TWENTY-NINE commercial ratepayers were sent inflated rates notices after a system glitch and administrative error affected Redland City Council’s billing process.
Of the 76,975 rate notices issued for the first quarter, 22 incorrect notices were sent to shopping centres and seven to retirement villages.
The affected ratepayers were told to disregard their original 2026-27 first-quarter notices while Council recalculated the amounts owed.
The mistake emerged following the introduction of new rating categories in Council’s latest budget, including categories covering shopping centres and retirement and lifestyle villages.
Council confirmed the affected properties were subject to the new categories but did not reveal the size of the overcharges or when replacement notices would arrive.
“Council is aware that a small number of commercial ratepayers, to whose properties new rating categories applied, recently received incorrect rates notices that reflected charges higher than they should have been,” a Council spokesperson said.
“The issue was caused by a combination of an unexpected system glitch and an associated administrative processing error.”
Council said it acted immediately after discovering the problem and was working with its software provider while reviewing its internal systems and processes.
An email sent to the owner of one Redlands shopping centre on July 15 instructed them to disregard the notice received two days earlier.
“We sincerely apologise; however, we have since identified an issue with our rates calculation process that resulted in your general rates being incorrectly calculated,” the email said.
“While we work to correct the issue, please disregard your original rates notice.
“Once completed, we will issue you with a revised rates notice showing the correct, lower amount payable.”
Council contacted affected ratepayers by phone and email and assured them they would not be required to pay the inflated amounts.
The first-quarter payment deadline will also be extended for those affected.
“We know how concerning this news may be and apologise for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused you,” Council’s letter said.
Council did not provide a date for the corrected notices to be issued.
