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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Queensland
Water Amendment Bill 2005
Queensland
Water Amendment Bill 2005
Contents
Page
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4 Insertion of new ch 2, pt 2, div 2A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Division 2A Other water supply emergencies
Subdivision 1 Preliminary
25A Meaning of water supply emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Subdivision 2 Water supply emergency declaration and
regulation
25B Declaration of water supply emergency . . . . . . . . . . . 7
25C Contents of water supply emergency declaration. . . . 8
25D Measures mentioned in a water supply emergency
declaration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
25E Requirement to comply with water supply emergency
declaration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
25F Regulation about water supply emergency . . . . . . . . 12
25G Measures mentioned in a water supply emergency
regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
25H Requirement to comply with water supply emergency
regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
25I Approval of, or change to, response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
25J When water supply emergency ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Subdivision 3 Carrying out measures and achieving
outcomes
25K Supply arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
25L Relationship with State Development and Public
Works Organisation Act 1971. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
25M Appointment of person to carry out measures or
achieve outcomes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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Water Amendment Bill 2005
25N Effect of appointee carrying out measures or
achieving outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Subdivision 4 Recovery of costs
25O Recovery of costs incurred. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
25P Recovery of contributions by the State. . . . . . . . . . . . 22
25Q Queensland Competition Authority. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Subdivision 5 Compensation
25R Applying for compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
25S When compensation is not payable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
25T Requirement for further information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
25U Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
25V Notice about decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
25W Protection of State and Minister from liability . . . . . . . 25
25X Protection of service provider from liability. . . . . . . . . 25
Subdivision 6 Review of division and regulation
25Y Review of div 2A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
25Z Review of regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5 Insertion of new s 36A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
36A Obtaining information from a service provider . . . . . . 26
6 Amendment of s 73 (Requirement for land and water
management plans) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7 Insertion of new ch 3, pt 2, div 2A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Division 2A SEQ Water
387A Application of div 2A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
387B Requirement for supply contract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
387C Chief executive may approve standard supply
contract .............................. 29
387D Customer of a service provider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
387E Cost of installing and maintaining meters. . . . . . . . . . 30
8 Amendment of s 388 (Restricting water supply). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
9 Amendment of s 389 (Notice of water restriction must be given) . 31
10 Insertion of new ch 3, pt 2, div 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Division 6 Further powers of service providers
396 Water charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
397 Recovering water charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
398 Restricting water supply in certain circumstances . . . 32
11 Amendment of s 781 (General requirements for compliance
notices) ....................................... 32
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Water Amendment Bill 2005
12 Amendment of s 1007 (Records to be kept in registries) . . . . . . . 33
13 Amendment of s 1013B (Non-payment of fees or charges) . . . . . 33
14 Amendment of s 1037A (Other continuing authorities) . . . . . . . . 33
15 Amendment of s 1136B (Notices given under section 101(1)(b)
and (1)(c)). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
16 Replacement of ch 9, pt 6 (Repeals) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Division 5 Transitional provisions for Water Amendment
Act 2005
1137 Declaration for section 999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
1138 Validity of amending moratorium notice not affected . 36
1139 Waiver of water meter charges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
17 Amendment of sch 4 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2005
A Bill
for
An Act to amend the Water Act 2000
s1 6 s4
Water Amendment Bill 2005
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Clause 1 Short title 2
This Act may be cited as the Water Amendment Act 2005. 3
Clause 2 Commencement 4
(1) Section 15 is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2005. 5
(2) Section 7 commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 6
Clause 3 Act amended 7
This Act amends the Water Act 2000. 8
Clause 4 Insertion of new ch 2, pt 2, div 2A 9
Chapter 2, part 2, after division 2-- 10
insert-- 11
`Division 2A Other water supply emergencies 12
`Subdivision 1 Preliminary 13
`25A Meaning of water supply emergency 14
`(1) A water supply emergency is a situation in which there is a 15
demonstrably serious risk the State's, or a part of the State's, 16
essential water supply needs will not be met. 17
`(2) The following are examples of circumstances from which a 18
situation mentioned in subsection (1) may arise-- 19
(a) failure of a large part of water supply, treatment or 20
distribution infrastructure or wastewater infrastructure; 21
(b) extended severe drought conditions; 22
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Water Amendment Bill 2005
(c) contamination of a water storage used for essential 1
water supply needs causing the water to be unfit for 2
supply. 3
`(3) In this section-- 4
demonstrably, in relation to a serious risk, means the serious 5
risk can be demonstrated by reliable data about water supply. 6
essential water supply needs means water supply for-- 7
