Both referrals by [name withheld] were dismissed for want of jurisdiction. The Tribunal held that complaints about the misapplication of payments (s 6.62) and incorrect charging of interest (s 6.51) do not fall within s 6.82 of the Local Government Act 1995 (WA), because that section is confined to questions whether a 'rate or service charge was imposed' in accordance with the Act — it does not extend to questions concerning payment, recovery, or the application of funds once paid. The structural location of the relevant provisions in Subdivisions 4 and 5 (payment and recovery) rather than Subdivision 3 (imposition) was treated as determinative, and s 6.51(3) — deeming accrued interest to be a rate 'for the purpose of its recovery' — was held to preclude treating interest as a rate for any other purpose, including s 6.82 referrals. The Tribunal also refused an extension of time in DR 182/2025 given a delay of over seven years, and left open whether s 6.39(2) imposes a temporal limit on the Tribunal's own powers under s 6.82.
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