Customer Charter

Our core business is ensuring that, all day, every day, you can turn on a tap or flush your toilet, knowing that you will receive a safe, high quality and reliable water supply and sewerage service.

Quality, safety and reliability

Unitywater is a statutory body, providing water supply and sewerage services to the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay regions and servicing a population base of more than 653,000 residents across 5,138 sq km.

Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week (under normal operating conditions), we deliver a high quality, safe and reliable water supply and sewerage service that is economically and environmentally sustainable.

We value our customers, our community and the environment and commit to:
Providing you with water that complies with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council
Supplying water at the required pressure (210 kPa) and flow rate (23 litres/minute) to meet your household needs
Protecting your health and the environment by operating and maintaining the infrastructure for the effective collection, transport and treatment
of sewage
Connecting your property to our water and sewerage network within 15 working days of receiving your application and payment, where the relevant service is available.

We will do our best to minimise customer inconvenience during planned and unplanned service interruptions, by:

Providing you with at least 48 hours notice of any planned works that may disrupt your water supply
Communicating with customers, organisations or facilities with identified special needs, prior to planned water supply interruptions
In the event of unplanned water supply interruptions, striving to restore normal service levels within five hours, 90% of the time
Aiming to have fewer than 15 unplanned water supply interruptions per 1000 homes per year
Responding to urgent water and sewage incidents in less than one hour, in 90% of cases
Depending on the length and severity of disruption, providing more information about planned or unplanned service interruptions via our website
and/or our Customer Service Call Centre.

Respecting our customers

We value our customers and aim to always respond in a respectful, efficient and timely manner. We commit to being:

Available - We are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, for faults and emergencies
Contactable - Our Customer Service Call Centre and customer service counters can assist with your general enquiries on Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm (except public holidays). You can also submit a question at any time through our website
Identifiable - Our Customer Service team members will provide you with their first name and supply a reference number for customer requests. Our logo uniformed field staff will produce photo ID on request
Responsive - We will answer 80% of calls to our Customer Service Call Centre within 30 seconds and acknowledge written enquiries within 10 days
Respectful - We will treat your information with strict confidence, as per our Privacy Statement and the Information Privacy Act 2009.

Managing your account

We issue accounts quarterly to all customers.

To calculate your account we are required to read your water meter at least once a year, however we endeavour to read your meter every account cycle and inform you of the reading. If your water meter remains inaccessible within the required timeframe and you do not phone through your reading to us we will estimate your consumption for that account period.

Your itemised account includes all the necessary information to help you understand your water supply and sewerage charges.

We offer a range of options for paying accounts online, in person or by mail.

Our payment terms are 30 days and it is important to settle your account on time because interest of 11% per annum, compounding daily, is charged on overdue amounts.

If you are experiencing payment difficulties please contact us as early as possible to discuss suitable payment arrangements. Please see our Financial Hardship Policy (PDF).

Working together

In order for us to maintain your water supply and sewerage services, protect the environment and ensure you are charged correctly, we need your cooperation and assistance.

You can help us by:

Providing clear and safe access to your water meter for our meter readers
Checking your own water meter every two weeks to monitor your water usage patterns and for early detection of problems such as concealed leaks
Maintaining your plumbing, fittings and appliances to prevent wastage and ensure you pay only for the water you use
Making sure your stormwater runoff is not connected to the sewer
Not putting any hazardous or toxic substances down the sink, gutter or drain
Letting us know if you have any special needs that will be unable to be met if your water supply is interrupted
Advising us promptly of any changes to your contact details or ownership of your property
Promptly informing us of any issues or concerns regarding Unitywater’s areas of operation
Always contacting Unitywater in the first instance for any water or sewerage related matter.

Handling complaints

If you have any issues with Unitywater we have a thorough internal process to investigate and resolve the matter. We manage complaints in ccordance with AS ISO 10002-2006 Customer Satisfaction Guidelines for Complaints Handling in Organisations.

Please contact us first so we can work with you personally to address your concerns. If, following our investigations, the complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction we will escalate your complaint to our Complaint Management Team for review.

Following this review, if you remain unsatisfied with the outcome, you can then refer your complaint to the Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland on 1800 662 837 or complaints@ewoq.com.au

For more information please contact us.

DOWNLOAD: Customer Charter (PDF)