Unitywater reviews its water and wastewater prices each year through a structured planning, budgeting and governance process.
We consider the cost of delivering the services customers rely on today, the infrastructure needed to support growing communities, customer affordability and the long-term impacts of our pricing decisions.
This process helps us set prices responsibly and transparently while continuing to provide safe, reliable and sustainable water and wastewater services for current and future customers.
On this page you’ll find information on:
What guides our decisions
1. Reliable services
Unitywater’s prices need to support safe and reliable water and wastewater services, including maintaining and renewing the infrastructure our communities rely on and responding when service issues occur.
2. Customer affordability
We consider the impact of proposed prices on customer bills, along with information about how customers are managing their bills and where additional support may be needed.
3. Costs and efficient investment
We carefully review our budgets, operating costs, inflation and other cost pressures, and investment priorities to make sure we spend what is needed to maintain services, manage risk and meet our obligations.
4. A sustainable future
We balance the needs of customers today with the investment and financial commitments needed to support population and housing growth and provide reliable services for future generations.
How our annual price-setting process works
Unitywater sets prices for the next financial year through an annual planning and budgeting process that typically takes around six months.
1. We consider what customers and communities need
We draw on customer research, service expectations, affordability information, population and demand forecasts, and feedback from our Participant Councils (our shareholders) and other stakeholders. This helps us understand what matters to our customers and communities and the challenges they may be facing.
2. We plan the services and infrastructure required
We assess what is needed to deliver reliable services, maintain and renew our existing infrastructure, meet regulatory requirements and provide new infrastructure to support population and housing growth. This includes considering both current needs and the infrastructure our customers will require in the future.
3. We prepare and review our budget
Operating and capital budgets are developed and carefully reviewed as part of our annual planning process. We test cost forecasts and assumptions, including inflation and other cost pressures, review proposed investment and look for opportunities to work more efficiently, while making sure we can continue to meet our service and regulatory obligations.
4. We assess customer and long-term impacts
To help us balance customer affordability with reliable services, responsible investment and the long-term sustainability of our business, we consider bill impacts, comparisons with other water utilities, financial sustainability, borrowing requirements and the timing of major investment.
5. We complete governance and Board review
Our Executive Leadership Team and Board review our budgets, investment and financial plans through our established governance processes. The Board approves the forecast revenue used to develop prices for the coming year.
6. We finalise and publish prices
Unitywater usually finalises prices and revenue requirements for the coming financial year in May. Prices that apply from 1 July are published in June, together with information explaining the new prices and support available to customers.
What we consider when setting prices
Unitywater considers a range of factors to balance the cost of delivering services with affordability, growth, compliance and our long-term investment needs.
Checks and transparency
Unitywater is a statutory authority established under the South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) Act 2009 (Qld) and sets its own water and wastewater distribution and retail prices. Our pricing decisions are supported by established governance processes and transparent regulatory benchmarking.
From time to time, our pricing approach may also be subject to independent regulatory review. The Queensland Government has currently directed the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) to undertake a price monitoring investigation covering 2026–30.
Independent Board oversight
Unitywater is governed by an independent, skills-based Board. The Board is accountable for our strategic direction, service and financial performance, risk management and the long-term sustainability of our business.
The Board and its committees also provide oversight of areas including investment, risk, compliance and financial performance.
Regulatory benchmark
Unitywater compares our forecast revenue against a regulatory benchmark known as Maximum Allowable Revenue (MAR), which we calculate using the Queensland Competition Authority’s (QCA) established framework.
MAR provides a way to assess whether our forecast revenue is reasonable based on the efficient cost of delivering water and wastewater services.
For the 2027–28 to 2029–30 price monitoring period, our forecast revenue remains below MAR in every year, averaging less than 95% of the benchmark.
It is an important check, but it does not directly determine the prices customers pay. Unitywater remains responsible for setting its own prices through our annual planning, budgeting and governance processes.
