Customer service standards for water service providers
Customer service standards describe how you as a service provider will deliver water and sewerage services to your customers. The standards address activities such as:
- billing
- continuity of services
- complaint management.
Customer service standards are developed in consultation with your customers and act to protect customers who do not have an individual contract with their service provider.
As a service provider, you are required to develop and publish on your website, customer service standards that set target levels of service for key performance indicators (KPIs). Newly registered service providers must prepare a customer service standard within 6 months of registration.
You must review your customer service standards every five years. Include details of any review in your drinking water service annual report. If changes are made as part of the review, you must publish the updated version of the standards within six months of the review.
What's included
As a service provider, you must set target levels of service for the following:
- total water main breaks
- total sewerage main breaks and chokes
- incidence of unplanned interruptions
- water quality complaints
- total water and sewerage complaints
- average response time for incidents.
Further information on KPIs are detailed in a report requirement notice issued to service providers.
Customer service standards must also include details about how you will interact with customers, the process for service connections, billing, metering, accounting, customer consultation, complaints and dispute resolution.
Read the Preparing a customer service standard (PDF 311KB) for further assistance.
Exemptions
Service providers may be exempt from preparing customer service standards if:
- a contract of service with all customers is in place
- the service provider is regulated under the South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) Act 2009 and has obligations under the South East Queensland customer water and wastewater code (PDF, 727KB).
How do customers get a copy?
Your customers can access a copy of your customer service standards on your website or contact you directly for a copy.
All service providers are required to make their customer service standards available for inspection and purchase, during business hours, at the service provider’s office or other appropriate place.
If your customers have any concerns, they can phone 13 QGOV (13 74 68).