Greater Western Water billing issues

Greater Western Water’s billing system change led to data, billing and customer service issues, including:

• bills not sent over the usual three-month billing cycle
• bills not sent to the correct address
• missing information on its bills
• missing concession entitlements
• failure to inform, credit or repay customers who were overcharged
• failure to process payment by direct debit, and
• continuing to sign customers up to direct debit agreements after it had stopped processing direct debits.

Greater Western Water customers have told us they are experiencing additional problems such as receiving large catch-up bills, payment difficulty, financial distress, ongoing inconvenience and frustration with account issues, privacy breaches and problems getting assistance.

You might be experiencing other issues and challenges caused by Greater Western Water’s billing system. We are here to help you resolve your issue with Greater Western Water. Greater Western Water customers can bring their complaint to EWOV if it isn’t resolved by Greater Western Water.

On 31 October 2025, the Essential Services Commission accepted an enforceable undertaking and approved a billing exception

The Essential Services Commission regulates the water industry. To deal with the billing issues, the Essential Services Commission accepted an undertaking from Greater Western Water requiring Greater Western Water to fix billing issues and apply credits to affected accounts. This is called an enforceable undertaking.

The Essential Services Commission also approved a billing exception. The billing exception changes how Greater Western Water bills its customers until 30 June 2026.

The billing exception only applies to bills issued after the 31 October 2025.

The enforceable undertaking and billing exception are for residential and non-residential customers who receive water, recycled water, sewerage, and trade waste services from Greater Western Water.

Details of the exception and enforceable undertaking can be found on the Essential Services Commission’s website.

The regulator has approved a change to Greater Western Water’s customer charters

Greater Western Water’s customer charters set out its commitments and obligations to its customers.

On 17 December 2025, the Essential Services Commission approved a change to Greater Western Water’s 2024–2028 customer charters. Details can be found on the Essential Services Commission’s website and on Greater Western Water’s website.

Before the changes, the customer charters required Greater Western Water to bill quarterly, and only recover four months of charges when bills were delayed. This applied for all customers.

The customer charters have been updated to reflect the Essential Services Commission’s approved billing exception and Greater Western Water’s enforceable undertaking. This means some customers’ rights have changed.

Your rights remain the same unless the exception applies to your bill

Greater Western Water customers must be billed every three months, unless your bill falls within the billing exception that was approved by the Essential Services Commission on 31 October 2025.

If your bill was sent before 31 October 2025, the exception does not apply to your bill. For these bills, your usual rights under the Water Industry Standard and Greater Western Water’s customer charters apply.

If your bill was delayed and it was sent before 31 October 2025, Greater Western Water can only bill you for the four months before you were told about the delayed charges. This applies to the network and usage charges.

You can read more about this below in ‘Your rights if your bill does not fall under the approved billing exception’ in the section EWOV investigates your complaint on a case-by-case basis.

If the exception applies, your billing cycle may be different

If your bill was sent after 31 October 2025, the exception might apply.

If the exception applies, Greater Western Water may be allowed to bill you for longer periods even when your bill was delayed, but:

• there are conditions to the exception that Greater Western Water must meet
• there are limitations on how far back Greater Western Water can bill you, and
• Greater Western Water may need to give you a credit because of any delay.

The amount of the credit ranges from $80–$240 and depends on how long the delay was in issuing your bill.

More detail about how the exception, the conditions and enforceable undertaking work in practice is below.

Greater Western Water customers can lodge a complaint with EWOV

Greater Western Water customers impacted by the billing issues have a right to lodge a complaint with EWOV. The billing exception and enforceable undertaking do not affect this right.

We can consider the individual circumstances of an impacted customer and assess whether Greater Western Water has met its obligations.

We can also investigate if Greater Western Water should take further action to put things right where a customer has experienced loss or harm caused by the billing system issues. This includes appropriate remedies and assistance for payment difficulty and ongoing customer service issues.

