Billing FAQs for business

Yes. Please sign up for e-billing and choose to receive your bill by email or SMS. Log in or register for our online service My Account, then go to the 'My Details' tab and can change your 'Bill delivery' method to email or SMS.

Payment is due within 30 days of the date your bill is issued. 

Unitywater does not offer a discount if you pay your bill early.

We usually bill you on the same date in each quarter. However, external factors such as the weather and the fact that we don’t issue bills or conduct meter reading on weekends can delay the process. This is why the billing period on your bills may vary, usually between 85 to 95 days.

This will appear on your bill if your business is located in a multi-unit complex. It means your property has one water meter for the whole complex, with water bills divided amongst the individual units according to a 'property share percentage (%)' or lot entitlement.

The property share percentage that has been allocated to your unit is not determined by Unitywater, but is given to us by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines when the plans for constructing your complex were registered.

If your business is part of a unit complex and would like to have more control over your own water costs, sub-metering is an option. Sub-metering allows multi-unit property owners to measure their own individual water usage. All unit owners need to give their approval before the Body Corporate lodges an application. Find out more about sub-metering on our building units and townhouses page.

Because your property is able to be connected to the water or sewer network.

Sewerage and water access charges are set prices per year applied to properties with access (connected or unconnected) to the sewerage and water network. They pay for the cost of building, maintaining and replacing the pipes, pumps and other infrastructure that delivers these services.

As with all critical public infrastructure (transport, telecommunications, health), it is important for all members of the community to contribute to the development and upkeep of this infrastructure, so that everyone can have the benefit of it now and in the future. Unitywater charges access fees in accordance with the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 (sections 164 and 165), which states that Unitywater must provide access to the sewerage and water network to every property in its service area, and may recover the cost of this from the customer:

164. Access to service in service area
(1) The service provider must, to the greatest practicable extent, ensure that—
(a) all premises in the service area are able to be connected directly and separately to the service provider’s infrastructure for the area

165. Recovering cost of giving access to registered service. 
The service provider may recover from a customer the reasonable cost of complying with section 164 for the customer’s premises.

This legislation dictates that Unitywater must provide a sewerage and water network to every property in the service area. It does not require that properties are connected, but only that properties are ‘able to be connected’ to the infrastructure.  Access charges are therefore applicable to all vacant and improved properties within the Unitywater service area. 

Yes. Interest charges of 8% per annum compounding daily will apply to any outstanding balance after the due date on your bill. Any interest charges will appear on your next bill.

Firstly, please consider if the amount you want refunded can simply be put towards your next bill, or transferred to another water and sewerage account if you have more than one. 

If not, refunds can be given if you have mistakenly paid too much off a bill, especially around the time of property settlement/change of ownership.

Refunds can be issued to your bank account or via cheque. 

How to apply:

If you are the property owner requesting a refund on your account, please call 1300 086 489 and we can process the request over the phone.

If you are not the property owner, you need to submit your request in writing. Please contact us on 1300 086 489 and we’ll send you an email asking for some more details, including proof of payment.

Please allow up to 10 days for the refund to appear.

Moreton Bay access charges are slightly higher than those for the Sunshine Coast and Noosa due to the difference in the level of investment and value of water and sewerage assets that Unitywater inherited from the councils in each region. (Unitywater took over water and sewerage services from councils when it was formed in 2010.)

The value of assets per customer and the investment needed to upgrade and maintain those assets are major factors in pricing. Moreton Bay has higher access charges because it has more assets (about 60% of total assets) than the other regions. Significant upgrades have been needed in Moreton Bay to cater for population growth and to meet strict environmental standards for sewage treatment plants, which has also contributed to these higher access charges.

More customers = lower costs

The concentration of properties – or lack thereof – in each council area is another factor affecting prices. The more properties (or customers) connected to existing assets, the less it costs to provide the service for each property (customer). Think of it this way: if five people share the rent on a $500 a week house, they pay $100 a week. If only one or two people live there, the rent would be more expensive ($250) per person.

There are on average more properties per kilometre of water pipeline on the Sunshine Coast and in Noosa, compared to Moreton Bay.  This is another reason why Moreton Bay access charges are higher.

Find out more about pricing, fees and charges.

Because your property is able to be connected to the water or sewer network.

Sewerage and water access charges are set prices applied to properties with access (connected or unconnected) to the sewerage and water network. They pay for the cost of building, maintaining and replacing the pipes, pumps and other infrastructure that delivers these services.

As with all critical public infrastructure (transport, telecommunications, health), it is important for all members of the community to contribute to the development and upkeep of this infrastructure, so that everyone can have the benefit of it now and in the future. Unitywater charges access fees in accordance with The Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 (sections 164 and 165), which states that Unitywater must provide access to the sewerage and water network to every property in its service area, and may recover the cost of this from the customer:

164. Access to service in service area 
(1) The service provider must, to the greatest practicable extent, ensure that— 
(a) all premises in the service area are able to be connected directly and separately to the service provider’s infrastructure for the area

165. Recovering cost of giving access to registered service.  
The service provider may recover from a customer the reasonable cost of complying with section 164 for the customer’s premises.

This legislation dictates that Unitywater must provide a sewerage and water network to every property in the service area. It does not require that properties are connected, but only that properties are ‘able to be connected’ to the infrastructure.  Access charges are therefore applicable to all vacant and improved properties within the Unitywater service area. 

Sewerage access charges are based on the size and number of water meters on a property and the property's sewerage usage percentage, which is determined by the land use code for that property.

Land use codes apply under the local government planning scheme and have been provided to us by councils. These codes give us an indication of how water is being used on the property and how much metered water is entering the sewerage network. These percentages acknowledge that there is substantial variation in sewerage usage among these groups. For example, a property with large sporting fields that are regularly irrigated with town water will have a smaller percentage of metered water entering the sewerage network than a property with an office block where most of the water is entering the network via sinks or toilets.

The non-residential sewerage usage percentages table shows a complete list of land use codes and the sewerage usage percentage that applies for each category.

Sewage includes everything that enters the sewerage network via sinks and drains, is flushed down toilets and discharged from appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers. Your sewerage usage (or use of the sewerage network) is therefore directly linked to your water usage.

There are significant differences in the way businesses use water. For example, an office-based business would put almost all the water entering their property into the sewerage network, whereas a plant nursery would use much of its water outdoors with very little going into the sewer.

The land use code provides an indication of the way water is used on the property, and therefore determines the property's sewerage usage percentage (or discharge factor).

Most properties do not have meters to measure the volume of sewage entering the network, so we have applied a sewerage usage percentage based on the property’s land use code.

If you believe the percentage we are using to calculate sewerage usage on your property is too high, you can apply to have this reviewed. Please note: This process does incur a fee.

These charges are for your premises having access (connected or unconnected) to the water and sewerage network. The charges pay for building, maintaining and replacing water supply and sewerage infrastructure, including pipes, pumps and sewage treatment plants.

Access fees are fixed, annual fees charged at a daily price for the number of days in your billing period.