The Victorian Ombudsman has launched an investigation into how Victoria’s 79 local Councils are responding to ratepayers in financial hardship in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ombudsman, Deborah Glass said the investigation would focus on assistance for residential ratepayers in relation to their primary residence, as well as farmers.
“As we know too well, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn will see a growing number of people experiencing financial hardship,” Ms Glass said.
“Before the pandemic, my office regularly received complaints from ratepayers about the way Councils responded when they could not pay their rates,” she said.
“Financial counselling and community legal groups also raised concerns.”
Ms Glass said she was aware that many Councils were providing special assistance and relief for ratepayers during the pandemic.
“However, it is increasingly clear these problems will endure into the future,” the Ombudsman said.
“I believe it is important to look at how Councils in different parts of Victoria respond to hardship, to identify good practice that can be shared across the sector,” she said.
Ms Glass said her investigation would consider whether information about Councils’ financial hardship assistance was easily accessible for ratepayers; whether Councils’ financial hardship assistance was fair and reasonable; how Councils’ hardship assistance schemes compared with best practice; and what Councils could learn from COVID-19 relief schemes to improve responses to financial hardship in the future.
She said the investigation was expected to be completed in the first half of next year at which time a report would be made public.
