Billing updates

We’ve made some changes to your bill so it’s easier to read and understand your usage and charges. Have a look at our handy bill explainer to see what’s changed.

We have waived all charges from before 1 April 2024, and depending on your situation may waive other charges too.

If you received a letter from us that mentioned waived charges but your bill didn’t indicate a “delayed bill adjustment”, it means you had no outstanding charges to be waived and this message doesn't apply to you.

Between May and June 2024, a billing system error caused some business and apartment building customers to be overcharged for their fire services fee. Instead of being billed for one quarter, a small number of accounts were charged for a full year.

We’re sorry for the error and any inconvenience it may have caused.

If your account was affected, we’ll automatically apply a credit for the overcharged amount. You’ll see this listed under the adjustments on your next bill. If you’d prefer a refund, please call us and we’d be happy to help.

Due to known technical errors with our new billing system, some customers may notice some charges or payment information is displayed incorrectly. If you have any concerns or need this information before your next bill arrives, please contact us. We’re aware of the following bill display issues:

• Some trade waste bills are not displaying drainage or parks charges. The total charges are correct. We are working to fix this issue.
• The graph for previous water usage displaying minus/negative. This issue has been resolved.
• Previous payment displaying as $0. This issue has been resolved.

 

Regular meter readings help us bill you accurately. If we can’t safely access your water meter, we’ll use an estimate reading based on your past water usage.

We’ll show this on your bill with an ‘E’ next to the reading. 

If you’ve received an estimated bill, you can contact us with your meter reading and we’ll update it for you. Learn more on our reading your meter page.

Some delayed bills covered a longer period than usual. As we calculated these bills, we found a system issue that affected concession discounts for July–September 2024. To make sure you're supported, we've adjusted these bills to apply the highest rebate for concession holders. All concession card holders received a $50 goodwill rebate on these combined bills and extended payment terms.

All customers will receive a new account number as part of our billing system upgrade. You’ll find this on your next bill.

Your payment will still come through for now. For all future payments, please use your new account number.

Yes, we've extended the due date on delayed bills. We can work with you to set up a payment plan if you need longer than the extension.

If you can't pay the full amount all at once, you can pay a smaller amount, any time, without a formal payment plan. You can pay via the website, BPAY or at Australia Post. Find out more about how to pay your bill.

If you ever need more time or support to pay your bill, GWW offers payment plans and extensions, visit Financial support.

These payment support options will also be on your bill.

If you currently have a weekly, fortnightly or monthly payment plan set up, payments will continue to come out as agreed on your plan.

These plans run for 12 months and will end automatically after that period, but you can start a new one at any time by giving us a call.

If a payment doesn’t come out as expected, please contact us.

We've paused taking direct debits in full, due to billing delays, which meant some bills covered more than one quarter.  This pause on direct debits in full prevented customers being charged for multiple bills at once. 

We've begun contacting impacted customers directly to let them know we’ll be deactivating and ending their direct debit in full agreements. This is the first step in preparing to safely restart the service.

We’ll contact customers to let them know when and how they can re-register. For now, you can pay your bill using our other payment options.

While your direct debit is paused, you might notice your bill still shows ‘direct debit’ as the payment method. This is a display issue and no money will be taken during this time.

If you need support with your bills, or if paying by direct debit in full isn't right for you anymore, we can help. Call our temporary direct debit helpline on 1800 805 301, to discuss weekly, fortnightly or monthly payment options.

Thank you for your continued patience while we work to fix this issue.

We’ve updated the BPAY View reference number for our bills.

To continue receiving your bills electronically, you’ll need to re-register for BPAY View. If you don’t re-register, your bills will no longer be delivered to your BPAY View account, and you'll start receiving paper bills.

Please visit your banking app, where we sent information about how to re-register in May and October 2024.

If you’ve experienced delays, your upcoming bills may arrive closer together as we work to return to the quarterly billing schedule you expect. We're sorry for any inconvenience or financial stress this may cause.

You may have had a bill arrive before your previous bill’s due date.

If you haven’t paid the previous bill, it will be added to your next bill and appear as the ‘previous bill’, even if it’s not due yet. You can still pay just the previous amount by its due date. Find out more about understanding your bill.

Even though your bills may arrive more frequently, we’ll make sure you have more time to pay delayed bills, to help you manage your payments. Contact us and we can help you set up a payment plan to make paying your bills more convenient.

Your bill is late due to a technical error with our new billing system.

We’ve now sent all delayed bills that covered a longer period of time.

If you still haven’t got your bill, we’re working hard to get the remaining few out as soon as we can. We’re sorry for the delay in receiving your bill. Rest assured you’ll have longer to pay.

We’ve waived all unbilled charges from before 1 April 2024. This includes water, sewer and recycled water usage. 

Depending on your situation, we may have also waived some other previous charges. Any waived charges are listed in the usage table as “delayed bill adjustments”.

No. Your water supply won’t be affected by billing delays.

You might have heard from us a little more than usual recently. That’s because we’re working hard to keep you informed and supported.

We’ve been contacting customers affected by delays or technical issues with our billing system. If your account is impacted, we’ll let you know directly.

If we need to apply a credit to your account, it will appear on your next bill under ‘adjustments’. If you’d prefer a refund instead, please give us a call and we’ll help sort it out.

Not sure if a message is really from us? Here’s how to check:

• Our emails will always end in @gww.com.au
• Our text messages will come from GWW
• You can call us on 13 44 99 if you’re still unsure – we’re here to help.

No, we won’t be charging any penalties or late fees for delayed bills.

We’ve waived all unbilled charges from before 1 April 2024. This includes water, sewer and recycled water usage. You’ll see this on your bill as a “delayed bill adjustment". Read more on the Essential Services Commission's (ESC) website.

If you're moving house and need to close your account, visit our Moving page. When you contact us, you’ll be asked for an e-mail address so we can arrange to get your final bill to you. If you’re overseas, we can send you a direct email.