South East Queensland service providers and customer protections
There are 5 council-owned water businesses that deliver water and sewerage services to South East Queensland (SEQ) residents and commercial businesses and they are subject to a number of customer protection provisions.
Read more about the customer protection provisions:
- South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) Act 2009
- South East Queensland customer water and wastewater code (PDF, 727KB).
Providers subject to the code
The SEQ service providers subject to the code are:
- Queensland Urban Utilities, servicing the local government areas of:
- Brisbane City Council
- Ipswich City Council
- Lockyer Valley Regional Council
- Scenic Rim Regional Council
- Somerset Regional Council
- Unitywater, servicing the local government areas of:
- Moreton Bay Regional Council
- Noosa Shire Council
- Sunshine Coast Council
- City of Gold Coast
- Logan City Council
- Redland City Council.
Customers covered by the code
The code applies to small customers of the 5 service providers and to relevant services as defined in the code.
Small customers are:
- residential home owners in the SEQ region receiving a water bill
- non-residential customers who use, or would use if connected, no more than 100 kilolitres of drinking water and/or reticulated recycled water per year.
Provisions of the code
The code sets out:
- rights and obligations of SEQ service providers and their customers in relation to the availability of water and sewerage services
- minimum standards for those services
- protection for customers and tenants with special needs for an uninterrupted supply of water
- protection for customers in financial hardship, including access to Centrepay, a bill paying facility for Centrelink clients.
The code also covers:
- complaints handling procedures
- mandatory information on water bills
- meter reading and testing
- concealed leaks policies and remissions
- when supply can be restricted for non-payment of an account
- accounts and payment options.
Dispute resolution services
The Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland offers a dispute resolution service for residential and small businesses in SEQ who use less than 100 kilolitres of water a year.
If a customer has tried to resolve a dispute with you as their service provider, and the dispute is about non-compliance with the code, they can lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman.