Public Notice

PUBLIC NOTICE
Card Only Payment Method Accepted

From 1 July 2021 Council with enter the cashless age, with cash no longer being accepted as a payment method for goods and services at the following locations:

• Bedourie Administration Centre;
• Bedourie Outback Visitor Centre;
• Wirrarri Visitor Information Centre; and
• Birdsville Tourist Park.

This decision has been made following consideration of a report from Council's Internal auditor which considered the risks and available controls to adequately and cost effectively manage the
small amount cash received through to deposit at a bank.
The amount of cash actually received is very low compared to EFTPOS and online payments but the internal controls required are the same whether $5 or $5000 is receipted. As a government
entity, there is a higher level of accountability required by Council than private enterprise when managing cash which is difficult for Council to achieve in a cost effective way given our small
workforce. Our internal processes to manage cash are time consuming and costly for the amount received. With no banking facility in Bedourie and only limited services in Birdsville. this means
that cash needs to be held for many weeks before a senior staff member travels to a town with a bank to deposit cash.

Council is keeping up with the growing number of businesses that no longer accept cash since COVID concerns were raised which has seen a shift in customer acceptance of paying by card
only. Council will absorb the EFTPOS transaction costs for all transactions at its counters.

I appreciate that this will be inconvenient for those customers who prefer to pay with cash however the realities of our remote location and small workforce have driven this decision.
Washing machines at our tourist parks will continue to be coin operated for the foreseeable future.
Council apologises for any inconvenience.