Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008

The Act directly regulates:

• Local governments and local government entities that supply reticulated water or sewerage services in Queensland.
• Privately owned entities registered as service providers.
• Owners and operators of referable dams (category 1 or category 2), including Seqwater, Sunwater, local governments and private companies.
• Entities that operate recycled water schemes.
• Executive officers of corporations engaged in regulated activities, who can face personal liability under the executive liability provisions (section 487).

The Act indirectly affects all Queensland residents and businesses who receive reticulated water or sewerage services, and all communities located downstream of a referable dam.

Chapter 2: Drinking water and sewerage

Registration (Part 3): Every entity supplying a water or sewerage service must be registered with the regulator. The regulator maintains a publicly available register (section 12). An unregistered entity carrying out a regulated service commits an offence.

Drinking water quality management plans (Part 4, Division 1): A drinking water service provider must:

• Prepare a DWQMP in accordance with regulator guidelines (section 95).
• Apply to the regulator for plan approval.
• Not carry out a drinking water service without an approved plan (section 92, penalty: 1,665 penalty units).
• Comply with the plan and all conditions attached to the approval (section 93, penalty: 1,665 penalty units).
• Report incidents including any critical non-compliance with the plan to the regulator within specified timeframes.

Customer service standards (Part 4, Division 3): Service providers must maintain published customer service standards and comply with them.

Water efficiency management plans (Part 3, Division 6): Service providers may be required to prepare and implement water efficiency management plans, setting targets for reducing water losses in the supply network.

Service areas (Part 5): Local governments must declare service areas where they supply reticulated water or sewerage, and declare themselves (or their entity) to be the service provider (section 161). The declaration must be by resolution and must be made within 12 months of commencing supply. Connection rights, access obligations and the power to restrict domestic water supply in declared service areas are also governed in Part 5.

Chapter 3: Recycled water

Registration (Part 1A): The relevant entity must register a recycled water scheme with the regulator before supplying recycled water (section 196AA, penalty: 500 penalty units). Registration requires an application in approved form and payment of a prescribed fee.

Recycled water management plans (Part 2): Before supplying recycled water, the relevant entity must have an approved RWMP. The plan must identify source water, treatment processes, validation programs, monitoring and management responses (section 196 et seq.). Critical recycled water schemes (declared under Part 8) face additional obligations.

Validation programs (Part 4): Validation of the treatment processes used in recycled water production is a mandatory component of the RWMP framework and must be carried out at specified intervals.

Audit requirements (Part 6): Internal audits of the RWMP must be conducted at intervals stated in the approval notice and audit reports submitted to the regulator within 30 business days (section 260, penalty: 500 penalty units). External audits are also required.

Reporting (Part 7): Providers must give notice of critical non-compliance, near-miss events and planned cessation of supply; annual reports and public reports are also required.

Chapter 4: Dam safety

Failure impact assessment (Part 1, Division 2): The owner of a dam that is likely to have a category 1 or category 2 impact rating must commission a failure impact assessment by an independent registered professional engineer (section 343, penalty: 1,665 penalty units). Proposed new dams must be assessed before construction begins. The chief executive may also issue a referable dam notice to a dam owner who has not yet arranged an assessment (section 342A).

Emergency action plans (Part 1, Division 2A): Owners of category 1 and category 2 referable dams must prepare an emergency action plan (EAP) and keep it current. The EAP must identify inundation zones, set out early warning and notification procedures, and include contact lists for emergency management agencies (section 343).

Safety conditions (Part 1, Division 3): The chief executive may impose safety conditions on referable dams addressing structural safety standards, surveillance and monitoring, remediation works and operation restrictions (section 351, penalty: 1,665 penalty units for breach).

Flood mitigation manuals (Part 2): Owners of flood mitigation dams must prepare a flood mitigation manual, have it approved by the chief executive, and operate the dam in accordance with the manual during flood events. The manual must include operational strategies, trigger points for releases and communication protocols. Annual preparedness reports are required within specified timeframes (section 376, penalty: 1,665 penalty units). Where a flood event happens and the manual does not adequately cover it, the owner may apply for authorisation of an alternative operational procedure (sections 378 to 382). If the chief executive cannot be contacted in time, the owner may self-authorise but must document the event and report afterwards (section 381).

