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instalment.au
Instalment plans, one rod at a time

Paying a bill in parts

A guide to instalment plans for the bills that arrive whether you planned for them or not: tax, energy, council rates, loan repayments and fines. Published by Dotto, in plain words, from the official sources linked on each page.

A year drawn as an abacus: one rod for each month, beads slid across as each instalment is paid.

Six guides

Each guide is one kind of bill, written from the agency, regulator or council that sets its rules.

  1. ATO payment plans for a tax debt

    How an ATO payment plan breaks an overdue tax debt into instalments, what interest keeps running, and what makes a plan fail.

  2. PAYG instalments: paying tax during the year

    Who the ATO enters into pay as you go instalments, when each quarter is due, and how a variation works.

  3. Energy bill payment plans and hardship programs

    What an energy retailer’s hardship policy has to cover, and the NSW rules on payment arrangements and disconnection.

  4. Paying council rates by instalment

    How two councils, one in NSW and one in Victoria, split the rates bill, and what each says about hardship.

  5. Asking a lender for a hardship arrangement

    What a financial hardship arrangement is, what a lender may ask, and where a complaint goes if the answer is no.

  6. Paying a fine by instalments in NSW and Victoria

    Payment plans for fines in NSW and Victoria, side by side, with what happens when an instalment is missed.

What these plans share

The bills are different and so are the rules, but the official pages keep returning to a few of the same points.

  • A plan is agreed, not automatic. The ATO says you may not be eligible for a plan on the terms you suggest, or at all, and Revenue NSW says approval may come with conditions.
  • Interest can keep running. A tax debt on an ATO plan keeps accruing the general interest charge, compounding daily. The City of Melbourne charges interest on overdue rates from each instalment’s due date.
  • Earlier usually means more choice. Moneysmart says the earlier help is sought from a lender, the more options there are.
  • A missed instalment can undo the plan. The ATO says a plan may default and make the full overdue balance payable; Revenue NSW says it may cancel a fine plan so the overdue amount is due in full.

Who sets the terms

The official places these guides draw on, as at October 2026.
BillWho agrees the planWhere the rules are published
Overdue taxThe ATOThe ATO’s payment plans pages
Tax during the yearThe ATO, through PAYG instalmentsThe ATO’s PAYG instalments pages
Electricity and gasYour energy retailer, under its hardship policyThe Australian Energy Regulator; in Victoria, the Essential Services Commission
Council ratesYour councilYour council’s rates pages and rates notice
Loans and creditYour lender’s hardship teamMoneysmart; complaints to AFCA
FinesYour state’s fines agencyRevenue NSW, Fines Victoria, and the other states listed by Moneysmart

About this guide

A small brass abacus lying at an angle on a white surface, its beads stacked on short rods either side of a crossbar.
A brass abacus. Photo by succo on Pixabay

Instalment.au is published by Dotto. The figures, dates and rules on these pages come from the official pages linked beside them, checked on 8 October 2026. Rules and rates change, so the linked page is the one to trust.

It is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice, and it doesn’t cover buy now pay later. For help with a particular situation, Moneysmart points to free financial counsellors through the National Debt Helpline.