Greater Western Water’s responsibilities and your rights are not limited to bills. If you are experiencing payment difficulty or other challenges caused by the billing system issues, we can check if Greater Western Water provided you with reasonable help and responded appropriately to your concerns.

You can lodge a complaint with us online via our webform or by calling 1800 500 509.

There are some complaints EWOV cannot handle

EWOV cannot consider a complaint about the Essential Services Commission’s decision to approve the billing exception, or its decision to accept the enforceable undertaking, or to approve of the changes to Greater Western Water’s customer charters.

We’re a free, independent and fair dispute resolution service for Victorian consumers. That means you won’t have to pay to contact us or have us look into your complaint.

We look at the facts and circumstances of every complaint to reach a fair and reasonable outcome to the complaint. We take into account all relevant information and the rights you have under relevant laws and codes.

We can issue an assessment, recommendation or decision that sets out our view on what should happen to resolve your dispute. This can include:

• adjusting a bill
• waiving all or part of a debt
• compensation
• appropriate tailored payment assistance
• requiring Greater Western Water to take other steps to fix an error or issue.

Under the enforceable undertaking, you may be eligible for credits. If you receive credits, we will take these into account when deciding if you are entitled to any additional compensation or bill adjustment.

You do not have to accept our assessment. You keep all your rights and can take your complaint somewhere else (such as the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal or court, where available). This includes where you have started a complaint with EWOV but do not accept our view of what is a fair and reasonable outcome.

For more information about our complaint process, visit the Start a complaint page.

We investigate complaints on a case-by-case basis. We may look at:

• your rights under the Water Industry Standard, Greater Western Water’s customer charters and any other agreements you have with Greater Western Water
• if your bill falls under the approved billing exception
• your rights under the enforceable undertaking
• if you are a direct debit customer
• your rights under the direct debit service agreement
• whether any concessions have been applied
• if you need additional payment assistance or customer support
• whether Greater Western Water needs to do more to address your specific harm
• the fair and reasonable outcome to your complaint.

We will check if your bills fall under the billing exception

Not all bills will fall under the billing exception the Essential Services Commission approved for Greater Western Water. If your bill was issued under the exception, then your rights will be different to other customers who are on the standard quarterly billing cycle.

Bills will fall under the billing exception if they are issued after 31 October 2025 and if certain conditions are met by Greater Western Water.

Under the exception, there are different rules for different billing periods.

2025 and 2026 charges billed after 31 October 2025

January to March 2025 network and usage charges:

• can be billed if they are in bills issued by 31 March 2026
• the bill must allow you to pay for the delayed charges in instalments over four months or through a flexible payment plan based on your capacity to pay.

April to June 2025 network and usage charges that have been delayed cannot be billed after 31 October 2025.

July 2025 to June 2026 network and usage charges that have been delayed can only be billed if:

• Greater Western Water has told customers about any delay in issuing the bill, within four months of the end of the quarter being billed
• the bill is issued no later than 12 months from the end of the quarterly usage period
• the bill allows you to pay for the delayed charges in instalments over four months or through a flexible payment plan based on your capacity to pay.

If your complaint is about bills for these usage periods, we will check if the relevant conditions have been met.

Greater Western Water must provide credits to customers who are impacted by the exception

If your bill falls within the Essential Services Commission’s approved exception, and if you experienced a delay between four and 12 months, then you will be entitled to a credit of between $80 and $240. Greater Western Water will apply this credit automatically to your bill.

If you have moved and are no longer a customer of Greater Western Water, Greater Western Water must provide a way for you to access the credits you are entitled to. The process to access credits for closed accounts must be published on Greater Western Water’s website.

There are separate rules for 2024 charges

2024 network and usage charges for residential and small business customers

The exception does not apply to any bills that were issued before 31 October 2025.

Under the enforceable undertaking, all residential and small business charges for 2024 must have been billed by 1 September 2025. Greater Western Water must waive any 2024 charges that were not billed before 1 September 2025.

