COVID-19 Financial wellbeing webinar seriesManaging water usage and bills in South East Queensland

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Speakers:Fiona Hawthorne, Senior Project Officer, Sector Capacity QCOSS

Shanae Walker, Credit Officer, Customer and Community, Unitywater

Ken Dowd, Debt & Customer Payments Manager, Urban Utilities

BackgroundWater in South East Queensland

Fiona Hawthorne, QCOSS

Who’s who in water in Queensland

CAT

CH

DIS

POSE

BU

LKTR

EAT

DIS

TRIB

UT

E

Outside SEQ

Local Government

SunWaterMount Isa Water

BoardGladstone Area

Water Board

1.34 million people serviced by 1970 water industry workers

(2011 – qldwater)

Local Governments

South East Qld (SEQ)

Seqwater

3.14 million people serviced by 3896 water industry workers

SEQ water businesses –Unitywater, QUU, Gold

Coast, Logan City Council and Redland City Council

SEQ water grid area

Water subsidy (SEQ water grid area only)Queensland Government Water Subsidy:• $120 per year ($30 per quarter)• Off the cost of water access and usage charges• Properties in the South East Queensland Water Grid area only• Only one property eligible (principal place of residence)• Owner of property (person responsible for rates)• Must hold concession card to apply• Tenants are not eligible (except Life Tenants)

Water subsidy (SEQ water grid area only)Eligibility: must hold one of the following concession cards:

• Pensioner Concession Card (issued by Centrelink or Department of Veterans' Affairs)

• Department of Veterans' Affairs Health Card (all conditions) (Gold Card)

Water bill disputes for tenantsTenants can be charged for all water consumption, if the following conditions are met:

• The premises has its own individual water meter• The premises is water efficient • The tenancy agreement confirms that you pay for water use

• Disputes over tenant water bills are not handled by water retailers or Energy & Water Ombudsman QLD (EWOQ)

• Dispute resolution for tenants is through RTA and QCAT.• Advice for tenants is available through QSTARS (Tenants QLD)

South East QueenslandWater and Wastewater Code for Small Customers (2017)

Retailer Hardship requirements

Code Hardship requirements (2017)• Focus on special needs property (not customer) – this allows

tenanted properties to be registered.• Centrepay offered to hardship customers who receive

Centrelink payments (other customers can ask to use it)• Not able to restrict water supply to a tenanted property, special

needs property or a financial hardship customer • OR after 3pm Fri, Sat, Sun, public holiday OR day before a

public holiday • OR where dispute is referred to EWOQ• water providers must turn off interest, any charges or debt

collection activity for customers on the hardship program

COVID-19 early predictions about household water usageIncreased hours at home means:• extra cooking and drinking • extra toilet flushes and grey water • extra handwashing requirements• extra home hygiene measures• new gardens, hobbies, children• transfer of usage costs from work,

schools and public facilities to home

SEQ daily per capita consumption for 14 days ending 13/05/2020

Zone Daily per Capita consumption (L/p/d)

Same time last year

City of Gold Coast 169 174

Logan City Council 184 152

Redland City Council 196 166

Unitywater 163 150

Urban Utilities 175 168

Total average 173 163

Source: https://www.seqwater.com.au/news/weekly-water-security-and-consumption-update

Response to COVID-19

• Increased JobSeeker payment• JobKeeper payments• $750 payment to households• $200 Household Utilities Assistance • Childcare free• Banks, Telcos, Energy retailers

deferring payments and payment plans

• Rent holiday, rent deferrals and rent reductions

• Savings on fuel, public transport, entertainment, dining, etc.

Household Utility Assistance Payment• Queensland State Government’s COVID-19 bill relief package

is in addition to other rebates and concessions

• $200 paid into electricity account$50 Asset Owner Dividend (energy)$50 electricity bill relief (energy)$100 water bill relief (water)

Household Utility Assistance PaymentWho is eligible?Residential customers separately charged for electricityCustomers with on-supply arrangements for electricityCard Operated Meter customers

Who is not eligible?X Customers who don’t receive a separate electricity bill (e.g. where electricity is included in rent or not metered)

Household Utility Assistance Payment

Residential customers will automatically receive $200 credit to their electricity bill shown as “Qld Govt Relief Payment”.

• Regional Queensland residential customers will start seeing on bills from April 2020.

• South East Queensland customers will start seeing on bills from May 2020

Household Utility Assistance Payment

On-supply customers: • Customers who pay their landlord, property manager, caravan

park owner or body corporate for energy • Rebate will be credited to the electricity bill charged by the

on-supplier

(On-suppliers are required to lodge a claim with their retailer.)

