The following information (in italics) has been provided by Unity Water, in relation to their new pricing structure for their Trade Waste Permit Fees taking effect from the 1st of July:

Our new pricing structure will see us move away from a flat-fee pricing to Treatment Tiers that are based on the impact of each customer’s trade waste on the wastewater treatment network.

Please note not all business/trade waste customers are affected.

We have made the change to more accurately reflect the true cost to treat trade waste of varying volumes and impact from our diverse base of business customers. The new pricing structure ensures we can continue delivering sustainable trade waste treatment services that keep our communities healthy, safe and ready for business.

To support the transition to the new pricing, permit fees will be reduced for the first year.

We have communicated to our customers that we are here to support them through this change. In addition to the reduced fees in the first year, we’re also switching from annual billing to quarterly billing to help customers spread out their costs. The first bill with the new fees will be issued in October 2023.

For more information about this pricing change and to see our FAQs, please visit our website. In the meantime, I have attached some fact sheets for your reference.

 

Contact Information

Should any of our small businesses in the ‘very low’ category, be impacted adversely, please email us on noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au so we can raise this with the Minister for Small Business to further efforts to see impacts mitigated. Even though matters relating to Unity Water do not come under the jurisdiction of State Government, we can advocate for other forms of relief for our small operators.

Unity Water is a statutory authority with three shareholders – Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast and Noosa Council’s – and is governed by an independent board. Matters relating to Unity Water do not come under the jurisdiction of State Government. Concerns or complaints need to be lodged directly with Unity Water through their contact details available at www.unitywater.com/about-us/contact-us

Should you wish any decisions or actions of Unity Water to be investigated further, you can lodge a case with the Energy & Water Ombudsman QLD, who provide a free and independent dispute resolution service for unresolved complaints with electricity, gas or water suppliers. Their details are available at www.ewoq.com.au