(a) domestic purposes; or 8
(b) essential services, including the generation or 9
distribution of electricity; or 10
(c) processing or refining minerals or petroleum in the 11
Calliope or Gladstone local government areas. 12
`Subdivision 2 Water supply emergency 13
declaration and regulation 14
`25B Declaration of water supply emergency 15
`(1) The Minister may prepare a water supply emergency 16
declaration if the Minister is satisfied-- 17
(a) there is a water supply emergency; or 18
(b) a water supply emergency is developing. 19
`(2) Before preparing a water supply emergency declaration, the 20
Minister must have regard to other measures, instead of a 21
water supply emergency declaration, that could be taken under 22
this or another Act to deal with the water supply emergency. 23
`(3) The water supply emergency declaration-- 24
(a) has effect when it is approved by the Governor in 25
Council and published in the gazette; and 26
(b) remains in force until the earlier of the following-- 27
(i) the commencement of a regulation dealing with the 28
matters mentioned in the declaration; 29
(ii) the end of 15 business days after the date it is 30
published. 31
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Water Amendment Bill 2005
`25C Contents of water supply emergency declaration 1
`(1) A water supply emergency declaration must state-- 2
(a) the water supply emergency to which the declaration 3
applies; and 4
(b) the part of the State to which the declaration applies; 5
and 6
(c) the service providers to which the declaration applies; 7
and 8
(d) for dealing with the water supply emergency-- 9
(i) the measures each service provider is directed to 10
carry out and the day by which the measures are to 11
be carried out; and 12
(ii) if the measures a service provider is directed to 13
carry out include making non-Act water available 14
to, or operating infrastructure to allow non-Act 15
water to be supplied to, a customer or type of 16
customer--whether section 25K applies to the 17
direction; and 18
(iii) if the measures a service provider is directed to 19
carry out include imposing the restrictions 20
mentioned in section 25D--that the service 21
provider is directed to give the Minister for 22
approval, within the time stated, a response (a 23
water supply emergency response) stating the way 24
the service provider intends to ensure the 25
restrictions are complied with; and 26
(iv) the outcomes each service provider is directed to 27
achieve and the day by which the outcomes are to 28
be achieved; and 29
(v) that a service provider directed to achieve 30
outcomes is directed to give the Minister for 31
approval, within the time stated, a response (also a 32
water supply emergency response) stating-- 33
(A) the actions the service provider intends to 34
take to achieve the outcomes; and 35
(B) if the actions include imposing the 36
restrictions mentioned in section 25D--the 37
s4 9 s4
Water Amendment Bill 2005
way the service provider intends to ensure 1
the restrictions are complied with. 2
`(2) The declaration must state, for the measures directed to be 3
carried out or outcomes directed to be achieved-- 4
(a) whether the State or 1 or more service providers are to 5
pay the cost and, if more than 1 entity is to pay the cost, 6
the apportionment of the costs; and 7
(b) if the State is to contribute to the cost--the amount to be 8
contributed and the way in which it is to be paid; and 9
(c) the extent to which, and the service providers from 10
whom, the State may recover any contributions made; 11
and 12
(d) the extent to which, and the service provider's 13
customers or other service providers from whom, a 14
service provider may recover the contributions made by 15
the State and the costs approved by the Minister; and 16
(e) whether, and on what, a service provider may recover a 17
rate of return and the service provider's customers or 18
other service providers from whom it may be recovered. 19
`(3) A water supply emergency declaration may authorise persons 20
to exercise powers, including powers of decision and direction 21
and delegated powers, to facilitate the implementation of the 22
directions under the declaration. 23
`(4) If a water supply emergency declaration for a part of the State 24
is inconsistent with a wild river declaration or the objectives 25
of a water resource plan for the part, the water supply 26
emergency declaration is ineffective to the extent of the 27
inconsistency. 28
`(5) However-- 29
(a) the water supply emergency declaration may, to the 30
extent stated in the declaration, be inconsistent with-- 31
(i) the resource operations plan that implements the 32
water resource plan; or 33
(ii) a resource operations licence for the water to 34
which the plan applies; or 35
(iii) an interim resource operations licence; and 36
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Water Amendment Bill 2005
(b) to the extent of the inconsistency, the water supply 1
emergency declaration prevails. 2
`25D Measures mentioned in a water supply emergency 3
declaration 4
`The measures a service provider may, in a water supply 5
emergency declaration, be directed to carry out are the 6
following-- 7
(a) to make available, water from the service provider's 8
authority under this Act to take or interfere with water or 9
non-Act water, to-- 10
(i) other service providers; or 11
(ii) entities responsible for generating electricity; or 12
(iii) the coordinator-general; 13
(b) to operate infrastructure to allow water, including 14
non-Act water, to be supplied to the entities mentioned 15
in paragraph (a); 16
(c) to make non-Act water available to a customer or type 17
of customer; 18
(d) to operate infrastructure to allow non-Act water to be 19
supplied to a customer or type of customer; 20
(e) to restrict, in the way stated in the declaration, the 21
following-- 22
(i) the volume of water taken by or supplied to a 23
customer or type of customer; 24
(ii) the hours when water may be used on premises for 25
stated purposes; 26
(iii) the way water may be used on premises; 27
(f) to apply a restriction imposed under paragraph (e) to 28
water, including non-Act water, taken from a rainwater 29
tank connected to the service provider's reticulated 30
water supply. 31
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Water Amendment Bill 2005
`25E Requirement to comply with water supply emergency 1
declaration 2
`(1) A service provider to whom a direction is given under a water 3
supply emergency declaration must comply with the direction. 4
Maximum penalty-- 5
(a) for a direction mentioned in section 25C(1)(d)(i)--1665 6
penalty units; 7
(b) for a direction mentioned in section 25C(1)(d)(iii) or 8
(v)--1000 penalty units. 9
10
Note--
11
See also section 389(4) to (6).