Residential and small business bills issued with 2024 charges that do not fall within the exception are subject to the usual billing protections. This means Greater Western Water can only bill you for four months of the delayed charges from the date you were notified of the delayed charges.

2024 charges for large business customers

The Essential Services Commission’s approved billing exception has different rules for large business customers. For any 2024 charges that have not yet been billed to large business customers, Greater Western Water has until 28 February 2026 to issue these bills.

More details of the exception and enforceable undertaking can be found on the Essential Services Commission’s website.

EWOV’s role if your bill falls within the exception

If your complaint is about a bill that falls within the exception and enforceable undertaking, we will make sure Greater Western Water has met its obligations and billed you correctly, including with credits or waivers as required in the enforceable undertaking.

If you have suffered additional harm or you have been seriously impacted by delayed bills or billing issues, we will consider if it is fair and reasonable for Greater Western Water to assist to you beyond that already provided in the enforceable undertaking.

See our approach to seriously impacted customers below.

Your rights if your bill does not fall under the approved billing exception

Your bill may not be eligible for the billing exception if it was issued before 31 October 2025, or if the exception conditions were not met by Greater Western Water.

For bills that do not fall under the billing exception, all your usual rights in the Water Industry Standard and Greater Western Water’s customer charters apply. This includes undercharging and overcharging protections.

What is the undercharging protection?

• The undercharging protection may limit Greater Western Water’s ability to bill you for delayed charges.
• The undercharging protection prevents Greater Western Water from charging you for more than four months before you were notified of the delay or undercharging.
• Undercharging includes when your bill is issued late or not at all.
• It does not apply if you caused the delay or undercharge.

Do the undercharging protections apply to all charges on my bill?

• Limitations on Greater Western Water’s ability to recover charges only apply to usage and network charges.
• There is no limitation when it comes to recovering other charges, such as the Parks Charge (collected on behalf of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action) and the Waterways and Drainage Charge (collected on behalf of Melbourne Water).
• Even if your bill is delayed, Greater Western Water is still allowed to charge you for these.

What is the overcharging protection?

• The overcharging protection means Greater Western Water must inform and refund you if it has charged you for more than it is allowed.
• Overcharging can happen if Greater Western Water charges you for more than four months of delayed charges when it was not allowed to.
• Overcharging may also occur for other reasons such as your concession entitlements not being applied correctly.

If your bill does not fall within the exception, we will consider if Greater Western Water billed you correctly or if it is fair and reasonable for Greater Western Water to reduce the amount it is trying to recover, to refund you, or to waive some or all of your bills.

We understand there may be circumstances where Greater Western Water’s delayed bills have seriously impacted you, even if you have received a credit through the enforceable undertaking.

EWOV’s approach recognises that if you are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, vulnerabilities, financial strain, reduced resilience or increased psychological load, you may be more likely to suffer greater and more complex harm from a delayed or catch-up bill than others.

A catch-up bill with delayed charges may impact your ability to pay for other essentials, such as food and medicine. It may also increase the risk of unmanageable debt, default listing, disconnection or restriction of water or other essential services, compounded harm and long-term disadvantage. The credit in the enforceable undertaking and the option to pay the debt by instalments over a longer period may not address all the harms caused by the billing system issues.

If you have been seriously impacted by Greater Western Water’s bills which recover amounts from prior usage periods, or for direct debits incorrectly processed, EWOV will consider if it is fair and reasonable for Greater Western Water to waive, refund or provide assistance greater than what it is required to do in the enforceable undertaking.

We can consider serious harm or distress that you may have experienced for all complaint types, not just Greater Western Water complaints. This is on a case-by-case basis, depending on your individual circumstances and the harm you have suffered.

If you are a direct debit customer and your direct debit agreement has been turned off or is not working correctly, we will consider how this impacted you. We will consider a fair and reasonable outcome based on your circumstances.

