Council Rates & Mail

If you are buying or selling a freehold property your lawyer will generally ensure that the relevant Council is notified of the change of ownership. Check with your lawyer that this is the case. An adjustment will usually be made at settlement to reflect any prepayments or arrears.

The same arrangements may apply to water rates, so again check with your lawyer. If you are renting, Council and water rates are generally the responsibility of the landlord.

Contact your electricity, gas and telephone providers to have the services disconnected and advise your new address. They usually require up to 5 business days notice in advance.

Someone may come out to read the relevant meters or you may be asked to take the readings yourself and advise the result over the telephone. Final accounts will usually be sent to your new address or settled over the phone by credit card.

Arrange to have the required services connected to your new home. Again, they usually require up to 5 business days notice in advance. In some cases you may have a choice of service providers to choose from, so shop around.

Notify your mobile service provider of your new address for billing purposes and confirm whether the service extends to the area where you are moving.

Check whether you will be able to access your existing Internet Service Provider ("ISP") from your new address for the cost of a local call. If you can't, check the terms of your current agreement regarding termination and start looking around for a new ISP.

A penalty may be payable if you terminate the contract part way through an agreed fixed term.

Fot your cable and satellite TV check the terms of your current agreement regarding termination. A penalty may be payable if you terminate the contract part way through an agreed fixed term. Consider having cable or satellite TV connected to your new home.

Keep tabs on your incoming mail for up to a year before you move and jot down the names of everyone that sends you something.

You will then know who to notify when you do move. Many organizations include "Change of Address" forms when they send mail or publications to regular customers or clients. Collect them and send them out when you do move.

Australia Post offers a Mail Redirection service. Be sure to notify everyone that keeps sending things to your old address. If important items are still being sent to your old address when the redirection period is close to expiring, consider extending it.