Hutt City Council: NZ Rates & Water Modernisation
21,354 payment plans. $5.5M processed. Not one loaded by hand.
Hutt City Council managed rates payments the same way for 25+ years - paper-based direct debit forms, phone-based hardship arrangements, and staff chasing dishonours one by one. Cost-of-living pressure drove arrears from 2% to over 5% of rates revenue. Direct debit uptake stalled at 42-44% despite constant promotion. And with the Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025 adding a second billing stream to an already stretched team, the status quo wasn't going to hold.
This case study documents how Hutt City went from manual to modern in a single rates cycle - reducing staff workload, supporting struggling ratepayers, and building a payment foundation ready for water reform.
What you will get
$5.5M processed in under 6 months
Hutt City processed $5.5M through a platform its rates team never had to manually manage - 7,832 successful payments across 21,354 active plans.
80.3% of ratepayers self-served on mobile
8 in 10 ratepayers set up their own payment plans via mobile without any staff involvement, returning an estimated 3,200-4,300 hours to the rates team.
4.7/5 resident satisfaction score
Average score from optional post-payment surveys. Only 5.5% of payments failed - cutting the dishonour follow-up that previously consumed staff time every cycle.
Latest Webinars
How Wellington Shire Council is keeping arrears in control and making ratepayers happier
Joining us from Wellington Shire Council, Matthew Dyce - Coordinator of Rates and Revenue shares how they have taken steps to transform their council's arrears to advanced payments by integrating their current Civica system with Payble.
How City of Parramatta achieved 96% ratepayer satisfaction with Payble’s payment experience platform
City of Parramatta and Payble present a webinar exploring how flexible, automated payment options are addressing rising financial stress and enhancing ratepayer satisfaction.
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