The terms and conditions of direct debit customers are set out in Greater Western Water’s direct debit service agreement on its website. This agreement and the Water Industry Standard require Greater Western Water to accept direct debit payments.

The direct debit service agreement also includes rules about how changes can be made to the payment dates and the notice Greater Western Water must provide you about any changes.

Greater Western Water stopped processing direct debit payments without telling customers. Some bills continued to show a due date for direct debits and the bills did not make it clear that debits had stopped. New customers were signed up to direct debit agreements when Greater Western Water was not taking payments this way.

If you relied on your direct debit agreement, you may be surprised to learn your bills have not been paid and you have an outstanding debt to pay.

We will assess your complaint to determine if Greater Western Water met its obligations under the Water Industry Standard, the direct debit service agreement and the enforceable undertaking.

The enforceable undertaking requires Greater Western Water to provide some direct debit customers with $80 credit in recognition of the direct debit errors. This is the amount the Essential Services Commission considers is fair for the failure of Greater Western Water to accept payment by direct debits as required under the Water Industry Standard.

We will look at whether you have already received the $80 credit. If you have been seriously impacted by Greater Western Water not processing your direct debit we will consider your individual circumstances. We may consider if it is fair and reasonable for Greater Western Water to take any other action to remedy additional harm you may have suffered.

The Essential Services Commission’s billing exception and enforceable undertaking do not cover all the issues that have been caused by Greater Western Water’s billing system errors. It does not address ongoing customer service issues or other payment difficulty support that may be required when you receive your bills.

Greater Western Water must assist customers who are experiencing payment difficulties or who require additional assistance. These obligations are set out in the Water Industry Standard and Greater Western Water’s customer charters and customer support policy.

Greater Western Water bills that include delayed charges from earlier periods must also allow you to pay by instalments over four months or through a flexible payment plan. Flexible payment plans must be based on your capacity to pay.

If you are experiencing payment difficulty or require additional assistance, you should let Greater Western Water know about this. If you don’t receive the assistance you need, you can lodge a complaint with us and we can consider if Greater Western Water should provide additional support or take any other action.

The billing exception and enforceable undertaking changes Greater Western Water’s billing cycle, but other protections under the Water Industry Standard still apply. These include requirements about:

• content of bills
• explanation of charges
• issue of bills to the physical or electronic address specified by the customer
• overcharging
• payment methods
• flexible payment plans
• payment assistance.

You also have rights under several laws, codes and service standards, including the general consumer rights under Australian Consumer Law and rights from separate agreements, such as the direct debit service agreement.

Greater Western Water hasn’t correctly applied concessions for all customers.

Check your bill to see if your concession has been applied. If it hasn’t, you may have been overcharged and could be entitled to a refund.

We understand that a higher-than-expected bill may also have caused other issues for you.

If you’re affected, contact Greater Western Water. If they can’t resolve your complaint, get in touch with us.

It’s not easy trying to understand the obligations that Greater Western Water has to you and whether they have been correctly applied.

Review your bills and check:

• the water usage period
• the address of the property
• whether any concessions are correctly applied
• if any payments you have made have been correctly recorded.

If you are not sure whether you have been charged the correct amount, contact Greater Western Water.

If you are not happy with the response you receive from Greater Western Water, or you cannot get through, you can start a complaint with us.

If you’re struggling to pay your bill, let Greater Western Water know. It must offer payment assistance including:

• the option to extend the due date for an amount owed
• redirection of the bill to another person with their consent
• more frequent billing or payment options
• information on how to reduce water usage and improve water efficiency, and referral to government water efficiency programs
• referral to government-funded assistance programs and/or an independent financial counsellor at no cost to you
• help with applying for the Utility Relief Grant
• no additional debt recovery costs or interest on overdue amounts while payments are made under a flexible payment plan.

