enquiry@qldwater.com.au
Member Log in Search

QWRAP

The Queensland Government mandated structural reform for the SEQ urban water industry commencing in 2007. The process included multiple reversals in decisions that resulted in a series of complex structures for the sector as described below.

  • March 2008 - local government amalgamations completed reducing seventeen councils and other Service Providers to ten entities within the ten new local governments.
  • July 2008 - retail and wastewater services retained with councils while  bulk water is mandatorily moved to three new State Statutory Authorities (Seqwater, Linkwater and Watersecure) along with formation of a State 'Water Grid Manager'.
  • September 2008 - establishment of a single distribution/retail entity to take control of water retail and wastewater services from the 10 SEQ councils and initial planning to form three independent retail entities owned by councils.
  •  July 2010, reversal of decision for forming a single entity and establishment instead of three Distribution-Retail Entities:
    • Unitywater (servicing Sunshine Coast and Moreton local government areas)
    • Queensland Urban Utilities (servicing Brisbane, Ipswich, Somerset, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim local government areas)
    • Allconnex Water (servicing Gold Coast, Redlands, Logan local government areas)
  • December 2010 - decision to merge two of the bulk entities created in 2008 (Watersecure and Seqwater) by July 2011
  • April 2011 - announcement that legislation requiring local government distribution retail entities is to be repealed.
  • July 2011 - council owners of QUU and Unity Water determine to retain water utilities, Allconnex owners decide to revert to council service providers.
  • October 2011 - new legislation allows de-amalgamation of Allconnex  and also permits Councillors on  Boards of the two DR entities.
  • July 2012 - Gold Coast, Logan and Redland Water Service Providers are re-established.
  • January 2013 - the two remaining bulk providers (Seqwater and Linkwater) and some Grid Manager activities merge into Seqwater. Other Grid Manager functions and the Queensland Water Commission, created five years earlier, absorbed into the new Department of Energy and Water Supply.

The key changes are summarised below.