QCA price monitoring
The Queensland Government has directed the QCA to independently review Unitywater’s forecast prices, revenue, expenditure and service outcomes as part of a price monitoring investigation covering 2026–30. This is the first QCA price monitoring review of Unitywater since the previous review covering 2013–14 and 2014–15. In that previous review, the QCA found no evidence of Unitywater exercising monopoly power, with our forecast revenue below the QCA-calculated MAR in both years.
The investigation provides independent scrutiny and transparency, but it does not determine our annual prices. We will also report our actual prices, revenue and customer bill impacts during the price monitoring period so they can be compared with our forecasts.
Read our Part 1 price monitoring submission
What your bill pays for
Your water and wastewater bill helps cover the cost of providing the services and infrastructure Unitywater customers rely on every day. This includes:
- buying bulk water from Seqwater and delivering drinking water to homes and businesses
- collecting and safely treating wastewater
- maintaining and renewing pipes, wastewater treatment plants, reservoirs and pump stations
- planning and building infrastructure to support growing communities
- customer service, monitoring and 24/7 faults and emergency response, and
- investment in improving the customer experience.
FAQs about pricing
The costs and investment needed to provide water and wastewater services can change from year to year. This can include changes in:
- bulk water costs
- population growth and demand
- infrastructure investment and renewals
- regulatory and environmental requirements
- interest rates and borrowing costs
- labour, energy, chemicals and construction costs.
Reviewing prices annually means we can use the latest available information when setting prices for the year ahead.
Maximum Allowable Revenue, or MAR, is a regulatory benchmark calculated using the QCA’s established framework. It brings together the efficient costs of providing water and wastewater services, including operating costs, infrastructure investment and financing costs, depreciation, working capital, tax and other adjustments.
For a business subject to full economic regulation, a regulator-approved revenue requirement of this kind would typically be used as the basis for setting or approving prices. Unitywater is subject to a price monitoring investigation rather than price determination, so we use MAR as a benchmark to assess whether our forecast revenue and prices are reasonable – it does not determine the prices we charge customers.
Our forecast revenue is below MAR in each year covered by the Part 2 submission, averaging less than 95% of the benchmark.
Bulk water pricing, tariff structures and associated supply arrangements are established through Queensland Government and Seqwater pricing processes. Unitywater does not set the bulk water price.
We purchase treated bulk water and pass this cost directly through to our customers. We do not add a markup or profit margin to the bulk water charge.
Developers contribute towards the infrastructure needed to support growth. However, these contributions do not always cover the full upfront cost of the infrastructure we need to deliver.
Some infrastructure also needs to be provided ahead of growth so water and wastewater services are available when new communities need them.
We consider developer contributions alongside customer prices, borrowing and the timing of investment when planning how growth infrastructure will be funded.
Unitywater may record an operating surplus. After excluding developer contributions, available surplus is put towards our water and wastewater infrastructure investment. This means we can borrow less to fund that investment, reducing long-term interest costs and helping manage costs for existing and future customers.
We also provide commercial returns to our Participant Councils in accordance with our Participation Agreement.
Unitywater’s Participant Councils (our shareholders) are the City of Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast Council and Noosa Shire Council.
Our Participation Agreement sets out the governance and commercial relationship between Unitywater and these three councils. It requires us to operate sustainably and provide commercial returns to the Participant Councils, alongside objectives including efficient service delivery, and maintaining and improving customer service standards.
The total returns provided to our Participant Councils comprise tax equivalents, interest on loans from the councils and dividends. These returns provide revenue that councils can use to support services and infrastructure in their communities.
We have flexible payment options and support available if you’re finding it difficult to pay your bill. This can include payment extensions and payment plans, depending on your circumstances.
You can also use our Support Finder to answer a few quick questions and find the support option that may best suit your circumstances and budget.
Find out more
For more information about our prices, bills, governance and the QCA price monitoring investigation, explore the links below.
Read our Part 1 QCA price monitoring submission
Read our Part 2 QCA price monitoring submission
QCA price monitoring investigation
