Independent review of customer billing incident

We recognise the significant frustration and inconvenience caused to our customers by prolonged delays in issuing bills and processing applications after the implementation of our new billing and payments system in May 2024.

We’re sorry that our levels of customer service have not met the high standards we set out to deliver, and that our customers and the Minister for Water expect from us.

To learn from this incident and improve, the Minister for Water has requested Greater Western Water’s Board to commission an independent review.

Consulting firm Nous Group has been appointed to conduct the independent review, which will include an expert panel. The independent review will be led by Claire Noone, a strong advocate for consumer rights through former senior roles at both Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). This will ensure a thorough and impartial assessment of our response and actions.

Scope of the review

This review will look at our operational planning and response to the incident and identify best practices and opportunities for the broader water sector to strengthen its resilience.

The review will focus on identifying key lessons and improvement opportunities. It will consider:

• our operational response and how well we coordinated this
• the people and technical support we had in place and how effectively these supported our response
• whether resource sharing or other contingency plans could have sped up the recovery
• how we communicated during the incident
• how well we were prepared to handle customer needs
• the attention and support we gave impacted customers, and
• any additional factors that could improve our operations and decision making.

In light of the findings, the review will also recommend best practice systems, resources and technologies for managing incidents of this nature, offering insights for the broader water sector to consider.

The review will be conducted by an independent third party with an expert panel, ensuring a thorough and impartial assessment of our response and actions. The review will consult with the Essential Services Commission and other stakeholders for input.

We’re supporting Nous to conduct and complete the independent review as soon as possible and will share the review findings publicly to show our commitment to better serving our customers and community. We appreciate your patience as we work through the process.

An interim report will be provided to the Minister no later than mid 2025.

Our commitment

We take full responsibility for the challenges caused by the system changeover and are committed to ensuring the review process is thorough and impartial. We are committed to learning and improving from this incident to prevent similar issues in the future.

We deeply regret the impact this incident has had on our customers and are committed to taking decisive action to rebuild trust and improve our services.

While the review is underway, we remain focused on resolving customer concerns, providing financial support and restoring confidence in our services.

If you need assistance with your water bill or a service application, we are here to help. Please contact us.