`(2) Subsection (1) applies even if complying with the direction 12
would be inconsistent with the service provider's current 13
supply and infrastructure contractual arrangements and the 14
current arrangements are ineffective-- 15
(a) to the extent of the inconsistency; and 16
(b) for the period stated in the declaration. 17
`(3) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against 18
subsection (1) to prove-- 19
(a) the service provider made all reasonable efforts to 20
comply with the direction; and 21
(b) the service provider is unable to comply with the 22
direction because the service provider is unable to 23
acquire, to the extent necessary to comply with the 24
direction-- 25
(i) the development and other approvals necessary for 26
carrying out the measures or achieving the 27
outcomes; or 28
(ii) the land on which infrastructure is to be 29
constructed; or 30
(iii) finance to carry out the measures or achieve the 31
outcomes. 32
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Water Amendment Bill 2005
`25F Regulation about water supply emergency 1
`(1) This section applies if-- 2
(a) there is a water supply emergency; or 3
(b) a water supply emergency is developing. 4
`(2) A regulation (a water supply emergency regulation) may 5
state-- 6
(a) the water supply emergency to which the regulation 7
applies; and 8
(b) the part of the State to which the regulation applies; and 9
(c) the service providers to which the regulation applies; 10
and 11
(d) for dealing with the water supply emergency-- 12
(i) the measures each service provider is directed to 13
carry out and the day by which the measures are to 14
be carried out; and 15
(ii) if the measures a service provider is directed to 16
carry out include making non-Act water available 17
to, or operating infrastructure to allow non-Act 18
water to be supplied to, a customer or type of 19
customer--whether section 25K applies to the 20
direction; and 21
(iii) if the measures a service provider is directed to 22
carry out include imposing the restrictions 23
mentioned in section 25D--that the service 24
provider is directed to give the Minister for 25
approval, within the time stated, a water supply 26
emergency response stating the way the service 27
provider intends to ensure the restrictions are 28
complied with; and 29
(iv) the outcomes each service provider is directed to 30
achieve and the day by which the outcomes are to 31
be achieved; and 32
(v) that a service provider directed to achieve 33
outcomes is directed to give the Minister for 34
approval, within the time stated, a water supply 35
emergency response stating-- 36
s4 13 s4
Water Amendment Bill 2005
(A) the actions the service provider intends to 1
take to achieve the outcomes; and 2
(B) if the actions include imposing the 3
restrictions mentioned in section 25D--the 4
way the service provider intends to ensure 5
the restrictions are complied with; and 6
(vi) any works that are to be carried out by the 7
coordinator-general. 8
`(3) For the matters mentioned in subsection (2)(d), the regulation 9
must state the matters mentioned in section 25C(2). 10
`(4) The regulation may, to the extent stated in the regulation, 11
continue the effect of a water supply emergency declaration. 12
`(5) A water supply emergency regulation may authorise persons 13
to exercise powers, including powers of decision and direction 14
and delegated powers, to facilitate the implementation of the 15
directions under the regulation. 16
`(6) The regulation, for the part of the State to which it applies, 17
must not be inconsistent with a wild river declaration or the 18
objectives of a water resource plan for the part. 19
`(7) However-- 20
(a) the regulation may, to the extent stated in the regulation, 21
be inconsistent with-- 22
(i) the resource operations plan that implements the 23
water resource plan; or 24
(ii) a resource operations licence for the water to 25
which the plan applies; or 26
(iii) an interim resource operations licence; and 27
(b) to the extent of the inconsistency, the regulation 28
prevails. 29
`25G Measures mentioned in a water supply emergency 30
regulation 31
`The measures a service provider may, under a water supply 32
emergency regulation, be directed to carry out are the 33
following-- 34
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Water Amendment Bill 2005
(a) the measures mentioned in section 25D(a) to (f); 1
(b) to make changes to the service provider's infrastructure, 2
for example to improve efficiency by-- 3
(i) reducing water losses from leakage from the 4
service provider's distribution system; or 5
(ii) bringing forward maintenance programs; 6
(c) to allow reasonable access, to connect to the service 7
provider's infrastructure and to operate and maintain the 8
connection, to-- 9
(i) other service providers; or 10
(ii) entities responsible for generating electricity; or 11
(iii) the coordinator-general; 12
(d) to implement a demand management program that, for a 13
stated part of the State or type of customer, may include, 14
but is not limited to, subsidising the installation by 15
customers of water-saving devices; 16
(e) to design, construct and operate new infrastructure; 17
(f) to recommission and operate infrastructure that is not 18
operating at the time the regulation is made. 19
`25H Requirement to comply with water supply emergency 20
regulation 21
`(1) A service provider to whom a direction is given under a water 22
supply emergency regulation must comply with the direction. 23
Maximum penalty-- 24
(a) for a direction mentioned in section 25F(2)(d)(i)--1665 25
penalty units; 26
(b) for a direction mentioned in section 25F(2)(d)(iii) or 27
(v)--1000 penalty units. 28
`(2) Subsection (1) applies even if complying with the direction 29
would be inconsistent with the service provider's current 30
supply and infrastructure contractual arrangements and the 31
current arrangements are ineffective-- 32
(a) to the extent of the inconsistency; and 33
s4 15 s4
Water Amendment Bill 2005
(b) for the period stated in the regulation. 1
`(3) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against 2
subsection (1) to prove-- 3
(a) the service provider made all reasonable efforts to 4
comply with the direction; and 5
(b) the service provider is unable to comply with the 6
direction because the service provider is unable to 7
acquire, to the extent necessary to comply with the 8
direction-- 9
(i) the development and other approvals necessary for 10
carrying out the measures or achieving the 11
outcomes; or 12
(ii) the land on which infrastructure is to be 13
constructed; or 14