Flood event reporting (Part 2, Division 9): After any flood event, the dam owner must submit a flood event report within 30 business days (section 383, penalty: 1,665 penalty units). If the chief executive considers the flood event is likely to last at least one month, an interim report may be required within 10 business days (section 384).

The chief executive and regulator hold broad powers:

• Appointing authorised officers to enter places, inspect infrastructure, examine records, take samples and seize evidence (Chapter 5, Parts 1 to 3).
• Requiring information from service providers, recycled water providers and dam owners by notice (section 13, penalty: 200 penalty units for non-compliance without reasonable excuse).
• Giving compliance notices requiring rectification of breaches (Chapter 5, Part 8, Division 2).
• Issuing show cause notices before making adverse decisions (Chapter 5, Part 8, Division 1).
• Conducting investigations and imposing improvement plans on relevant service providers failing to meet performance standards (Chapter 5, Part 5A).
• Giving directions for water security or continuity of supply (Chapter 5, Part 5A, Division 3).
• Appointing administrators to take over the operation of water or sewerage infrastructure in exceptional circumstances (Chapter 8, Part 1).
• Declaring critical recycled water schemes and applying additional obligations to them (Chapter 3, Part 8).
• Declaring temporary full supply levels for dams to respond to drought or flood conditions (Chapter 4, Part 3).

Entry powers require the authorised officer to show their identity card on request (section 404 et seq.) and to follow notice requirements before entering occupied residential premises.

Penalties are expressed in penalty units. At the time of enactment one Queensland penalty unit equals a prescribed dollar amount set by regulation.

Key penalty thresholds:

| Offence | Maximum penalty | |---|---| | Operating without approved DWQMP (s 92) | 1,665 penalty units | | Non-compliance with DWQMP (s 93) | 1,665 penalty units | | Breach of dam safety conditions (s 351(4)) | 1,665 penalty units | | Failure to submit flood event report (s 383) | 1,665 penalty units | | Breach of flood mitigation manual obligations | 1,665 penalty units | | Failure to comply with chief executive's notice on qualifications (s 377) | 1,665 penalty units | | Failure to register recycled water scheme (s 196AA) | 500 penalty units | | Internal audit report not submitted in time (s 260) | 500 penalty units | | False or misleading statements (s 483) | 500 penalty units | | False or misleading documents (s 484) | 500 penalty units | | Obstructing an authorised officer (s 485) | 500 penalty units | | Failure to comply with information notice (s 13) | 200 penalty units | | Impersonating an authorised officer (s 486) | 200 penalty units |

Executive officer liability (section 487): An executive officer of a corporation commits an offence if the corporation breaches an executive liability provision and the officer did not take all reasonable steps to prevent the breach. The court must consider whether the officer knew of the conduct, was in a position to influence it, and took relevant preventive steps. The corporation and the officer can each be prosecuted independently.

The listed executive liability provisions cover core obligations: operating without an approved DWQMP (s 92), operating without approved recycled water management arrangements (ss 196(2), 196(3)), and key dam safety obligations (ss 343, 344, 345, 351, 352).

• Service area declaration: Must be made within 1 year of commencing supply (s 161(3)).
• Internal review application: Must be made within 30 business days after receiving an information notice or compliance notice (s 513).
• Flood event report: Due within 30 business days after the end of the flood event (s 383).
• Flood event interim report: Due within 10 business days of receiving the chief executive's notice (s 384).
• RWMP internal audit report: Due within 30 business days after audit completion (s 260).
• Annual preparedness report for flood mitigation dams: Must be submitted at intervals set in the approved flood mitigation manual.
• Referable dam notice effective day: At least 60 business days after the notice is given (s 342A(3)).

Review pathway:

1. Internal review application to the relevant reviewer (chief executive, regulator or service provider CEO, depending on who made the original decision) (s 512).
2. After internal review decision: external review before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT), or arbitration where applicable (Chapter 7, Parts 3 and 4).

