Water management legislationThe Water Act 2000 covers councils and authorities that own or operate water supply systems or sewerage systems in Queensland.
The Act is administered by the Water Industry Regulation (WIR) section of the Department of Natural Resources and Water. Currently, the 'regulator' is the chief executive of the Department of Natural Resources & Water.
Any council that owns or operates a water supply system must be registered as a provider (sections 370 and 371). Some smaller councils might not have to be registered. (Refer to Exemption for Smaller Councils below.
If your council is not registered as a provider, you can download the Service Provider Application form.
You can also use this form to:
The WIR Unit provides an explanation of the registration application form, and how it is to be completed. The DNRW also has a fact sheet on registering as a provider.
Note: Under Section 821 of the Act, it is an offence to operate water supply services that are not properly registered, or have not been exempted (excused from registering) by the regulator.
Some smaller councils don't have the staff or the funds to meet all the requirements of the Water Act 2000. For example, it might too expensive to register as a provider or to draw up a Strategic Asset Management Plan. Under Section 434 of the Act, a small council can be exempted from meeting these and other requirements.
You need to complete the Small Service Provider Exemption Application Form and submit it to the regulator. (The address to send the completed form to is on the top of the form.) Before your council applies for exemption, you should read the instructions for completing the form.
Your council can apply to be exempted from requirements under divisions 1, 2, and 3 in Chapter 3 of the Water Act 2000.
You'll find more information on exemptions for small councils in the DNRM Fact Sheet.
Councils that operate water supply services are required to write a Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP), as required under “Service Provider Obligations”, Part 3, Chapter 3, of the Act.
A council’s Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) should detail:
A council must prepare a SAMP in line with the Act and the Guidelines for Preparing Strategic Asset Management Plans (NR&M, February 2002). The SAMP has to be approved by the Water Industry Compliance Unit. The council must then ensure that it supplies water to customers in line with its approved SAMP.
Small councils that cannot afford to prepare and implement a SAMP can apply to the Water Industry Compliance Unit for exemption.
The Models for Local Laws written by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Recreation make drafting local laws simpler for councils. With just a few minor changes to suit the local situation, the laws can easily be adopted by a council as its local laws. The model local law that relates to water is domestic water carriers.
The model local laws are being reviewed at present. The website above will provide up-to-date information on any changes and provide the updated versions of the model local laws.
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