Reporting requirements for service providers

The key performance indicators (KPIs) are designed to monitor and benchmark performance on these common industry metrics:

  • water supply security
  • service delivery
  • financial stability
  • infrastructure investment and maintenance
  • demand management
  • customer service and affordability
  • cyber security.

The number of KPIs reported on will vary according to the size of the provider and the type of services provided (as stated in the report requirement notice).

Content of performance reports

The annual performance report will include performance data against the KPIs you are required to report against.

The performance report may also include:

  • a summary of any findings or recommendations in a performance audit report for the financial year
  • a report on the implementation of an improvement plan
  • a report about any action taken as directed by the Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers.

Audit of performance report data

Periodically and when directed by the regulator, by notice, service providers will need to engage a third party to audit the accuracy of KPI data provided. A copy of the audit report must be provided to the Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers.

A notice issued to a service provider, by the regulator, which requires an audit of performance data still state the notified year and the date by which the audit report must be given to the regulator.

Exceptions

Service providers that only supply water for non-drinking purposes will not be required to prepare a performance report, but must maintain their registration as a service provider.

Report requirement notices

The department issues a report requirement notice to service providers, which lists the KPIs they must report on in their annual performance report.

New notices will only be issued if there is a change to the KPIs or other reporting requirements.

Use the definitions guide for details of the KPIs.

Definitions guide

The Definitions Guide version 3.3 (PDF,1.7MB) supports Queensland Government Key Performance Indicators (QG KPIs) reporting by providing detailed descriptions and reporting instructions for each indicator.

The version 3 of the QG KPIs definitions guide was initially published in July 2024 when indicators were amended to align with the outcomes of a review of the Bureau of Meteorology's National Performance Reporting (NPR) framework for the 2024–25 financial year and beyond.

The QG KPIs definitions guide is periodically updated to maintain clarity and accuracy with update summaries provided below.

You will continue to report all your information to the Queensland Water Supply Regulator (regulator) where the data submission deadline is 1 October each year.

You can use the Statewide Water Information Management Annual Data Tool (SWIM ADT) available from 1 July each year or the department's performance reporting template for data submission.

The Queensland Water Directorate (Qldwater) will continue to support service providers with training and updates to the SWIM system.

Details of updates in Version 3

  • There is one new KPI that requires information on the number of full-time equivalent employees in operator roles (QG 1.20a).

    There has been a revision in the wording of the definition (QC 1.11), changing ‘produced’ to ‘supplied’ with no underlying data modification.

    For QG 1.13-1.16, there is a modification in the units of measurement, where whole number counts are now required instead of counts divided by a thousand.

    Thirteen indicators mandated by the NPR have been incorporated, where the majority use information that is already available.

  • There is one new KPI that requires information on the months of water supply excluding any contingency (QG 2.12a). No further changes.

  • Five KPIs have been retired and replaced with four NPR aligned indicators that use information already available.

  • Of the existing KPIs, two have been retired. Their replacements are included in the 10 NPR aligned indicators that detail counts of customer complaints and service interruptions as whole numbers.

    A definition modification has been made to QG4.5-4.7, and their plain count equivalents (QG 4.18-4.20), which excludes breaks or interruptions caused by third parties.

  • No alterations to indicators.

  • Updates have been provided to improve clarity about when indicators have text comments that are mandatory or strongly encouraged.

    Guidance has been updated for the required content of the text comments.

    Minor updates have been made to align indicators more closely with the National Performance Reporting (NPR) and Statewide Information Management (SWIM) handbook descriptions and code numbering.

    For water security and water balance indicators:

    • Where text comments are required, those instructions were to be formatted as bold and minor wording change to include "Text comments are mandatory..." where appropriate (QG1.21, QG1.22, QG1.23, QG1.24, QG1.29, QG1.30, QG1.32, QG2.12a, QG2.3).
    • Formatting was modified to ensure full text was easy to read for (QG2.10, QG2.14)
    • Wording was modified to match updated NPR indicator guideline (QG1.37).

    For customer service interruptions, the wording was modified to match finalised SWIM indicator descriptions (QG4.7, QG4.20).

    • For the tariff description indicators SWIM codes were aligned to match finalised SWIM indicator descriptions (QG4.15, QG4.16, QG4.17).

Submitting performance reports

Service providers have until 1 October each year to submit their performance reports for the previous financial year.

Reports can be submitted:

The completed performance report must be published on the service provider's website as soon as possible after it is accepted by the regulator.

KPI data for all service providers is compiled in a spreadsheet which contains data from the 2014-15 financial year to the latest financial year available:

  • anomalous data has been removed from the dataset, as indicated by RD
  • missing data, as reported by the service provider, is shown as MD
  • data that is not relevant, as reported by the service provider is shown as NR
  • indicators with a CPI suffix show that the data has been adjusted for inflation.

View the Water and sewerage service provider key performance indicator data.

Public access to water and sewerage service provider performance data

Performance data reported to the department is made publicly available for Queenslanders to view, explore and compare via: