Account charges and pricing

I’ve noticed some changes to my account. Is this because of the new billing schedule?

We have taken the opportunity in 2012 to improve the way information is presented on accounts. You can find more detailed information about this on the How to read your account page on this website, or contact us for more information.

What charges are on my account?

There are four types of charges on your account, displayed under the following headings:

State bulk water price:

1. State Government Bulk Water Charge (charged per kilolitre of water used): This is how much the State Government charges Unitywater to purchase water to supply to our customers. This price is set by the State Government and passed on to customers at cost. It pays for capturing, storing, treating and bulk transporting of water to the point of sale, being the Unitywater water supply network.

Read more about the price of bulk water and the Water Grid.

Local Government distributor-retailer price – These are Unitywater charges:

2. Water Usage Charges (charged per kilolitre of water used): These are Unitywater’s charges for storing, transporting and maintaining drinking quality water after we buy it from the State Government; issuing and managing customer accounts; and providing a 24-hour emergency response service. These charges are tiered, so the more water you use, the more you pay. This encourages residents and businesses to use water efficiently.

Your total water usage charge = State Govt Bulk Water + Unitywater Water Usage Charges

3. Water Access Charge (fixed, annual fees charged at a daily rate for the same time period as your water usage): This is the charge for your property having access (connected or unconnected) to the town water network. It pays for building, maintaining and replacing water mains, pipes, pump stations, reservoirs, hydrants and other water supply infrastructure.

4. Sewerage Access Charge (fixed, annual fees charged at a daily rate for the same time period as your water usage): This is the charge for your property having access (connected or unconnected) to the sewerage network. It pays for building, maintaining and replacing sewer pipes, sewage pump stations, sewage treatment plants and other sewerage infrastructure, and for collecting, transporting and treating sewage.

How are these charges calculated and applied to my account?

Water usage charges are charged ‘in arrears’, based on how much water you have used between your most recent water meter readings. These are shown on page 2 of your account as ‘Previous Reading (kL)’ and ‘Current Reading (kL)’.

When your water usage period falls over two financial years:

your average daily water usage up to 30 June is charged at the previous financial year’s prices; and
your average daily water usage from 1 July is charged at the current financial year’s prices.

See an example of how to calculate water usage charges over two financial years.

Water and sewerage access charges are fixed, annual fees charged "in arrears" at a daily rate for the same time period as your water usage.

Is charging based on average daily usage fair if I have used more water in the previous financial year than I have in the new financial year?

Due to the large number of water meters in Unitywater's service area, we are unable to read everyone’s meter on the first day of the new financial year to find out exactly how much water they used in the previous financial year. Therefore, the fairest and most equitable way to charge water usage is to use the average daily usage. The use of average daily amounts is a standard way of applying a price increase. If we did not do it this way, our only option would be to charge all of your water usage at the higher rate for your entire water usage period, which would not be fair to you.

What are the prices for the current 2011-2012 financial year?

Unitywater’s fixed access and water usage prices increased by 3.6% (CPI) for the 2011-2012 financial year, consistent with state legislation.

Please note the 3.6% price cap does not apply to the State Government’s bulk water charge, which increased by 16.5% for Moreton Bay customers and 25% for Sunshine Coast customers in 2011-2012. For more details on the State Government bulk water price, please visit the bulk water pricing page on the Queensland Water Commission website or call 1300 789 906.

We have also published detailed information about our Unitywater 2011-2012 pricing, as well as a Moreton Bay complete 2011-2012pricing schedule (PDF) and Sunshine Coast complete 2011-2012 pricing schedule (PDF) for business and residential customers.

Residential price increases for Moreton Bay:

Charge description	2010-2011 Prices	2011-2012 Prices	Prices have increased by
State Government Bulk Water Charge per kL*	$1.65	$1.922	$0.272 (16.5%)
Unitywater Water Usage Charges
Tier 1 up to 767L/day per kL*	$0.17	$0.176	$0.006 (3.6%)
Tier 2 768-986L/day per kL*	$0.82	$0.849	$0.029 (3.6%)
Tier 3 987L/day plus per kL*	$1.26	$1.305	$0.045 (3.6%)
Water Access Charge (per year) ˆ	$334.00	$346.02	$12.02 (3.6%)
Sewerage Access Charge (per year) ˆ	$719.00	$744.88	$25.88 (3.6%)

Residential price increases for Sunshine Coast:

Charge description	2010-2011 Prices	2011-2012 Prices	Prices have increased by
State Government Bulk Water Charge per kL*	$1.07	$1.340	$0.270 (25%)
Unitywater Water Usage Charges
Tier 1 up to 600 L/day per kL*	$0.52	$0.538	$0.018 (3.6%)
Tier 2 601 L/day plus per kL*	$1.00	$1.036	$0.036 (3.6%)
Water Access Charge (per year) ˆ	$224.00	$232.06	$8.06 (3.6%)
Sewerage Access Charge (per year) ˆ	$551.00	$570.83	$19.83 (3.6%)

*1 kilolitre (kL) = 1000 Litres ˆPrice may vary depending on property and connection type

Why have the 2011-2012 prices increased?

Unitywater’s price increases for the 2011-2012 financial year reflect the State Government’s decision to cap Local Government distributor-retailer (Unitywater) price rises at CPI for the next two years, starting from 1 July 2011. The State Government opted to use the CPI for Brisbane for the March quarter (3.6%) for the 2011-2012 price cap and this was included in the legislation.

Unitywater’s price increases are necessary because we must invest millions in maintaining, renewing and augmenting essential water supply and sewerage infrastructure across the Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast to cater for population growth and meet the State Government’s increasingly stringent environmental conditions.

Increases in Unitywater’s charges are also due to the rising day-to-day costs (such as electricity, chemicals, labour, and environmental controls) associated with supplying safe and reliable drinking water to our customers. This includes the cost of transporting (pumping) and maintaining the quality of the water delivered to homes and businesses, issuing and managing customer accounts and providing a 24-hour emergency response service.

That State Government bulk water price is set by the State Government and is not controlled by Unitywater. You can read more about the price of bulk water and the at the Queensland Water Commission website or call 1300 789 609.

What are the prices for the next 2012-2013 financial year?

Unitywater is pleased to announce a freeze on our water and sewerage fees and charges for the next financial year. This is possible because of our ongoing efforts to keep costs down and find savings in our operations.

The freeze will apply to all Unitywater prices, except trade waste, recycled water and a small number of miscellaneous fees and charges. In addition, it won’t apply to State Government Bulk Water Charges, which are not controlled by Unitywater.

Read more about our 2012-2013 water supply and sewerage pricing.

Why do I have to pay water and sewerage access charges if my property is vacant land or I have no connection or use of these services?

Water and sewerage access charges are set prices per year applied to properties with access (connected or unconnected) to the water supply and sewerage network. They pay for the cost of building, maintaining and replacing the pipes, pumps and other infrastructure that delivers these services, and for collecting, transporting and treating sewage.

As with all critical public infrastructure (transport, telecommunications, health), it is important for all members of the community to contribute to the development and upkeep of this infrastructure, so that everyone can have the benefit of it now and in the future. Unitywater charges access fees in accordance with the The Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 (sections 164 and 165), which states that Unitywater must provide access to the water supply and sewerage network to every property in its service area, and may recover the cost of this from the customer:

164. Access to service in service area
(1) The service provider must, to the greatest practicable extent, ensure that—
(a) all premises in the service area are able to be connected directly and separately to the service provider’s infrastructure for the area

165. Recovering cost of giving access to registered service.
The service provider may recover from a customer the reasonable cost of complying with section 164 for the customer’s premises.

This legislation dictates that Unitywater must provide a water supply and sewerage network to every property in the service area. It does not require that properties are connected, but only that properties are ‘able to be connected’ to the infrastructure. Access charges are therefore applicable to all vacant and improved properties within the Unitywater service area.

Why are prices different between Moreton Bay and the Sunshine Coast?

Unitywater inherited close to 500 different tariffs, fees and charges from the Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast Regional Councils when it commenced operations in July 2010. This complex system was developed prior to council amalgamations, when six councils were responsible for water supply and sewerage services across the two regions.

Sunshine Coast Council used standardised pricing for the three previous council areas (Noosa, Maroochy, Caloundra), and also used full cost pricing; that meant the actual cost of supplying water and sewerage services was reflected in the prices charged for water supply and sewerage services.

Moreton Bay Regional Council, however, had no standardised pricing structures for water supply and sewerage services over the three former council areas of Pine Rivers, Caboolture and Redcliffe. This is why prices differed within the Moreton Bay Regional Council area, depending on what part of the Moreton Bay Regional Council area customers live in.

Unitywater has already aligned prices within each individual region of Moreton Bay and the Sunshine Coast, reflecting the true economic cost of the asset base and operation in each of these areas. In March 2011, Unitywater announced significant pricing reforms that aimed to standardise tariffs, fees and charges across Unitywater’s entire service area and shift the emphasis to user-pays. However, this pricing reform was postponed due to the State Government’s decision to cap Local Government distributor-retailer (Unitywater) price rises at CPI for the next two years, starting from 1 July 2011.

Where does my money go?

The money you pay for your account is used to ensure the 675,000 residents we serve receive safe, reliable water supply and sewage treatment services every day. This includes:

purchasing water from the State Government’s Water Grid and transporting it to homes and businesses;
taking away sewage to be treated in line with strict standards using the latest technology and treatment methods;
monitoring and testing water quality;
operating, maintaining and replacing water supply and sewerage pipelines, sewage treatment plants, sewage pump stations, water reservoirs and water pump stations;
delivering an annual multimillion dollar capital works program, including sewage treatment plant upgrades, construction of new water reservoirs and sewer mains, and the annual replacement of about 10,000 water meters;
reading water meters across more than 5000 square kilometres;
providing a 24-hour emergency response service;
providing a dedicated customer service team, including a call centre and customer service counters in key locations, to answer enquiries, process payments and provide services to all our customers;
distributing and managing more than 270,000 customer accounts; and
paying returns back to our owner-councils so they can continue to invest in other local infrastructure and essential community services.

What is the return paid to the owner councils and how is this calculated?

The two councils are entitled to participate in returns generated from the provision of water supply and sewerage services. Details of this can be found in the Participation Agreement.

Like the retail price for water, returns to the councils are highly regulated. This information is available in Unitywater’s annual report.