We have reviewed our urban and rural water customer service codes to ensure they continue to meet the needs of Victorian water consumers.
Water codes review
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Launch of review21 December 2021
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Stakeholder engagementFebruary - March 2022
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Draft decisionJune 2022
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Submissions close26 July 2022
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Final decisionSeptember 2022
Overview
Our review of the water customer service codes identified updates that would strengthen consumer protections, especially for people facing financial difficulties. The review was informed by the effects on customers of significant events such as the coronavirus pandemic as well as the increased support being offered by water businesses, which often goes beyond the minimum requirements set out in our customer service codes.
At the same time, changes in our legislation meant the old customer service codes would now be identified as new water industry standards.
The new standards apply from 1 March 2023.
Key updates include:
New requirements relating to customer communication, to help ensure water businesses communicate appropriately and sensitively with their customers
Strengthening of the minimum standards regarding support for customers experiencing payment difficulty, including mandating certain support for small businesses
Codifying the principle that any restrictions on water supply and legal action by a water business in response to customer non-payment is a last resort.
Read our final decision paper
This paper sets out our final decision to update the water customer service codes to new water industry standards.
New Water Industry Standards
The Water Industry Standards set out the minimum standards that water businesses must meet for key aspects of customer service including billing, payment difficulty support, and limits on debt collection.
The new standards apply from 1 March 2023.
How we engaged and what we heard
We consulted extensively when developing the new industry standards – meeting with industry stakeholders, the community sector and the small business sector. We also established a panel of 27 Victorian consumers to ensure our work is informed by the voice of customers.
You can read the full report on the engagement process with Victorian consumers to inform the Water Customer Service Codes review and read our public engagement summary report.
Resources
Final Decision
Stakeholder engagement
Stakeholder engagement to develop the draft Water Industry Standards took place between February 2022 and April 2022 and built on the engagement undertaken in 2019. Engagement activities included stakeholder forums, a community panel and targeted discussions.
This public engagement summary outlines what we asked, what stakeholders said, and what we have done in response to stakeholder feedback on the draft Water Industry Standards.
Report on the engagement with the community panel
We ran a community panel for 27 Victorian consumers, from a range of demographics to seek their views on issues related the customer service codes.
The topics the community panel discussed included:
- supporting customer experiencing financial stress
- communication assistance
- reminder and warning notices
- actions before restricting water supply or legal action
- E-bills
- which types of small businesses should be covered by the codes.
Draft decision
Our consultation includes a draft decision on proposed changes to the water customer service codes.
Annex C and Annex D were developed to assist stakeholders to understand, and provide feedback on the proposed changes in customer service.
Draft water industry standards
These draft water industry standards specify the proposed changes to the water customer service codes.
Draft decision submissions
We received 12 submissions of which 11 were from water businesses and one from the Consumer Action Law Centre.
The mains themes covered in the submissions we received were:
- the definition of small business
- the undercharging limitation period
- the periods of reminder and final notice periods
- the proposed reasonable endeavours requirements before restriction
- the commencement date of the service standards
- the requirement for e-bills
- restriction as a measure of last resort.
Stakeholder submission also provided their views on individual clauses in the service standards.