The Australian annual bill calendar: what's due each month
Rego, rates, land tax, CTP and strata, month by month, for every state, with the instalment dates each one actually uses.
The three kinds of annual bill
Not all annual bills behave the same way, and the difference tells you whether you can plan for it or not.
| Type | Examples | When it falls due | Why it catches people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Institution-set | Council rates, land tax | A fixed window each year, set by your council or state revenue office | Predictable, but large. The whole amount can land in one notice. |
| Anniversary | Rego and CTP, car and home insurance, private health, club memberships | The date you first registered, bought or joined | The date moves when you change provider or change your renewal length. Nobody tracks it. |
| Annual bill in disguise | Water, strata levies, rates paid by instalment | Every quarter, or every two months for water in WA | Feels like a small recurring bill. It is actually a large annual one, split. |
The anniversary type is the expensive one. It is also the only type you can deliberately move: choose a 6-month rego instead of 12 and the date shifts twice a year, or renew insurance three weeks early and the anniversary moves with it.
Month by month: what lands when
Read this as the national pattern. Your own dates are in the state tables below and on your notices.
| Month | What typically lands | Who it hits |
|---|---|---|
| January | Private health extras limits reset on 1 January. Strata levy for the January quarter. NSW land tax assessments start issuing from mid-January. | Anyone with extras cover, strata owners, NSW property owners |
| February | Victorian land tax assessments issued. Queensland rates notice for the January to June half issued late February. ACT quarterly rates notice. | VIC and QLD property owners, ACT ratepayers |
| March | QLD rates due, usually about a month after the notice. NSW land tax due 60 days after the assessment date. VIC, NSW, SA and ACT rates instalments land around 28 February to 1 March. NSW Local Land Services rates notices issued, payable 30 days later. | Most ratepayers, NSW and VIC landowners, rural landholders |
| April | Strata levy for the April quarter. End-of-financial-year insurance renewals begin. Queensland land tax notices start arriving. | Strata owners, QLD landowners |
| May | Fourth rates instalment for VIC (31 May) and NSW (31 May). ACT quarterly notice. Professional registrations and memberships renew. | VIC and NSW ratepayers, anyone with an annual membership |
| June | SA fourth rates instalment (1 June). End of financial year: the month to prepay deductible bills. QLD land tax due. | SA ratepayers, investors |
| July | New financial year. WA, TAS and NT rates notices issued. Strata levy for the July quarter. Tax return opens. | WA, TAS and NT ratepayers, strata owners |
| August | NSW first rates instalment (31 August). QLD rates notice for the July to December half issued. WA rates due. VIC rates notices arrive. TAS first instalment. | NSW, QLD, WA and VIC ratepayers |
| September | VIC first rates instalment (30 September). SA first instalment (1 September). QLD and WA rates due. ACT quarterly notice. | VIC, SA, QLD and WA ratepayers |
| October | Strata levy for the October quarter. QLD second-half rates notice mid-month. Water bills for the quarter. | Strata owners, QLD ratepayers |
| November | VIC second instalment (30 November). NSW second instalment (30 November). TAS instalment. ACT quarterly notice. | VIC and NSW ratepayers |
| December | SA second instalment (1 December). Some QLD councils due. Insurance renewals before the holiday shutdown. NSW land tax ownership snapshot at 31 December. | SA ratepayers, NSW landowners |
Council rates: how each state schedules them
This is the single biggest source of surprise, because the pattern is genuinely different state to state.
| State | Instalment pattern | When the notice arrives |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | Quarterly, typically 31 August, 30 November, 28 February, 31 May | Around July, for the year starting 1 July |
| VIC | Four instalments, typically 30 September, 30 November, 28 February, 31 May | August to September |
| QLD | Two notices a year, one for January to June and one for July to December, each due about a month after issue. Many councils discount for paying by the due date. | Late February and August to October |
| WA | Pay in full around September, or choose two or four instalments | July to August |
| SA | Quarterly, typically 1 September, 1 December, 1 March, 1 June | August |
| TAS | Pay in full at the first instalment, or four instalments running roughly August, November, January, March | July |
| ACT | Quarterly notice covering rates, land tax and the fire services levy on one account | Quarterly |
| NT | Annual notice, pay in full or by instalments | July, due around August |
The practical takeaway: if you moved from Victoria to Queensland, your rates went from four payments a year to two. If you moved from Queensland to NSW, the opposite. Both are correct, and neither is a mistake.