For delayed bills, Greater Western Water is required to offer you instalments over at least four months or a flexible payment plan based on your capacity to pay, which may be longer than four months. This is a requirement in Greater Western Water’s customer charters and in the enforceable undertaking between the Essential Services Commission and Greater Western Water.

If you are unhappy with Greater Western Water’s response, contact us. We will consider if Greater Western Water has met its obligations to provide assistance under the Water Industry Standard and Greater Western Water’s customer charters. We also look at any other relevant laws and protections in light of the circumstances surrounding your complaint.

If you’ve contacted Greater Western Water or attempted to contact them, and can’t resolve the issue, you can lodge a complaint with us.

Start a complaint with us about Greater Western Water

For information about how to contact Greater Western Water, visit the website.

For more information about our complaint process, visit our Start a complaint page.

We know delayed bills and direct debit issues are not the only problems related to Greater Western Water’s billing system and customers are being impacted in different ways. We have set out information about our approach to common complaint issues.

• My water bill seems too high
• My concession has not been applied
• My direct debit was not processed
• I can’t understand when my bill is due
• My bill was delayed, can I delay paying it?
• I’ve received multiple bills in a short space of time
• I need payment assistance
• I’m receiving reminder and final notices
• I’ve paid but my bill says I still owe Greater Western Water
• I would have changed my usage if I’d known I would be getting a high bill
• The names or addresses on my bill are not correct
• My privacy has been breached
• The delayed bills mean I was not aware of a leak
• I think I have a water leak, but I can’t check because I have not been billed for a long time
• I live in an apartment and I think I’ve been billed incorrectly.
• I left the property but am still getting billed for water usage
• I’m getting billed for my tenant’s water use
• I haven’t received my Water Information Statement for my property settlement
• I can’t get through to Greater Western Water by phone or the customer portal.

My water bill seems too high

We will review your concerns and assess whether the bill was issued correctly and if the cause can be identified.

If the high bill was due to an error by Greater Western Water, we’ll consider what action Greater Western Water should take to fix the error and reissue the bill.

If the high bill resulted from delayed billing, our review will consider whether:

• undercharged amounts should be waived or recovered under the Water Industry Standard, Greater Western Water’s customer charters, or the enforceable undertaking
• the direct debit agreement was followed
• concessions were correctly applied
• your bill is based on actual or estimated meter readings.

Some causes may be unrelated to billing errors, such as:

• changes in water use habits
• more people in your household
• new water-related appliances
• water leaks
• water meter issues.

If we find that Greater Western Water has incorrectly charged you, has made another error or should assist with investigating a leak or meter issue, we will ask Greater Western Water to take action.

My concession has not been applied

If your concession has not been added to your bill correctly, you may have been overcharged. There are rules Greater Western Water must follow when it overcharges customers.

If Greater Western Water overcharges you, it must inform you within 10 business days of becoming aware of its error and refund or credit the overcharged amount. This rule is in the Water Industry Standard and Greater Western Water’s customer charters.

In 2024, Greater Western Water committed to providing a $50 rebate for customers who hold an eligible concession card and who had been billed incorrectly. When considering individual complaints, we will make sure this was applied to eligible customers.

If you experienced other loss due to concession errors, we will consider this on a case-by-case basis and decide if it is fair and reasonable for Greater Western Water to take any other action.

My direct debit was not processed

It’s a requirement under the Water Industry Standard that Greater Western Water must accept payment from customers by direct debit in accordance with any direct debit arrangement.

Greater Western Water turned off its direct debit function, but it did not inform all relevant customers of this. Some customers may receive bills with large amounts to pay on the next direct debit date. Other customers may be shocked to realise they have a large outstanding amount to pay.

Greater Western Water’s direct debit service agreement says:

• Greater Western Water will send your account to you on a quarterly basis
• the direct debit payment will be processed on the due date shown on your account or for the agreed dates if you have entered into a payment arrangement
• Greater Western Water will not alter the frequency of direct debit payments without consulting you and seeking prior approval.