(iii) finance to carry out the measures or achieve the 15
outcomes. 16
`25I Approval of, or change to, response 17
`(1) If the Minister is satisfied a water supply emergency response 18
is adequate for carrying out the measures or to achieve the 19
outcomes stated in a water supply emergency declaration or a 20
water supply emergency regulation, the Minister must-- 21
(a) approve the response; and 22
(b) give the service provider notice of the approval. 23
`(2) If the Minister is not satisfied, the Minister must-- 24
(a) change the response to make it adequate; and 25
(b) approve the changed response; and 26
(c) give the service provider notice of the approval. 27
`(3) The service provider must comply with the approved water 28
supply emergency response. 29
Maximum penalty--1665 penalty units. 30
`(4) Subsection (3) applies even if complying with the approved 31
response would be inconsistent with the service provider's 32
s4 16 s4
Water Amendment Bill 2005
current supply and infrastructure contractual arrangements 1
and the current arrangements are ineffective-- 2
(a) to the extent of the inconsistency; and 3
(b) for the period stated in the approved response. 4
`(5) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against 5
subsection (3) to prove-- 6
(a) the service provider made all reasonable efforts to 7
comply with the approved response; and 8
(b) the service provider is unable to comply with the 9
approved response because the service provider is 10
unable to acquire, to the extent necessary to comply 11
with the response-- 12
(i) the development and other approvals necessary for 13
carrying out the measures or achieving the 14
outcomes; or 15
(ii) the land on which the infrastructure is to be 16
constructed; or 17
(iii) finance to carry out the measures or achieve the 18
outcomes. 19
`25J When water supply emergency ends 20
`(1) The Governor in Council must make a regulation under this 21
section if the Minister considers a water supply emergency 22
has ended. 23
`(2) The regulation must state-- 24
(a) that the water supply emergency to which it applies no 25
longer exists; and 26
(b) the actions that may be taken, or continue to be taken, to 27
deal with circumstances arising because of the water 28
supply emergency including, if necessary, completing or 29
discontinuing actions taken under a water supply 30
emergency regulation. 31
`(3) The actions that may be taken or continue to be taken include 32
giving any directions that could have been given under the 33
s4 17 s4
Water Amendment Bill 2005
water supply emergency regulation if the emergency 1
continued to exist. 2
`(4) Subject to a regulation under this section, the ending of a 3
water supply emergency has no effect on the exercise of 4
powers under this division. 5
`Subdivision 3 Carrying out measures and 6
achieving outcomes 7
`25K Supply arrangements 8
`(1) Subsection (3) applies if a water supply emergency 9
declaration or a water supply emergency regulation, directs a 10
service provider-- 11
(a) to make water, including non-Act water, available; or 12
(b) to operate infrastructure to allow water, including 13
non-Act water, to be supplied. 14
`(2) However, if the direction is to make non-Act water available 15
to, or to operate infrastructure to allow non-Act water to be 16
supplied to, a customer or type of customer, this section 17
applies only to the extent stated in the declaration or 18
regulation. 19
`(3) The service provider must, at the time the provider makes the 20
water available or operates the infrastructure, have a supply 21
contract with each entity to whom the service provider is 22
directed to make water available or allow water to be supplied. 23
`(4) The chief executive may approve a supply contract for the 24
supply, storage and delivery of water under a water supply 25
emergency declaration or regulation including the price to be 26
paid for the supply, storage and delivery. 27
`(5) The chief executive must gazette approval of the supply 28
contract. 29
`(6) If, at any time, the service provider and an entity do not have a 30
supply contract in compliance with subsection (3), the supply 31
contract approved by the chief executive applies, for the time, 32
to the supply, storage and delivery of water under the 33
declaration or regulation. 34
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Water Amendment Bill 2005
`25L Relationship with State Development and Public 1
Works Organisation Act 1971 2
`(1) This section applies to facilitate-- 3
(a) carrying out measures mentioned in a water supply 4
emergency declaration or a water supply emergency 5
regulation; and 6
(b) compliance with an approved water supply emergency 7
response; and 8
(c) the carrying out of works, mentioned in a water supply 9
emergency regulation, by the coordinator-general. 10
`(2) The State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 11
1971 (the State Development Act) has effect in the following 12
way-- 13
(a) section 103 applies as if-- 14
(i) the water supply emergency declaration, water 15
supply emergency regulation or approved water 16
supply emergency response were a regulation 17
made under section 100; and 18
(ii) the service provider were a local body; and 19
(b) sections 105, 106 and 154 apply as if-- 20
(i) an appointment of the coordinator-general under 21
section 25M of this Act were an authorisation of 22
the coordinator-general under section 104(6); and 23
(ii) the service provider were a local body; and 24
(c) sections 109 and 110 apply as if a statement in the water 25
supply emergency regulation about works to be carried 26
out by the coordinator-general were a regulation 27
approving a recommendation to the Governor in 28
Council; and 29
(d) section 125(1)(a) applies as if a statement in the water 30
supply emergency regulation about works to be carried 31
out by the coordinator-general were an authorisation to 32
undertake works; and 33
(e) sections 125(1)(c) and 134 apply as if the service 34
provider were a local body; and 35
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Water Amendment Bill 2005
(f) sections 134 and 136 apply as if the works mentioned in 1
the water supply emergency regulation or approved 2
water supply emergency response were authorised 3
works; and 4
(g) section 137 applies as if the reference in section 137(b) 5
to section 136 were a reference to section 136 as it has 6
effect under paragraph (f); and 7
(h) section 139 applies to the extent it relates to the 8
application of section 136. 9
`(3) Despite the State Development Act, section 111(2)(b), the 10