Household Utility Assistance Payment

Card Operated Meter customers: • Rebate will be automatically transferred to their orange power

cards (linked card)

What other water bill assistance is there?

Working with vulnerable customers during COVID-19

23

We have existing support for hardship customers

> Site visits

> Hardship payment arrangements

> Recording different categories of vulnerability

> Partnership with Thriving Communities

> Recognise, Respond and Refer vulnerable customers

24

We have extended support during COVID-19

Unitywater’s Customer Relief Package was

announced on 2 April 2020

> Providing an extra 30 days to pay your water and

sewerage bill (this is automatically applied to the due

date on Unitywater bills issued after 2 April 2020)

*60 days to pay

> Not charging interest on overdue amounts on bills,

reminders and overdue notices issued after 2 April

2020 for 6 months.

> Freeze on water and sewerage access charges and

volumetric prices for 20/21

> Providing flexibility in arrangements and payment

extensions

25

A healthy community needs more than water and sewerage

Unitywater supports a number of local community groups, helping them to improve the wellbeing of communities and the environment, with five pillars underpinning community support.

In March 2020, we repurposed the remaining, or unallocated, funding from our partnerships program towards essential community services that had been significantly impacted by COVID-19.

Homelessness Children and youth Mental Health Improving the environment

Prevention of domestic and

family violence

In partnership with IFYS and other community groups, we helped open the Sunshine Coast Community Hub and Crisis Centre in Kawana, which gives access to all services during COVID-19

> Water consumption for residential customers is

lower in comparison to same time last year (5% reduction)

> Incoming calls on domestic family and violence has remained consistent at approx. 5 calls per month

> Approx. 1,600 customers have contacted Unitywater since the pandemic was announced, as a reason they are struggling to pay their bills; specifically due to COVID-19

> 769 of these calls referred to job loss, reduced hours and/or unemployment

> So much more to learn26

Our conversations provide invaluable insights

We continue to remind people to be water wise

> Water efficiency saving tips for customers to keep costs down

> E.g. turning the tap off whilst washing your hands. Running the tap for 5 mins, cost approx. 0.30 cents

> How to spot a water leak/monitor usage whilst being at home

> Go to utility websites to see what they offer, there is lots of information on Unitywater website

> Key message for customers is to keep up the communication and notify Unitywater when circumstances change

> Unitywater are preparing for a lot more customers to make contact if they do fall into hardship

> Ensuring front line staff are prepared for difficult conversations and ensuring the business has flexible options, as different situations arise day by day

27

URBAN ASSIST –OUR COVID-19 SPECIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

29 © Urban Utilities

INTRODUCING

URBAN ASSISTThe health and wellbeing of our people, customers and community is our number one priority during these challenging times.

We recognise the significant financial impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on many households and businesses and we’re here to help.

That’s why we have set up a dedicated program called Urban Assist – our COVID-19 Special Assistance Program –to provide customers with financial relief.

30 © Urban Utilities

• We have trained more staff and streamlined our processes so customers can access assistance faster via our contact centre.

• We will work with customers to identify the best solution for their individual needs.

• Customers can visit urbanutilities.com.au/urbanassist or contact us via webchat, Facebook or Twitter (6am – 9pm weekdays); or phone our General Enquiries line on 13 26 57 (8am – 6pm weekdays).

• We encourage customers to use our digital channels first if possible, such as our website and social media channels.

WE’RE HERE FOR YOU

31 © Urban Utilities

• Customers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can access a range of assistance options through Urban Assist, including interest-free payment extensions and flexible payment plans.

• Residents and businesses experiencing financial difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic can request an extension on their bill or a payment plan based on regular affordable instalments.

• We do not charge interest on outstanding amounts which are under a payment arrangement or payment plan.

• The Queensland Government has announced a relief package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will provide a $200 payment to all Queensland households to help with their water and electricity bills.

HOW CAN WE HELP

32 © Urban Utilities

• Some households and businesses may be eligible for financial assistance from the Federal and State Government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and we encourage them to look into these options.

• We will continue to administer the State Government Pensioner Subsidy, which is $30 per quarter.

• Brisbane City Council also provides and administers a pensioner remission for water to eligible people.

• We’ve been supporting residential customers and small businesses via our Financial Hardship Program for several years, which is available for eligible customers who are willing but unable to pay their bills due to financial or personal

ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE

QCOSS Financial Wellbeing Webinars26 May: Energy Hardship and Concessions during COVID-19

2 June: The price is right! Finding the best energy deal for South East Queensland clients

9 June: Managing debt: keeping the vultures at bay

16 June: SPER, tolls and other transport matters

23 June: Managing household energy efficiency

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