multiplying its value by the rate in the dollar. This is the Capital Improved Value (CIV). The CIV is the total market value of the land plus buildings and any other improvements.

For example, an owner of a property with a CIV of $650,000 in 26/27 year will pay $1,416.41 in rates.  

The calculation is:

• $650,000 x$0.0021791 = $1,416.41, excluding any extra waste service charges and state government levy (Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund).

This formula means that the higher the CIV of a property, the higher the rates for its owner. You can read more about how properties are valued below.

Your rates notice also includes a separate Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF), which we are obliged to collect on behalf of the State Government.

The ESVF includes a variable rate depending on the type of property and a fixed charge of:

• $139 for residential properties
• $282 for non-residential properties.

For more information on the ESVF, visit the State Revenue Office of Victoria or call 13 21 61.

The kerbside waste charge covers the cost of providing kerbside bin collections and hard waste services. All residential ratepayers pay the kerbside waste fee, along with businesses that choose to use our kerbside bin service. 

The public waste charge covers the cost of keeping our public spaces clean. All ratepayers (residential and non-residential) pay the public waste charge.

Visit the waste service charge page for more information.

Every year the State Government sets a cap on how much councils can increase their rates and municipal charges. It does not apply to waste charges or the fire services levy.

The rate cap does not apply to your individual rates bill. It applies to the total overall rates revenue collected by Council. The relative change to your property's general rates each year is determined by the value of your property and may vary from the rate cap.

The rate cap for 2026/27 is 2.75%.

Learn more about rate capping:

Video transcript

Download rate capping fact sheet

Where multiple parcels of farm land are used to operate a single farming enterprise, a person may only be required to pay the fixed charge/municipal only charge once by applying for the single farming enterprise exemption.

To apply, a person must submit an application to the Council/s where the relevant properties are located via post. You must notify Council/s if the circumstances relating to your application change, as this may affect your eligibility for the exemption.

Download the single farm enterprise application form(DOC, 80KB).