Water service licensing and licence exemptions

To ensure its quality and quantity, the delivery of water services in Western Australia is tightly regulated under Water Services Act 2012.

Under the Act, the Economic Regulation Authority issues licences for the delivery of water services including supply, irrigation, sewerage and drainage. Under certain circumstances the Minister for Water may grant an exemption from licensing.

The Department also issues a range of other types of licences for taking water under the Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914, and to clear native vegetation under the Country Areas Water Supply Act 1947.

Water services

In Western Australia, a water service includes:

water supply – supply of potable or non-potable water
sewerage – collection, treatment and disposal
irrigation – provision of water for agriculture or pasture
drainage – management of stormwater, groundwater, surface water or soil salinity, which may include managing the quality of water.

A water supply service is a service that supplies water, whether potable or not, by means of reticulated conduits and other appropriate water supply works.

Licensed water services

A water licensing system is generally required to:

promote an effective and sustainable water services industry
prevent water service providers from abusing their monopoly power
ensure customers are provided with good quality services.

The scheme sets out minimum service and technical standards for providers and requires asset management practices to be monitored. It also ensures that industry participants have the financial and technical capacity that is required to provide water services.

How to apply for a licence

Under the Act, you need a licence, or an exemption, to provide a water service, whether its water supply, sewerage, irrigation or drainage, in Western Australia.

You can apply for a licence through the office of the Economic Regulation Authority. The authority is responsible for monitoring the performance of service providers, licensing and licence applications.

Exemptions

The Minister for Water may grant licence exemptions, if the exemption is not contrary to the public interest. They may be granted where the cost of meeting licence requirements is greater than the benefit provided to the public by licensing, such as when the number of customers is limited, and the price and quality of service are set in a contract.

Reasons for the Minister's decisions are provided to the applicant and can be requested by any other person.

An exemption may also be granted subject to specified conditions being met, such as providing regular reports on asset maintenance or establishment of a works management system.

Exemptions may be revoked by the Minister if it is in the public interest to do so.

How to apply for an exemption

Applications can be emailed to water.industry.policy@dwer.wa.gov.au or posted to:

Senior Manager Water Policy, Strategic Policy
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
Locked Bag 10
JOONDALUP DC WA 6919

In assessing an application for exemption, a range of public interest criteria is considered.

Applicants should provide information on the following matters to help with the public interest assessment:

Environmental considerations, including the value of ecological sustainable development:
- Information on the source of water supply, treatment method and infrastructure details
- Relevant licences and approvals obtained by the Department of Water and the Department of Environment and Regulation
- Relevant reporting requirements
Public health considerations in relation to the provision of reliable water services:
- Relevant approvals obtained from the Department of Health
- Reporting mechanisms in place.
Social welfare and equity considerations, including operating subsidies, details on charging for water, and:
- Whether the scheme is a not-for-profit service
- Whether any government funding is provided in servicing the scheme

Economic and regional development, including employment and investment growth:
- Benefits to the community as a result of water supply
Interests of water services customers generally or a class of water services customers:
- Details on customers and supply arrangements
- Evidence of any agreements with customers
Interests of any other licensee, or applicant for a licence, to which the exemption order, if made, would apply:
- Are there any other water service providers in the area?
- What is the number of customers and volume of water supplied per year?
- Are there any plans to increase the number of customers and volume of water supplied?
- Are there any other relevant matters?

**Activities not requiring a licence**

Some activities do not require a licence under the Act. A licence is not required in relation to:

self-supply, where a person provides water to themselves within the boundaries of a single lot to a single dwelling (e.g. rainwater tanks, single-lot recycled water systems, private bores, farms)
watering of public open spaces by local councils from council bores
transporting water or sewerage by cart, truck or tanker
intermediaries through whom the service is provided by a third party, such as a shopping centre where water is delivered to individual tenants
mine dewatering, excluding any subsequent on-supply of the mine dewater to other parties
geothermal water supply services, where water is supplied for heating or cooling and is then returned to the point of supply.

Class exemptions

Exemptions may be on a case-by-case basis or for a class of water services. Class exemptions are in place for the following types of water service:

Current exemptions

Exemptions are published in the Western Australian Government Gazette.

Current and expired licence exemptions dating from 1995, with links to the Government Gazette publication on the State Law Publisher's website, are listed below.

Expired exemptions (1995–2015)

Licence Exemption (Wittenoom) Amendment Order (no 3) 1997
Licence Exemption (Wittenoom) Amendment Order 1996
Licence Exemption (St Ives Gold Mining Company) Order 2004
Licence Exemption (Shire of Northampton) Order 2007
Licence Exemption (Local Government Drainage Services) Order 2009
Licence Exemption (Shire of Northampton) Order 2009
Water Services Licensing (Shire of Augusta– Margaret River) Exemption Order 2009
Class exemption for local government drainage services