Water Supply Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 passes
Date: 29-Jun-2017
Early today (7 May 2014) the Bill (see eFlash #220 and #224) passed through Parliament. The Hansard record is available here, with detail commencing on page 131 of the document. In short, the Bill has passed with only minor amendment, meaning contentious provisions like meter installation have finally been resolved in favour of the industry position.
We have not yet had the opportunity to cross-reference all amendments but believe most offer only clarification based on feedback received on the draft. Amendments were passed to S45, from:
“A service provider may appoint a person to be an authorised person of the service provider if —
(a) The service provider is satisfied the person has the necessary expertise or experience to be an authorised person; or
(b) the person has satisfactorily finished training approved by the service provider.”
Adding
(2) However, the service provider can not appoint the person unless the provider is satisfied the person —
(a) can perform the functions of an authorised person safely; and
(b) can, while performing those functions, mitigate any risks to public health and safety.
This now paves the way for the SEQ utility model, removal of many management plans and establishment of KPI framework and changes to recycled water including the coverage of Recycled Water Management Plans and the requirement for a register of schemes.
The amendments represent realisation of a significant number of positive changes qldwater and LGAQ have been lobbying for on behalf of industry for many years. It is important to acknowledge the guidance from our Technical Reference Group as well as the efforts of DEWS and other Queensland Government staff. It is impossible to achieve “wins” on everything, however the consultation around this reform has been very positive.
We now look to implementing the changes and the imminent release of the 30 year water sector strategy.
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