Licences and approvals under the Water Industry Competition Act 2006 (WIC Act)
On 1 March 2024 substantial changes were made to the Water Industry Competition Act 2006 (WIC Act) after the commencement of the Water Industry Competition Amendment Act 2021 and the Water Industry Competition (General) Regulation 2024 (WIC Reg). We refer to these changes as ‘new WICA’.
From 1 March 2024:
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Operator and retailer licences are state-wide.
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Each scheme has separate approvals to construct and operate each scheme.
Licences and approvals can be varied, for example if an operator seeks to change the class, number, or scale of schemes or infrastructure it is authorised to construct and operate.
Licences held before 1 March 2024 are now superseded by the current licences and approvals.
Licences
An operator licence authorises the licensee to construct and operate certain types (classes) of water industry infrastructure and specifies the maximum number and scale of the authorised schemes.
A retailer licence authorises the sale of water and sewerage services for schemes supplying services to small retail customers (i.e. residential or small business customers) and specifies the maximum scale of the authorised schemes.
Approvals
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Each scheme has a separate scheme approval which authorises construction of a scheme by a registered operator.
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The scheme approval specifies the area of operations, the location of infrastructure, the class and design capacity of infrastructure, and the purpose and staging of the infrastructure.
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Each scheme has a separate operational approval approving operation of the constructed scheme.
Relevant links