Simulated workplaceCAQA Shire of Brightwater is a fictional business created by CAQA for training and assessment. It is not a real company and no person, client or record here is real.About this simulation
LGACAQA Brightwater ShireSimulated workplace
Simulated workplace
Scenario · Finance and Rates

Assess a financial hardship application

You are the Rates Officer in Finance and Rates.

Intermediate2 to 3 hours8 tasks
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The situation

What has happened

Ray Lindsay farms canola and sheep in the Yarrabin Valley. The August hailstorm destroyed most of his crop and he has lodged a Financial Hardship Application Form asking for deferral of this year's rates and waiver of interest. His account, A-10422, shows a balance of 4,210 dollars and the first instalment falls due at the end of the month. A financial counsellor's report and three months of bank statements are attached. Fiona Abernethy wants the application decided well inside the ten business day standard and a decision letter ready for her signature. A reminder notice run is due in two weeks and his account must not be caught in it.

Your brief. Assess the application against the Rates and Revenue Policy and the hardship procedure, record your assessment and a recommendation in the Rates and Property Register, protect the account from recovery action, and draft a decision letter that explains the outcome and the review rights.
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Tasks

Deliverables

  • Completed assessment and recommendation recorded in the Rates and Property Register
  • Surplus calculation worksheet
  • Draft decision letter
  • Updated Customer Request System record

Documents to use

Systems to use

Rates and Property Register

Holds the rateable property records, valuations, rate balances, payment arrangements and hardship applications.

Customer Request System

Logs every request, enquiry and complaint received from the community and tracks it to closure against the service standard.

For trainers and assessors

Units of competency

Current on training.gov.au for the Local Government as at 10 September 2026.

LGACOR002Administer rates
LGACOR001Work in local government
LGACOR011Analyse financial reports and budgets

Qualifications

LGA30120Certificate III in Local Government
LGA40120Certificate IV in Local Government
Assessor notes

What to look for

Evidence guide

The assessment must apply the policy criteria rather than personal judgement, show a correct surplus calculation, and recommend relief the policy actually allows. Check that the register record protects the account from the reminder run, that hardship documents are treated as restricted, and that the letter is plain, respectful and states review rights.

The student's evidence summary lists every record they created or changed in the systems named above, their notes and the tasks they ticked. Verify it against the deliverables and your own assessment tool.