47Customer contract

47 Customer contract (1) A licensee must develop a customer contract within the time specified by the Utilities Commission. (2) The customer contract is to: (a) set out the rights and responsibilities of customers regarding the provision of water supply and sewerage services; and (b) include arrangements for dealing with complaints and resolving disputes. (3) The customer contract: (a) is to be published in the Gazette; (b) comes into force on the day specified in the notice (being a day not earlier than the day on which the notice is published in the Gazette); and (c) is contractually binding on the licensee and each customer. (4) A licensee must prepare a summary of the customer contract in a form approved by the Utilities Commission. (5) The licensee must distribute a copy of the summary to each of the licensee's customers.

Water Supply and Sewerage Services Act 2000 23 (6) A licensee may enter into a special agreement with a person to provide water supply or sewerage services to the person on terms different to those provided for in the customer contract or relevant codes on receiving an application from the person. (7) If a dispute arises relating to an agreement entered into under subsection (6), the Utilities Commission must arbitrate the dispute.