The Department of Water is developing a code of conduct for water service providers – the Water Services Customer Code. This code will govern the relationship between water service providers and their customers in Western Australia. It determines minimum standards and conditions of service and supply. Water service providers will have to comply with this code as part of their water service licence conditions.
What are water services?
Water services include water supply (potable/drinking water and non-potable water), sewerage, irrigation and drainage. Water service providers have to be licensed by the Economic Regulation Authority (ERA), unless they have been exempted by the Minister for Water.
Current situation in Western Australia
Currently, the rights and interests of customers of water service providers are protected under the Fair Trading Act 2010 and through provisions in the water services provider's licence conditions under the Water Services Licensing Act 1995. Licence conditions relate to water supply, infrastructure and customer service and complaints handling. Water service providers also need to produce a customer charter that is approved and published by the ERA.
Why change?
Potential new water services legislation is being prepared that will enable the Minister for Water to create a code of conduct that will expand existing customer rights and provide additional customer protection through hardship provisions and service guarantees. A code will align Western Australia's water services industry with other Australian jurisdictions and with other essential services such as electricity and gas.
How is the customer code developed?
We have written the Developing a Water Services Customer Code – Issues Paper that will be the basis for discussions with an external working group. The outcomes from the discussions and any other feedback received will be included in a draft position paper. The paper will go through a formal public consultation process for eight weeks. The feedback received during this process will be included in the final position paper which will be referred to the Minister for Water for approval. The Parliamentary Counsel Office will draft the code based on the final position paper.
Proposed timeline
| Issues paper published |
March 2011 |
| Feedback on issues paper |
until end June 2011 |
| External Working Group meetings |
monthly March to June 2011 |
| Release of the Draft Position Paper for comment |
early September 2011 |
| Close of public consultation |
end October 2011 |
| Final position paper for Minister for Water's approval |
end December 2011 |
| Drafting of code by Parliamentary Counsel Office |
January 2012 |
Who is involved?
| Feedback on the papers: |
all water service customers and water service licensees |
| External Working Group: |
water service providers
government agencies
customer representative groups |
How can you be involved?
By responding to the issues paper and/or the draft position paper. All papers will be available on this website as soon as they are published (see side panel).
Send us an email to customercode@water.wa.gov.au if you would like to be kept updated and informed about the progress of the code and how you can be involved.