If your direct debits have not been working, we will assess your complaint to determine if Greater Western Water has met its obligations under the Water Industry Standard and the direct debit service agreement.

If Greater Western Water has not complied with the Water Industry Standard or the direct debit service agreement, we will assess what action Greater Western Water should take to fix this. We will also consider the impact of the direct debit issues on you and decide if it is fair and reasonable for Greater Western Water to take any action to remedy additional loss or inconvenience you may have suffered.

When completing this assessment, we will consider if you have already received the $80 credit for the direct debit issues in line with the enforceable undertaking, and if this is sufficient to remedy the error or loss.

I can’t understand when my bill is due

We will ask Greater Western Water to provide a clear explanation about the amounts it has charged you. We will check if Greater Western Water is recovering the right charges from previous quarters and if these charges are clearly itemised in your bill. This is a requirement under Greater Western Water’s customer charters and billing exception.

My bill was delayed – can I delay paying it?

For delayed bills, Greater Western Water must allow you to pay in instalments over four months or through a flexible payment plan based on your capacity to pay. If you are experiencing payment difficulties, you can let Greater Western Water know, and it must provide additional assistance.

If you are not sure whether you have been charged the correct amount, contact Greater Western Water.

If you are not happy with the response you receive from Greater Western Water, or you cannot get through, you can start a complaint with us.

I’ve received multiple bills in a short space of time

Greater Western Water intends to send multiple bills to consumers in a short space of time to catch up on previous bills that were not sent.

Greater Western Water must provide you with the option of paying in instalments over four months.

We also expect Greater Western Water to ensure its customers are advised of the payment difficulty assistance available and to help them access flexible payment plans.

I need payment assistance

We will review if Greater Western Water is working with its customers to set up a reasonable payment plan and to explore appropriate payment difficulty options. 

Greater Western Water has responsibilities under the Water Industry Standard and its customer charters to provide payment difficulty assistance.

Greater Western Water must adopt an approach that is suitable to your circumstances on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with your capacity to pay, including:

• flexible payment plans
• no additional debt recovery costs, including no interest on overdue amounts while payments are made according to a flexible payment plan
• the option to extend the due date for some or all of an amount owed
• redirection of a bill to another person for payment if the person agrees in writing
• more frequent billing or payment options
• information on how to reduce water usage, improve water efficiency and referral to relevant government water efficiency programs
• where appropriate and available, referral of customers to:
• - government funded assistance programs (including the Utility Relief Grant Scheme); and/or
• - an independent financial counsellor at no cost to you
• helping you apply for the Utility Relief Grant, if you are eligible.

If you’ve told Greater Western Water that you need assistance and are unhappy with Greater Western Water’s response, contact us. We will consider if Greater Western Water has met its obligations to provide assistance under the Water Industry Standard and Greater Western Water’s customer charters. We also look at any other relevant laws and protections in light of the circumstances surrounding your complaint

I’m receiving reminder and final notices

There are rules about when Greater Western Water can send a customer a reminder notice and a final notice about an unpaid bill, and rules about the content of these notices. These rules are set out in the Water Industry Standard and customer charters.

Greater Western Water must use reasonable endeavours to contact you and to offer payment assistance before it restricts your water supply or takes legal action to collect a debt.

If you think Greater Western Water has made a mistake with debt collection, we can investigate to check if Greater Western Water followed the rules. We will ask Greater Western Water to stop debt collection activity while we investigate.

When we investigate, we will consider if Greater Western Water is allowed to recover the charges, if it has offered payment assistance and if its notices about overdue amounts follow the rules.

If Greater Western Water decides to take action to collect your debt, we will also consider the principles set out in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Guidelines on debt collection for collector and creditors, where relevant to your complaint.

I’ve paid but my bill says I still owe Greater Western Water

If you have made payments on your account, but this is not reflected in your bills, we will ask you to provide information to show when you paid. We will also ask Greater Western Water to provide information to show your account is up to date with bill payments.

