Council Introduces Special Rebate for Pensioners

Published on 28 April 2021

Pensioners across the Burwood LGA can breathe a little easier after receiving a boost on their rates to help ease the cost of living with Council endorsing a special one-off payment for the 2021-22 Financial Year.

The one-off rebate of $25 brings the total rebate available to pensioners to $400 and will apply to the rates notice for this year.

Almost 1600 pensioners who are currently entitled to the rebate will gain immediate benefit from this decision confirmed at Tuesday’s Council Meeting.

Mayor John Faker who was a key driver behind the additional rebate said it was an important that Council continues to assist senior citizens through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It has been a challenging 12 months for many community members across the Burwood Local Government Area with the pandemic interrupting employment opportunities and forcing households to tighten their budgets,” Cr Faker said.

“What has become apparent to me in my discussions with our senior citizens is the ongoing fear in the community about their rising expenses driven by the increased cost of living in Sydney and exacerbated by issues around COVID.

“This proposal is designed to help support our senior citizens and continues Council’s position of providing support through increasing pensioner rebates over the last three years,” Cr Faker concluded.

Over the last three years, Burwood Council has supported local pensioners by increasing the available rebate over the existing amount. This contribution was worth an additional $50 in 2019, $75 in 2020, and $125 in 2021 before this week’s decision to endorse the additional payment.