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.