Business bill & charges
Service charges: In line with the Gross Rental Value (GRV) revaluation, some metropolitan businesses may see a decrease or a maximum increase of 2.5% on their drainage charges.
Water use charges: In response to COVID-19, the State Government has deferred the regional step increase in water charges. This means the ten towns, which were due to move up one step, will not see a change in the 2020-21 financial year – preventing an 11.6% increase in these areas. We understand these are challenging times and we are here to help.
If COVID-19 has impacted your business, we have a range of assistance options that can be tailored to your needs.
Your business bills are generally made up of 2 types of charges:
- Service charge
- Water use charge
We take a meter reading every 2 months and send you a bill for your water use and service charges. You can find charges that apply to you on the back of your bill.
Billing periods
There are 6 billing periods for this financial year, between July 2020 and June 2021.
| Billing period | Days |
|---|---|
| 1 July–31 August | 62 days |
| 1 September–31 October | 61 days |
| 1 November–31 December | 61 days |
| 1 January–28 February | 59 days |
| 1 March–30 April | 61 days |
| 1 May–30 June | 61 days |
Service and water use charges explained
We calculate the service charge component based on the number of days in the billing period.
For non-residential properties in both metro and regional areas, water charges are based on the size of the meter servicing the property.
There is a minimum non-residential annual water service charge of $278.85 for unmetered and unconnected properties (including fire services).
Below you will find the breakdown of how our service charges are divided and more information on the available services.
Outline of service charges
The service charge for water is based on the size and number of meters servicing your property.
| Size of meter | Cost |
|---|---|
| Up to 20mm | $278.85 |
| 25mm | $435.74 |
| 30mm | $627.41 |
| Up to 40mm | $1,115.48 |
| 50mm | $1,742.91 |
| 70, 75, 80mm | $4,461.85 |
| 100mm | $6,971.64 |
| Up to 150mm | $15,686.19 |
| Metro only | |
| 200mm | $27,886.55 |
| 250mm | $43,572.73 |
| 300mm | $62,744.75 |
| 350mm | $85,402.61 |
There are 2 kinds of sewerage charges – service charges and volume charges:
Service charges
These are based on the number of major sewerage fixtures such as toilets or urinals. It is the owner's responsibility to let us know if the number of fixtures at the property changes or is different to what is shown on your bills.
| Fixtures | Cost |
|---|---|
| 1st fixture | $1,046.71 |
| 2nd fixture | $448.05 |
| 3rd fixture | $598.36 |
| 4th + fixtures + subsequent | $650.68 |
Volume charges
Volume charges for sewerage apply if you discharge more than 200 kilolitres (kL) of wastewater during a financial year.
The charge is $3.846 per kL discharged.
How do you calculate the volume charge?
The volume charges are based on the percentage of total water used that is discharged to sewer – the discharge factor. Your discharge factor will either be the default of 95% or another amount which has been set based on an individual assessment of your business.
Based on your discharge factor, we calculate the amount of total water discharged to sewer, minus the 200kL discharge allowance, and charge $3.846 per kL discharged.
Example calculation 1
For a business that has used 3,000kL of water and has a discharge factor of 33%, your sewerage volume charges would be calculated as follows:
33% of 3,000kL = 990kL of water discharged to sewer
990kL – 200kL discharge allowance = 790kL
790kL x $3.846 = $3,038.34
Example calculation 2
For a business that has used 1,000kL of water and has a discharge factor of 10%, your sewerage volume charges would be calculated as follows:
10% of 1,000kL = 100kL of water discharged
No charge, as this is within the 200kL discharge allowance.
Other sewerage charges
Strata titled business properties with shared facilities
Sewerage service charge is $650.68
Strata titled storage units and parking bays
Sewerage service charge is $103.74
Commercial nursing homes
Sewerage service charge is $189.40 per bed.
Sewer discharge allowance is 75kL per bed. Remaining sewerage is charged at $3.846 per kL discharged.
Drainage charges are based on your property’s Gross Rental Value (GRV), or rateable value which is supplied by the Valuer General. The charge is calculated by multiplying a rate (cents in the dollar) by the rateable value.
Drainage service charge is $14.30 per parking bay/ storage unit.
Drainage service charge is $37.43 per metro strata-titled caravan bay.
The drainage tariff is 0.366 cents for each dollar of the rateable value.
The minimum drainage charge for metropolitan non-residential properties is $123.79.
The following types of customers receive a 100% discount on water service charges:
- non-government schools, churches and community facilities
- charitable organisations
- regional local government
- non-profit homes for the aged.
Religious organisations, non-profit clubs and societies, and charitable organisations may apply for a State Government Discount on their service charges.
Sewerage service charge discounts
Metropolitan charitable organisations
- Sewerage service charge is $281.22 per fixture (e.g toilets).
Metropolitan non-profit homes for the aged and connected non-government schools, charitable and community organisations
- Sewerage service charge is $281.22 for 1st major fixture.
- Additional fixtures $123.73 per fixture.
You can now prepay your service charges for the financial year in your My Water account via the ‘My bills and payments’ tab.
The service charges for your property will be issued on the first bill of the new financial year along with the water use charges (for metered properties). From then on the water use charges will continue to be issued every 2 months.
If the service charge prepayment is selected for the full financial year, this will carry over to the next financial year for service charges as a default.
Please note that there is no discount for prepaying your service charges annually. We’re offering this as an alternative so that customers can manage their bills in a way that’s convenient to them.
Water use charges are calculated from the date of your last meter reading to the current meter reading.
Metropolitan
Metro non-residential customers are charged a flat fee per kilolitre.
| Metro non-residential | Prices for meter readings 2020-21 |
|---|---|
| All water use | $2.581/kL |
Regional
Each regional town is classified into 1 of 15 steps, with 15 being the highest.
You can find the step, and charges that apply to you, on the back of your bill under the ‘Water Use Charges’ table. You can also view this year’s regional non-residential step classifications below.
The planned step increases to regional non-residential water charges for 2020-21 has been deferred in light of the financial impacts of COVID-19. However, the 2.5% increase to non-residential water use and service charges will still apply for all non-residential customers from 1 July 2020.
| Steps | Dollars/kL |
|---|---|
| 1 | $2.662 |
| 2 | $2.901 |
| 3 | $3.155 |
| 4 | $3.438 |
| 5 | $3.744 |
| 6 | $4.076 |
| 7 | $4.440 |
| 8 | $4.834 |
| 9 | $5.264 |
| 10 | $5.733 |
| 11 | $6.241 |
| 12 | $6.797 |
| 13 | $7.402 |
| 14 | $8.061 |
| 15 | $8.776 |