coordinator-general may delegate to a service provider a 11
power, function or duty conferred or imposed on the 12
coordinator-general under this division. 13
`(4) If agreement is not reached under the State Development Act, 14
section 134, a regulation may approve particulars of 15
arrangements for the transfer, management, operation and 16
control of the works. 17
`(5) The regulation, to the extent it approves the particulars, is 18
taken to be a regulation made under the State Development 19
Act, section 134. 20
`(6) In this section-- 21
authorised works see the State Development Act, schedule. 22
local body see the State Development Act, schedule. 23
`25M Appointment of person to carry out measures or 24
achieve outcomes 25
`(1) This section applies if a service provider does not comply 26
with-- 27
(a) a direction under a water supply emergency declaration 28
or a water supply emergency regulation; or 29
(b) an approved water supply emergency response; or 30
(c) a compliance notice given by the chief executive under 31
section 780(1) in relation to the direction or response. 32
s4 20 s4
Water Amendment Bill 2005
`(2) The Governor in Council may appoint a person to comply 1
with the direction or response as agent for the service 2
provider. 3
`(3) The appointment-- 4
(a) has effect when it is notified in the gazette; and 5
(b) remains in force until-- 6
(i) the day stated in the notification; or 7
(ii) if no day is stated in the notification--the day 8
withdrawal of the appointment is notified. 9
`(4) The appointment may deal with any matter necessary or 10
convenient to help the person comply with the direction or 11
response. 12
`(5) A direction or response mentioned in subsection (1) does not 13
include a direction or response about imposing water 14
restrictions. 15
`25N Effect of appointee carrying out measures or 16
achieving outcomes 17
`(1) A person appointed under section 25M(2) (the appointee) 18
may do all things necessary or convenient to comply with the 19
direction or response. 20
`(2) A person in possession of premises on which the service 21
provider's infrastructure is situated must give the appointee 22
access to the premises to enable the appointee to comply with 23
the direction or response. 24
Maximum penalty--500 penalty units. 25
`(3) A person in possession of premises must not take action or 26
refuse to take action if the taking or refusal has the effect of 27
preventing the appointee from, or hindering the appointee in, 28
complying with the direction or response. 29
Maximum penalty--1665 penalty units. 30
`(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to an act done, or 31
omission made, during or relating to industrial action under 32
the Industrial Relations Act 1999. 33
s4 21 s4
Water Amendment Bill 2005
`(5) The service provider is liable for the appointee's reasonable 1
costs of complying with the direction or response as agent for 2
the service provider. 3
`Subdivision 4 Recovery of costs 4
`25O Recovery of costs incurred 5
`(1) This section applies to a service provider who-- 6
(a) under a water supply emergency declaration or a water 7
supply emergency regulation-- 8
(i) is directed to pay the cost of carrying out measures, 9
achieving outcomes or works carried out by the 10
coordinator-general; or 11
(ii) may recover contributions by the State; or 12
(b) under section 25N(5), is liable to pay an appointee's 13
costs; or 14
(c) under a regulation made under the State Development 15
Act, section 134 or 154, is required to pay costs incurred 16
by or for the coordinator-general. 17
`(2) The service provider may, to the extent stated in the 18
declaration or regulation, recover from the service provider's 19
customers or other service providers-- 20
(a) the contributions made by the State; and 21
(b) the costs mentioned in subsection (1) to the extent they 22
are approved by the Minister; and 23
(c) the rate of return. 24
`(3) Subsection (2) applies despite-- 25
(a) any condition of the service provider's authority under 26
this Act to take or interfere with water; or 27
(b) any provision to the contrary in a supply contract, or a 28
contract for the supply of registered services, between 29
the service provider and the service provider's 30
customers or other service providers; or 31
s4 22 s4
Water Amendment Bill 2005
(c) the pricing arrangements in a relevant notice mentioned 1
in section 1137 or a regulation amending a relevant 2
notice; or 3
(d) any direction given under section 999. 4
`(4) The service provider may recover, as a debt due to the service 5
provider, any amount the service provider is entitled to 6
recover under subsection (2). 7
`25P Recovery of contributions by the State 8
`The State may recover, as a debt due to the State by a service 9
provider, any contributions the State is entitled, under a water 10
supply emergency declaration or a water supply emergency 11
regulation, to recover from the service provider. 12
`25Q Queensland Competition Authority 13
`The Queensland Competition Authority, in performing its 14
functions under the Queensland Competition Authority Act 15
1997, must not act in a way that is inconsistent with a water 16
supply emergency declaration, a water supply emergency 17
regulation or section 25O. 18
`Subdivision 5 Compensation 19
`25R Applying for compensation 20
`(1) A person, including a service provider, who suffers loss or 21
damage because of actions taken under this division may 22
apply to the Minister for compensation for the loss or damage. 23
`(2) The application must be made in writing within 65 business 24
days after the person suffers the loss or damage. 25
`(3) The application must state-- 26
(a) details of the person's loss or damage; and 27
(b) the amount of compensation claimed and the grounds 28
for the amount claimed. 29
s4 23 s4
Water Amendment Bill 2005
`(4) The applicant must also provide any other relevant 1
information reasonably required by the Minister to decide the 2
application. 3
`(5) Despite subsection (2), the Minister may accept a person's 4
application for compensation made more than 65 business 5
days after the person suffers the loss or damage if the Minister 6
is satisfied it would be reasonable in all the circumstances to 7
accept the application. 8
`(6) The Minister's acceptance of an application for compensation 9
does not give an applicant an entitlement to the compensation. 10
`25S When compensation is not payable 11
`(1) Compensation is not payable to a person for-- 12
(a) loss or damage suffered because of a water restriction 13
imposed under-- 14
(i) a direction under a water supply emergency 15
