Rate non-payment and mental capacity

Submitted by Louise Sales on Thu, 08/09/2011 - 15:20

Extract from Hansard
[COUNCIL — Thursday, 8 September 2011]
p7051c-7051c
Hon Lynn MacLaren; Hon Robyn McSweeney

LOCAL GOVERNMENT RATE NON-PAYMENT — PROPERTY SALE —
RESIDENT MENTAL CAPACITY

760. Hon LYNN MacLAREN to the minister representing the Minister for Local Government:
Part 6, division 6, of the Local Government Act 1995 provides local government authorities with the power to sell residents’ property for non-payment of rates over three consecutive years.

(1) Do councils have a duty of care to consider a resident’s mental competency to manage their own
financial affairs before invoking the power of sale?

(2) If yes to (1), how is this competency determined?

Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY replied:

I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.

(1) Although the Local Government Act 1995 does not place legislative responsibility on local
governments to consider mental competency, it could be said that a local government has some other
responsibility to take into account such circumstances. However, a local government can only do so if it
is apprised of those circumstances. It is most likely that in the course of attempting to recover rates over a period of at least three years, a local government would become aware of factors contributing to a
failure to pay rates.

(2) If a local government were to encounter such circumstances, it would most likely seek supporting
information to the extent it is permitted by privacy and other laws.