Land tax: the bill most households never see
Land tax is a state tax on the value of land you own, and it only applies above a threshold that each state sets. Your home is exempt in every state. Investment property, holiday houses and land are where it bites.
What matters for the calendar is that land tax is assessed on an ownership snapshot, not on the day the bill arrives:
- NSW: land tax year runs on the calendar year, assessed on ownership at 31 December, with assessments issuing from mid-January and payment due 60 days after the notice.
- Victoria: assessed on ownership at 31 December, notices usually issued in February, payment typically due within about 60 days.
- Queensland, WA and SA: assessed on land owned at 30 June, with notices arriving between July and September.
- Tasmania: assessed on ownership at 1 July.
- ACT: charged to properties that are not your main residence, on the quarterly notice.
- NT: no land tax.
If you own an investment property in more than one state, you can receive land tax notices in four different months of the year, from four different revenue offices. That is not double-charging, and it is not a mistake either.
Rego and CTP: why your car's renewal is your own private date
Registration is not a national event. It renews on the anniversary of when the vehicle was registered, which is why two neighbours can have rego due four months apart.
| State | Renewal length you can choose | CTP (compulsory third party) |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | 6 or 12 months for light vehicles (3 months for heavy vehicles and trailers) | Included in the rego renewal |
| VIC | 3, 6 or 12 months | Included (TAC charge) |
| QLD | 6 or 12 months | Included in the rego renewal |
| WA | 12 months | Separate policy with an insurer of your choice |
| SA | 12 months | Included in the rego renewal |
| TAS | 12 months | Included (MAIB) |
| ACT | 12 months | Arranged through an insurer of your choice at registration |
| NT | 12 months | Included in the rego renewal |
Two things follow. First, if you are in NSW, VIC or QLD and you shorten your registration period, you move your own renewal date, which is a legitimate budgeting move but does reset when the bill lands. Second, in WA and the ACT the CTP premium moves with your choice of insurer, so comparison shopping changes the amount, not the date.
The bills no calendar can predict
Insurance is the biggest annual cost that never appears on a public calendar. Home, contents, car comprehensive and private health all renew on the anniversary of the day you took out the policy, which for most households means a different month for each.
Three timing facts worth knowing:
- Private health extras limits reset on 1 January, not on your policy anniversary. Use them before December, not after.
- The Lifetime Health Cover loading applies if you take out hospital cover after 1 July following your 31st birthday, and it is calculated on the days you were without cover.
- Your policy anniversary is the only date you can renegotiate. Insurers price renewals differently to new business, so the three weeks before renewal are the most valuable weeks in your insurance year.
The other category is memberships with notice periods: gyms, clubs, professional bodies, school fee schedules. These behave like subscriptions with a lock, and the exit rules matter more than the due date. That is what the notice period guide covers.
How to build a calendar that is actually yours
The national pattern is only half the answer. Your household has its own dates, and they are recoverable in about fifteen minutes.
- Search your email for the last twelve months. Try "rates", "instalment", "renewal", "rego", "policy schedule". Every notice you have received is already there.
- Record two dates per bill, not one. The due date, and the date you need to act: the day you compare insurance, the day you give notice on a membership, the day before a discount expires.
- Divide each annual bill by twelve. An A$900 rego is A$75 a month. That number is the one that should sit next to your subscriptions — our subscription cost calculator adds those monthly equivalents up for you.
- Put the reminder before the bill, not on it. A reminder on the due date is a receipt. A reminder at seven, three and one day before is a decision.
This is exactly what the app does with annual bills: add rego, rates, insurance or strata once with the real frequency (annual, half-yearly, quarterly, two-monthly), and it holds the amount, reminds you before the due date and exports the whole schedule to your calendar. Annual bills count as bills, and the free tier includes five of them alongside five subscriptions. If you are still choosing a tool, our comparison of apps that track recurring payments covers what each one does with bills. For everything else we have written, see all our guides.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Australian subscription spending.
Written by the Digital Crate team. Dates are the 2026-27 pattern and are checked against state revenue offices and council publications; individual councils and revenue offices set their own dates each year, so the notice you receive always takes precedence.