declaration or water supply emergency regulation; 16
or 17
(ii) an approved water supply emergency response; or 18
(b) costs or contributions mentioned in section 25O(1); or 19
(c) loss or damage to the extent that an amount for the loss 20
or damage is recovered or recoverable by the person 21
under a policy of insurance; or 22
(d) costs that were recovered from the person by a service 23
provider under section 25O(2). 24
`(2) Also, compensation is not payable to the person for loss or 25
damage if the loss or damage would have happened 26
irrespective of actions taken under this division. 27
`25T Requirement for further information 28
`(1) The Minister may give the applicant a notice stating-- 29
(a) the information required by the Minister for deciding the 30
application; and 31
(b) the time by which the information must be given to the 32
Minister; and 33
s4 24 s4
Water Amendment Bill 2005
(c) that, if the information is not given to the Minister by the 1
stated time, the application will lapse. 2
`(2) The stated time must be reasonable and, in any case, at least 3
15 business days after the notice is given. 4
`(3) The Minister may give the applicant a further notice extending 5
or further extending the time if the Minister is satisfied it 6
would be reasonable in all the circumstances to give the 7
extension. 8
`(4) A notice may be given under subsection (3) even if the time to 9
which it relates has lapsed. 10
`(5) If the applicant does not comply with the requirement within 11
the stated time, or any extension of the time, the application 12
lapses. 13
`25U Deciding application 14
`(1) The Minister must consider and decide an application made 15
under section 25R within 65 business days after the later of 16
the following-- 17
(a) the day the Minister receives the application; 18
(b) the day the Minister receives all information required by 19
the Minister for deciding the application. 20
`(2) In deciding an application, the Minister may have regard to-- 21
(a) the extent and nature of the applicant's loss or damage; 22
and 23
(b) the extent to which the applicant has mitigated, or 24
attempted to mitigate, the loss or damage; and 25
(c) any other matter the Minister considers appropriate. 26
`(3) The Minister may decide-- 27
(a) to pay all or part of the compensation claimed; or 28
(b) to refuse to pay the compensation. 29
`(4) If the Minister has not decided an application within the 30
period stated in subsection (1) for the application, the Minister 31
is taken to have refused to pay compensation. 32
s4 25 s4
Water Amendment Bill 2005
`25V Notice about decision 1
`As soon as practicable after deciding the application, the 2
Minister must give the applicant a notice stating-- 3
(a) the decision and the reasons for the decision; and 4
(b) if the Minister decides to pay compensation--details of 5
the amount to be paid and how the amount was 6
calculated. 7
`25W Protection of State and Minister from liability 8
`Civil liability does not attach to the State or a Minister 9
because of a failure to make a water supply emergency 10
declaration under section 25B or a water supply emergency 11
regulation under section 25F. 12
`25X Protection of service provider from liability 13
`(1) Subsection (2) applies to actions taken by a service provider 14
that are inconsistent with the service provider's current supply 15
and infrastructure contractual arrangements. 16
`(2) The service provider is not liable for loss or damage caused by 17
taking the actions in compliance with-- 18
(a) a direction under a water supply emergency declaration 19
or water supply emergency regulation; or 20
(b) an approved water supply emergency response. 21
`(3) Subsection (2)-- 22
(a) applies only to the extent the service provider acted 23
reasonably and without negligence; and 24
(b) does not affect the service provider's liability for 25
negligence. 26
s5 26 s5
Water Amendment Bill 2005
`Subdivision 6 Review of division and regulation 1
`25Y Review of div 2A 2
`The Minister must review the operation of this division 3
within 2 years after its commencement. 4
`25Z Review of regulation 5
`Within 12 months after the commencement of a water supply 6
emergency regulation, the Minister must review the 7
effectiveness of the operation of the regulation in dealing with 8
the water supply emergency.'. 9
Clause 5 Insertion of new s 36A 10
After section 36-- 11
insert-- 12
`36A Obtaining information from a service provider 13
`(1) For the purposes of part 2, division 2A, the chief executive 14
may give a service provider a notice requiring information 15
about 1 or more of the following-- 16
(a) current and projected future water consumption by the 17
service provider's customers or a class of the customers; 18
(b) water restrictions the service provider has imposed or 19
intends to impose; 20
(c) the events that would cause the service provider to 21
impose the restrictions, for example, the available water 22
supply falling to a stated level; 23
(d) the actions the service provider intends to take to ensure 24
compliance with the restrictions; 25
(e) the demand management program the service provider 26
proposes to implement; 27
(f) other measures the service provider proposes to take, for 28
example, constructing new infrastructure or making 29
changes to existing infrastructure. 30
s6 27 s6
Water Amendment Bill 2005
`(2) The notice may be given at any time and must state the 1
reasonable time by which the information must be given to the 2
chief executive. 3
`(3) The service provider must comply with the notice, unless the 4
service provider has a reasonable excuse. 5
Maximum penalty--200 penalty units. 6
`(4) It is a reasonable excuse for a service provider who is an 7
individual not to comply with the notice if complying with the 8
notice might tend to incriminate the individual.'. 9
Clause 6 Amendment of s 73 (Requirement for land and water 10
management plans) 11
(1) Section 73(1)(b) and (c)-- 12
renumber as section 73(1)(c) and (d). 13
(2) Section 73(1)-- 14
insert-- 15
`(b) a person who-- 16
(i) has used, for irrigation, water the person received 17
under a seasonal water assignment, other than in 18
combination with water taken under any other 19
authority under this Act; and 20
(ii) within the time prescribed under a regulation, 21
proposes to again use, on the same land, water the 22
person has received under a seasonal water 23
assignment, other than in combination with water 24
taken under any other authority under this Act;'. 25
(3) Section 73(1A)-- 26
omit. 27
(4) Section 73-- 28
insert-- 29
`(2A) Despite subsection (2), subsection (5) applies to a person 30
