Customer Charter Summary 2023-28

About us Commitments

Goulburn Valley Water delivers essential water and wastewater services to more than 136,000 people in north-central Victoria.

Our purpose is to support prosperous and healthy communities by delivering safe, reliable and affordable services to our customers.

This charter describes your rights and responsibilities as a customer, and our rights and responsibilities as a service provider. It’s based on the Customer Service Code issued by the Essential Services Commission, our independent regulator, as well as the Water Act 1989 and the Water Regulations 2014.

We’re committed to providing you with services that are reliable and meet acceptable standards. You can expect:

• A safe, reliable water supply that meets regulatory health requirements.

• A water flow rate of a least 20 litres per minute (for a standard residential connection).

• A continuous water supply that is not interrupted more than four times in a year due to unplanned works.

• We will attend a burst or leak within 60 minutes of being notified (priority 1 and 2) or 160 minutes (priority 3).

• A planned or unplanned water interruption to take no more than 2 hours on average to restore.

• A sewerage service that isn’t blocked or interrupted more than four times in a year.

• We will attend a sewer spill or blockage within 60 minutes of notification.

• It will take no longer than 2 hours to repair a sewer blockage.

• It will take no longer than 5 hours to contain a sewer spill.

Want more information?

Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners

We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of this nation.

Goulburn Valley Water operates on the lands of the Yorta Yorta and Taungurung, and we respectfully acknowledge them as the Traditional Owners of the land and water on which we rely.

Image: Yorta Yorta leader and activist William Cooper; mural on Goulburn Valley Water office wall.

You can read our full residential customer charter and our trade waste charter at gvwater.vic.gov.au

Works and maintenance

We’re responsible for maintaining:

• the property water service to, and including, the water meter (in some cases, our responsibility ends at your property boundary or the first accessible stop tap)

• a private fire service to the stop valve at the main

• the sewer house connection drain to the inspection opening, or a maximum of one metre from the property boundary

• the sewer main up to the inspection opening, or a maximum of one metre from the main if it’s located inside your property.

You are responsible for:

• all plumbing and pipe work from our water and sewer connection points to your property

• fire services from the stop valve at the main

• damage and associated costs to the water meter, isolation valve or service pipe that is not general wear and tear

• notifying us of any damage to, or loss of, a water meter within two business days

• clearing sewer blockages in your house connection drain, up to the inspection opening or house connection branch.

Your property

We have the right to enter your property for a number of purposes, including in an emergency (for example, repairing water main burst or sewer blockage) or to read a meter or carry out maintenance on our assets which may be located in your property.

Our employees and contractors will wear identification, and will notify you or leave a note.

You can help us by:

• ensuring safe access to fittings at all times (meters, manhole covers, inspection or access points)

• seeking our consent for any building or structural work that may affect any of our infrastructure

• seek our consent before altering anything connected our network

• removing any trees if requested by us

• giving us two days’ notice if you leave a property

• telling us if you’re purchasing or selling a property

• following any guidance under water law (restrictions, Permanent Water Saving Rules).

If you’re unsure who is responsible for a maintenance issue, please call our Customer Service Centre (24/7) on 1800 454 500.

Your account

Your account will generally have two types of charges:

• water and sewerage services charges (fixed costs)

• water and wastewater usage charges (variable, based on volume).

You may also need to pay fire service charges if you have one connected, or any applicable interest on overdue accounts.

If you rent a property, you’ll only need to pay water usage costs; property owners are responsible for all other charges.

We’ll send you a bill three times a year, via post or electronically if you’ve signed up for e-billing.

Permanent Water Saving Rules

The Permanent Water Saving Rules are in place year-round across Victoria to help reduce water demand and encourage water efficient use. They are:

• Sprinklers can be used after 6pm and before 10am.

• Handheld hoses can be used at any time if a trigger nozzle is attached.

• Use a broom or blower to clean hard surfaces.

More: gvwater.vic.gov.au/everydropcounts

Paying your bill

You must pay your account by the due date as shown on your bill. We offer a range of payment options, including:

• Direct debit

• MyGVW portal: online account hub

• BPay: by phone or online

• Centrepay: deducted from your Centrelink payment in agreed installments

• In person: at our Fryers St, Shepparton office

• Australia Post: online or in person with Post Bill Pay.

• By phone: using your credit card

• By mail: using the return slip on your bill

• In advance.

We’re here to help

If you’re having trouble paying your water bill, we can help. Our friendly team will treat you with respect and sensitivity, and will work with you to tailor a solution to suit your individual circumstances. We can:

• provide information on government assistance which may be available

• set up a flexible payment plan

• provide alternate payment arrangements or extensions

• refer you to free, independent financial counselling.

Our Customer Support Policy and Family Violence Policy outline how we can support you - they’re available on our website or by calling us on 1300 360 007.

If you hold a recognised concession card, you may be eligible for Victorian Government-funded concessions on your water and sewerage charges. Phone our Customer Accounts and Services team on 1300 360 007 for more information.

Enquiries and complaints

You can provide feedback or make an enquiry about our services - a list of contact details are on the back of this document. We aim to respond to your enquiry quickly and courteously.

We’re committed to providing an excellent experience for our customers, and complaints and feedback can help us continue to improve our services.

Our employees will respond promptly and fairly, and will give you the reason for our decision. We’ll do our best to resolve your concern to your satisfaction at the first point of contact.

You can have your complaint reassessed, or you can also contact the Energy and Water Ombudsman, the independent dispute resolution service, by phoning 1800 500 509 or emailing ewovinfo@ewov.com.au

Privacy

Your privacy is really important to us and we’re committed to ensuring your personal information is protected.

Our Privacy Policy covers what kind of personal information we need to collect, manage and store, and its use and disclosure, as well as your access to your information. It’s available on our website.

Guaranteed Service Levels

We are committed to providing high standards of service to you. If we don’t meet these, customers who are affected may be eligible for a rebate on their water or sewerage charges as part of our Guaranteed Service Levels (GSLs). The rebate will be applied to your account as soon as practicable once we become aware of the requirement for a rebate, and rebate eligibility is determined.

$20 rebate

If a customer’s water supply isn’t restored within five hours, we’ll pay that customer $20.

$25 rebate

If we don’t respond to a sewer blockage within an hour from when we’re notified, we’ll pay affected customers $25 each.

$300 rebate

If we take legal action against a residential customer or restrict water supply in a manner that does not meet the requirements of the ESC’s Water Industry Standard - Urban Customer Service’s reasonable endeavours, we’ll pay that customer $300.

$2000 rebate

If we don’t contain a sewer spill that’s caused by a fault in our system within five hours, we’ll donate $2000 to the affected community.

$15,000 rebate

We’ll contribute a $15,000 payment to the affected community if a boil water notice is issued and caused by a fault in our system.