The Act operates alongside and interacts with a substantial body of Queensland and Commonwealth legislation:

• Water Act 2000 (Qld): Governs water allocation, licences and natural water management. Chapter 9 of the Act contains transitional provisions relating to the Water Act (Parts 2 to 5).
• South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) Act 2009 (Qld): Established Seqwater and the SEQ retail water entities; sections 53AQ and 92DB of that Act interact with service area provisions in this Act.
• Planning Act 2016 (Qld): Authorised officers under this Act have functions monitoring compliance with development conditions under the Planning Act in so far as those conditions relate to water infrastructure. The Act's relationship with the Planning Act is also addressed in Chapter 8, Part 2.
• Local Government Act 2009 (Qld): Chapter 2, Part 1 of this Act preserves local government powers (s 6).
• Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld): The regulator's reporting powers in section 14 are constrained by the prohibition on disclosing personal information under that Act.
• Professional Engineers Act 2002 (Qld): Failure impact assessments and flood mitigation manual responsibility persons must hold registration as professional engineers under this Act.
• Criminal Code (Qld), Chapter 2: The executive officer liability provisions in section 487 operate without limiting liability under the Criminal Code.

The Act was also amended by or interacted with the Water Supply Services Legislation Amendment Act 2014, the Water Legislation (Dam Safety and Water Supply Enhancement) and Other Legislation Amendment Act, and subsequent amending Acts listed in the transitional provisions in Chapter 10.

Retrospective dam classification: Under section 342A and 342B, a dam can become a referable dam without the owner having commissioned a failure impact assessment. Once the chief executive issues a referable dam notice, the dam is classified on the effective day and all consequential obligations (safety conditions, EAP, flood mitigation manual) follow automatically. Owners who are unaware of the notice process can find themselves in breach almost immediately.

Operating agent does not reduce owner liability: Where a service provider appoints an operating agent, the service provider remains the entity registered and legally accountable under the Act. The operating agent arrangement is recorded on the register (s 12(3)(d)) but does not shift compliance responsibility away from the registered provider.

Recycled water registration must precede supply: Section 196AA requires registration before supplying recycled water (or, for schemes not requiring an RWMP, within 3 months of first supply). Commencing supply without registration is an offence regardless of whether the RWMP is in place.

Flood event alternative procedure does not excuse non-reporting: Even where a dam owner lawfully invokes the self-authorisation procedure under section 381, the obligation to prepare and submit a flood event report under section 383 still applies. The alternative procedure authorisation covers the operational deviation, not the subsequent reporting obligation.

Executive officer liability is personal: Executive officers cannot shelter behind the corporate form for the nominated executive liability provisions. The officer need not be the individual who carried out the non-compliant act; liability attaches to the failure to take all reasonable steps. Boards and senior managers of regulated entities should maintain documented oversight of DWQMP and dam safety obligations.

Improvement plans and directions can be issued pre-emptively: Chapter 5, Part 5A allows the regulator to require an improvement plan from, and give water security directions to, relevant service providers without there having been a proven breach. The threshold is the regulator forming the view that the service provider is not performing adequately.

Example 1 (council water provider): A regional council supplies reticulated drinking water and sewerage to a township of 4,000 residents. The council must: (a) be registered as a service provider (s 12); (b) declare the supply area as a service area (s 161); (c) prepare and obtain approval for a DWQMP for the drinking water service (ss 92, 95); (d) comply with the approved DWQMP including operational monitoring, incident reporting and audit requirements. If the council operates a small water treatment plant, it must identify the plant as infrastructure in the plan and set monitoring parameters consistent with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines as referenced in regulator guidelines.

Example 2 (recycled water operator): A water utility operates a recycled water scheme that supplies treated recycled water for industrial use and irrigation. Before commencing supply, the utility must apply to register the scheme (s 196AA to 196AC). If the scheme falls within the category requiring a RWMP (s 196), the utility must have the plan approved before supply commences. During operation, the utility must conduct internal audits at the interval stated in the approval notice (s 260) and submit audit reports within 30 business days of completion.

Example 3 (dam owner after flood): Seqwater operates a category 1 referable dam with an approved flood mitigation manual. During a significant wet season, a flood event occurs. Seqwater must operate the dam in accordance with the manual. If during the event the manual does not adequately address an aspect of the flood, Seqwater must contact the chief executive for authorisation of an alternative procedure (s 379). If contact cannot be established, Seqwater may self-authorise but must document and report promptly (s 381). Within 30 business days of the flood event ending, Seqwater must prepare and submit a flood event report (s 383).

Example 4 (dispute about information notice): A service provider receives a compliance notice from an authorised officer requiring remediation works. The provider disagrees with the notice. The provider must first apply for internal review within 30 business days (s 513), setting out the grounds of challenge in the approved form with supporting information. If the internal review upholds the notice, the provider may then apply to QCAT for external review (Chapter 7, Part 3).