who-- 31
(a) in a water year used, for irrigation, a combination of the 32
following-- 33
s7 28 s7
Water Amendment Bill 2005
(i) water taken under a water allocation or an interim 1
water allocation; 2
(ii) water the person received under a seasonal water 3
assignment; and 4
(b) the combination exceeds the nominal volume for the 5
allocation; and 6
(c) within the time prescribed under a regulation, proposes 7
to again use, on the same land, the combination 8
mentioned in paragraph (a) that will exceed the nominal 9
volume.'. 10
(5) Section 73(5), `interim water allocation or water licence'-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`interim water allocation, water licence or seasonal water 13
assignment'. 14
(6) Section 73-- 15
insert-- 16
`(6) In this section-- 17
seasonal water assignment means only the seasonal water 18
assignment of the benefit of water taken under an interim 19
water allocation or a water allocation.'. 20
Clause 7 Insertion of new ch 3, pt 2, div 2A 21
After section 387-- 22
insert-- 23
`Division 2A SEQ Water 24
`387A Application of div 2A 25
`This division applies to the authority held by SEQ Water, to 26
take or interfere with water, continued under section 1037A. 27
`387B Requirement for supply contract 28
`The holder of each of the following authorities, to take water 29
made available by SEQ Water under its authority, must have a 30
s7 29 s7
Water Amendment Bill 2005
supply contract with SEQ Water for the holder's water 1
entitlement-- 2
(a) a licence issued under part 4 of the repealed Act to take 3
water for irrigation purposes from the section of the 4
Brisbane River between Wivenhoe Dam and Mt Crosby 5
Weir and taken, under section 1048A, to be a water 6
entitlement under this Act; 7
(b) an authority under the repealed Act, to take water, 8
that-- 9
(i) was in force on the commencement of section 15B 10
of the repealed Water Resources Regulation 1999; 11
and 12
(ii) relates to the impoundments of Wivenhoe, 13
Somerset or North Pine Dams or the section of the 14
Brisbane River between Wivenhoe Dam and Mt 15
Crosby Weir; and 16
(iii) is taken, under section 1048A, to be a water 17
entitlement under this Act; 18
(c) a water entitlement granted under this Act to take water 19
from the impoundments of Wivenhoe, Somerset or 20
North Pine Dams or the section of the Brisbane River 21
between Wivenhoe Dam and Mt Crosby Weir. 22
`387C Chief executive may approve standard supply 23
contract 24
`(1) The chief executive may approve a standard supply contract 25
for the storage and delivery, by SEQ Water, of water under the 26
authorities mentioned in section 387B. 27
`(2) The chief executive must gazette the approval. 28
`(3) On the commencement of this section, the standard supply 29
contract applies to an authority unless the holder of the 30
authority and SEQ Water have a supply contract. 31
`(4) The parties to a standard supply contract must review the 32
contract within 1 year after the contract takes effect. 33
s8 30 s8
Water Amendment Bill 2005
`387D Customer of a service provider 1
`The holder of an authority to take water, mentioned in section 2
387B, is a customer of a service provider for this Act. 3
`387E Cost of installing and maintaining meters 4
`SEQ Water may recover, from each holder of an authority 5
mentioned in section 387B to whom the standard supply 6
contract applies, the reasonable cost to SEQ Water of-- 7
(a) a water meter to measure the volume of water taken 8
under the authority; and 9
(b) installing, reading and maintaining the water meter.'. 10
Clause 8 Amendment of s 388 (Restricting water supply) 11
(1) Section 388(1)(a), after `water'-- 12
insert-- 13
`taken by or'. 14
(2) Section 388(2)-- 15
insert-- 16
`(e) the water service provider is directed, under a water 17
supply emergency declaration, a water supply 18
emergency regulation or an approved water supply 19
emergency response, to impose the restriction.'. 20
(3) Section 388(3)-- 21
renumber as section 388(4). 22
(4) Section 388-- 23
insert-- 24
`(3) A water service provider may apply a restriction imposed 25
under subsection (1) to water, including non-Act water, taken 26
from a rainwater tank connected to the service provider's 27
reticulated supply.'. 28
s9 31 s 10
Water Amendment Bill 2005
Clause 9 Amendment of s 389 (Notice of water restriction must be 1
given) 2
Section 389-- 3
insert-- 4
`(4) Subsections (5) and (6) apply if a water service provider, 5
directed under a water supply emergency declaration, a water 6
supply emergency regulation or an approved water supply 7
emergency response to impose water restrictions, does not 8
comply with the direction. 9
`(5) The Minister may give notice of the water restrictions, 10
required under the declaration, regulation or response to be 11
imposed, to anyone affected by the restrictions in the way the 12
Minister considers appropriate. 13
`(6) Notice given by the Minister under subsection (5)-- 14
(a) imposes the water restrictions stated in the notice; and 15
(b) is taken to be notice given by the service provider under 16
subsection (1).'. 17
Clause 10 Insertion of new ch 3, pt 2, div 6 18
Chapter 3, part 2-- 19
insert-- 20
`Division 6 Further powers of service providers 21
`396 Water charges 22
`(1) A service provider required under this Act to pay a water 23
charge to the chief executive may pass on the charge to the 24
provider's customer. 25
`(2) If the customer is also a service provider, the customer may 26
pass on the charge to its customer. 27
`(3) Subsections (1) and (2) apply despite-- 28
(a) any condition of the service provider's authority under 29
this Act to take or interfere with water; or 30
s 11 32 s 11
Water Amendment Bill 2005
(b) any provision to the contrary in a supply contract, or a 1
contract for the supply of registered services, between 2
the service provider and the customer; or 3
(c) the pricing arrangements in a relevant notice mentioned 4
in section 1137 or a regulation amending a relevant 5
notice; or 6
(d) any direction given under section 999. 7
`397 Recovering water charges 8
`A service provider may recover an overdue water charge 9
passed on to a customer as a debt due to the service provider 10
by the customer. 11
`398 Restricting water supply in certain circumstances 12
`(1) Subsection (2) applies if-- 13
(a) a customer, other than a customer who is also a service 14
provider, does not pay a water charge passed on under 15
section 396; and 16
(b) the service provider has given the customer a notice to 17
pay the charge; and 18
(c) the customer continues to refuse to pay the charge. 19
