The Western Australian water services industry serves almost 2 million customers in over 300 towns and communities throughout the State. Water services include potable and non-potable water supply, sewerage, irrigation and drainage.

The Water Corporation is by far the State's largest water service provider. Other industry participants include the Bunbury and Busselton water boards, local governments and irrigation scheme cooperatives.

Regulatory framework

The regulatory framework for the water services industry was established under the Water Services Licensing Act 1995 (the Act). The Authority is responsible for the functions outlined in the Act which include licensing and monitoring the performance of water industry service providers.

The licensing function includes processing licence applications and amendments and in doing so sets minimum service and performance standards to safeguard the longer term interests of consumers and the management of assets.

Under the licensing scheme, applicants apply for a licence and the Authority assesses whether applicants have the financial and technical ability to operate the service and that the application is not contrary to public interest.

The monitoring function aims to ensure that water service providers meet relevant standards which may include:

• Drinking water quality standards;
• Drinking water pressure and flow standards;
• Drinking water continuity standards;
• Sewerage service standards;
• Irrigation water quality and delivery standards;
• Drains and drainage standards;
• Customer service and complaint handling standards.

Other Regulatory bodies

The regulatory structure for the water industry separates water service provision from water source allocation and protection.

Regulatory agencies, in addition to the Economic Regulation Authority (Authority), which play a role in the WA water industry include the Department of Water (DoW) and the Health Department.

• The DoW is responsible for protecting and managing the State's water resources, including management of the licensing system for water source allocation.
• The Authority licences and monitors water service provision.
• The Health Department regulates health standards for drinking water supplied by the service providers.

Applying for a licence

In accordance with the Act, all organisations providing water, sewerage, drainage or irrigation services in Western Australia must either obtain a licence from the ERA or an exemption from the licence requirement from the Minister. Exemptions can be applied for through the Department of Water.

While the water services licensed by the ERA vary widely in their nature and scale, all the licences issued have the same basic underlying structure. The Authority has developed a Electricity, Gas and Water Application Guideline and Forms to document and provide information for potential applicants on how to apply for a operating licence.

Register of Interested Persons - Water Licensing

If you wish to receive updates when information on water licensing is made available, please complete the subscription form.