If you have overpaid, Greater Western Water must refund you the overpaid amount in accordance with the Water Industry Standard and its customer charters.

I would have changed my usage if I’d known I would be getting a high bill

We will consider your circumstances on a case-by-case basis. You will need to show that receiving your bill earlier would have reasonably prevented further avoidable loss or harm.

The names or addresses on my bill are not correct

If your bill details are incorrect, we can investigate to check if Greater Western Water has issued your bills correctly. If Greater Western Water did not issue your bill correctly, we can assess what action Greater Western Water is required to take to fix this issue. We can also consider if the error caused you any loss that Greater Western Water should compensate you for. This includes if you are a victim-survivor of family violence and Greater Western Water’s billing system issues caused it to fail to securely handle your information as required under the Water Industry Standard.

My privacy has been breached

If you believe your information has been incorrectly shared with others, we can investigate whether Greater Western Water complied with its obligations under the Water Industry Standard, its customer charters and its Privacy Policy.

If you think Greater Western Water has breached your privacy, you can also raise a complaint with the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC). Greater Western Water customers have privacy rights contained in the Information Privacy Principles. OVIC regulates how your personal information is collected and used by Greater Western Water. OVIC handles complaints about a breach of the Information Privacy Principles against Greater Western Water.

You can lodge a privacy complaint with OVIC on its website: Privacy Complaints – Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner. We may also refer your complaint to OVIC if we think OVIC is better placed to handle the privacy issues raised.

The delayed bills mean I was not aware of a leak

We will investigate and assess this on a case-by-case basis to understand what would have happened if the bill had been received when it was due.

I think I have a water leak, but I can’t check because I have not been billed for a long time

If you believe there’s a leak, we expect you to take reasonable action to minimise your loss. You can conduct a leak test to assess whether there is a water leak. You may also need to hire a licensed plumber to investigate the suspected leak and repair (if required).

I live in an apartment and I think I’ve been billed incorrectly

We are aware that some Greater Western Water customers who live in apartment buildings may have received inaccurate bills. We will investigate and assess any inaccurate bills on a case-by-case basis.

I left the property but am still getting billed for water usage

We’re aware that some customers have received bills for properties they no longer own or occupy. If you’ve moved out, we may ask when you notified Greater Western Water and request proof of the sale or vacating date.

If it’s clear you informed (or tried to inform) Greater Western Water, we’ll request that billing stops from your departure date. If you’ve been overcharged, we’ll also ask Greater Western Water to refund you.

I’m getting billed for my tenant’s water use

There are rules under the Water Act 1989 (Vic) about when the person living in the property is responsible for water usage charges. We will apply these rules where it is relevant to your complaint.

If Greater Western Water is billing you for your tenants’ water usage, we will decide if this is fair and reasonable or if Greater Western Water should take some other action.

I haven’t received my Water Information Statement for my property settlement

We’ll refer your complaint to Greater Western Water, but you may also need to speak with your conveyancer or solicitor to confirm if settlement can proceed as planned.

If you’ve experienced a loss due to a delayed Water Information Statement, we’ll consider Greater Western Water’s response to your complaint and what outcome is fair and reasonable. We may also review whether a special meter read was offered to make sure settlement reflects actual water usage.

Complaints about losses caused by the billing system issue will be considered on a case-by-case basis. You’ll need to provide information showing the loss was directly caused by Greater Western Water.

I can’t get through to Greater Western Water by phone or the customer portal

If you’ve tried to contact Greater Western Water but couldn’t get through or your call was disconnected, you can start a complaint with us.

We’re aware some customers are also experiencing problems accessing accounts or tracking payments via the customer portal.

While we can’t make Greater Western Water fix portal or account issues, if these problems have caused you financial loss, we’ll consider what action Greater Western Water should take to address it.