`(2) The service provider may reduce the water supply to the 20
customer to the minimum level necessary for the customer's 21
stock or domestic purposes.'. 22
Clause 11 Amendment of s 781 (General requirements for 23
compliance notices) 24
(1) Section 781(1)(g) to (i)-- 25
renumber as section 781(1)(h) to (j). 26
(2) Section 781(1)-- 27
insert-- 28
`(g) if the notice is in relation to a direction or response 29
mentioned in section 25M(1)--that if the notice is not 30
complied with, the Governor in Council may, under 31
s 12 33 s 14
Water Amendment Bill 2005
section 25M(2), appoint a person to comply with the 1
direction or response; and'. 2
Clause 12 Amendment of s 1007 (Records to be kept in registries) 3
Section 1007(8), `127B(4)'-- 4
omit, insert-- 5
`127C(4)'. 6
Clause 13 Amendment of s 1013B (Non-payment of fees or charges) 7
(1) Section 1013B(2)(d), `water entitlement'-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
`authority under this Act to take water'. 10
(2) Section 1013B(3)-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`(3) However-- 13
(a) an authority mentioned in subsection (2)(d) does not 14
include an authority under section 20; and 15
(b) subsection (2)(d) does not apply if the holder of the 16
authority is a service provider; and 17
(c) a prohibition under subsection (2)(d) must not apply to 18
taking the minimum volume of water, that may be stated 19
in the notice, necessary for stock or domestic purposes.'. 20
Clause 14 Amendment of s 1037A (Other continuing authorities) 21
(1) Section 1037A(1)(c)-- 22
omit. 23
(2) Section 1037A(3), (4) and (5)-- 24
renumber as section 1037A(4), (5) and (7). 25
(3) Section 1037A-- 26
s 15 34 s 15
Water Amendment Bill 2005
insert-- 1
`(3) Subsection (4) applies to an entity to which a special 2
agreement Act applies-- 3
(a) to the extent the special agreement Act authorises the 4
taking of, or interfering with, water; and 5
(b) if, immediately before the commencement of this 6
section, the entity was taking or interfering with water to 7
which this Act applies.'. 8
(4) Section 1037A(4), as renumbered, `(1)(c)'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`(3)'. 11
(5) Section 1037A(5), as renumbered, `South East Queensland 12
Water Corporation Limited ABN 14088729766'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`SEQ Water'. 15
(6) Section 1037A-- 16
insert-- 17
`(6) The chief executive may grant a water licence under 18
subsection (2)(a) or (5)(a) without the need for an application 19
to be made under section 206.'. 20
Clause 15 Amendment of s 1136B (Notices given under section 21
101(1)(b) and (1)(c)) 22
Section 1136B(1)-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`(1) This section applies to a notice given under section 101(1)(b) 25
for-- 26
(a) the Pioneer Valley Resource Operations Plan 2005; or 27
(b) the Barron Resource Operations Plan 2005; or 28
(c) a draft resource operations plan that did not become 29
effective under section 103 before the commencement 30
of the Water and Other Legislation Amendment Act 31
2005, section 16.'. 32
s 16 35 s 16
Water Amendment Bill 2005
Clause 16 Replacement of ch 9, pt 6 (Repeals) 1
Chapter 9, part 6-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`Division 5 Transitional provisions for Water 4
Amendment Act 2005 5
`1137 Declaration for section 999 6
`(1) It is declared that-- 7
(a) a relevant notice has effect, and is taken from gazettal to 8
have always had effect, as provided by its terms, as a law 9
binding on all persons; and 10
(b) the pricing arrangements for the supply of water set out 11
in a relevant notice are, and are taken from gazettal to 12
have always been, the pricing arrangements applicable 13
to the corporatised entity; and 14
(c) for water supplied by the corporatised entity-- 15
(i) the corporatised entity is required, and is taken 16
from gazettal to have always been required, to 17
charge the prices determined under the relevant 18
notice; and 19
(ii) amounts charged by the corporatised entity under a 20
relevant notice, before the commencement of this 21
section, were, and are taken to have always been, 22
lawfully charged; and 23
(iii) amounts charged by the corporatised entity under a 24
relevant notice, after the commencement of this 25
section, are lawfully charged. 26
`(2) A relevant notice may be amended or repealed by regulation. 27
`(3) In this section-- 28
gazettal means the gazettal of the relevant notice. 29
pricing arrangements include the provision for the 30
adjustment of the arrangements provided for in the relevant 31
notice. 32
s 17 36 s 17
Water Amendment Bill 2005
relevant notice means-- 1
(a) Rural Water Pricing Direction Notice (No. 01) 2000, 2
gazetted on 6 October 2000 at pages 429 to 432; or 3
(b) Rural Water Pricing Direction Notice (No. 01) 2002, 4
gazetted on 28 June 2002 at page 803; or 5
(c) Rural Water Pricing Direction Notice (No. 02) 2002, 6
gazetted on 27 September 2002 at page 268; or 7
(d) Amendment of Rural Water Pricing Direction Notices 8
(No. 01) 2005, gazetted on 1 July 2005 at page 678. 9
`1138 Validity of amending moratorium notice not affected 10
`(1) This section applies to the amending moratorium notice for 11
the Moreton area published by the Minister on 21 May 2005. 12
`(2) It is declared that-- 13
(a) a reference in the notice to the notice having been made 14
under section 44 of this Act does not affect the validity 15
of the notice; and 16
(b) the notice was made under section 29 of this Act 17
(previously numbered section 44). 18
`1139 Waiver of water meter charges 19
`The Minister may waive, completely or partly, payment of a 20
water meter charge if the waiver is part of the implementation 21
of new water charges.'. 22
Clause 17 Amendment of sch 4 (Dictionary) 23
(1) Schedule 4-- 24
insert-- 25
`approved water supply emergency response means a water 26
supply emergency response approved by the Minister under 27
section 25I. 28
non-Act water means water that is not included in the 29
definition of water in this schedule. 30
s 17 37 s 17
Water Amendment Bill 2005
SEQ Water means South East Queensland Water Corporation 1
Limited ABN 14 088 729 766. 2
water supply emergency see section 25A. 3
water supply emergency declaration means a declaration 4
made under section 25B. 5
water supply emergency regulation see section 25F. 6
water supply emergency response see section 25C.'. 7
(2) Schedule 4, definition supply contract, after `entitlement'-- 8
insert-- 9
`, a water supply emergency declaration or a water supply 10
emergency regulation'. 11
© State of Queensland 2005
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