Water Supply and Sewerage Services Act 2000

This Act may be cited as the Water Supply and Sewerage Services

Act 2000.

This Act comes into operation on 1 January 2001.

The objects of this Act are:

(a) to promote the safe and efficient provision of water supply and sewerage services;

(b) to establish and enforce standards of service in water supply and sewerage services;

(c) to facilitate the provision of financially viable water supply and sewerage services; and

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

access chamber means an inspection shaft, chamber or opening giving access to a sewer.

authorised officer means a person appointed under section 35.

customer contract means a customer contract developed under section 47.

drain means the drain leading from a house or other premises on land to which a sewerage service is made available to the point of connection to the sewer that forms part of the sewerage services infrastructure of a licensee.

licence means a licence granted under Part 2.

licence area means the area in respect of which a licence is granted.

licensee means the person to whom a licence is granted.

main means a main pipe forming part of a licensee's water supply infrastructure or sewerage services infrastructure.

metering code means the code published under section 72.

native title has the same meaning as in section 223 of the Native Title Act 1993 of the Commonwealth.

owner means:

(a) in relation to land other than Crown land – the person entitled to an estate in fee simple in possession or, if the land is the subject of a lease for a period exceeding 5 years, the lessee; or

(b) in relation to land to which the Unit Titles Act 1975 applies:

(i) if the land is common property – the body corporate referred to in section 27 or 28 of that Act;

(iii) if the land is a lot (within the meaning of Part IVB of that Act) – the owner of the lot; or

(iv) if the land is a building lot – the owner of the building lot; or

(ba) in relation to scheme land of a unit title scheme as defined in the Unit Title Schemes Act 2009:

(i) if the land is common property – the body corporate of the scheme as defined in that Act; or

(ii) if the land is a unit – the unit owner of the unit as defined in that Act; or

the person or statutory corporation; or

(d) in relation to Crown land the subject of a lease – the lessee; or

(e) in relation to Crown land other than that referred to in paragraph (c) or (d) – the Crown.

price includes a price range.

pricing order means an order made under section 60.

public land means land owned by the Territory or an instrumentality or agent of the Territory or by a local government council and includes public land that is subject to native title.

service pipe, in relation to a water supply service, means a pipe leading from a main to a customer's supply point.

services officer means a services officer appointed under section 55.

sewer means a pipe, conduit or underground channel, not being a drain or a soil or waste pipe, that forms part of the sewerage services infrastructure of a licensee.

sewerage services means providing the capability to collect, convey and treat sewage, trade waste and other approved discharges from land through sewerage services infrastructure and includes retailing sewerage services.

sewerage services infrastructure means a sewer or any other infrastructure for collecting, conveying and treating sewage, trade waste, effluent or other approved discharges that forms part of the infrastructure owned or operated by a licensee.

sewerage services licence area means an area declared under section 9.

trade waste means liquid or liquid-borne waste generated from any industry, business, trade, manufacturing process or similar that is approved for discharge to sewer but does not include wastewater from a toilet, shower, hand basin or similar fixture.

trade waste code means a code prepared under section 83.

water supply infrastructure means any infrastructure for collecting abstracting, treating, storing, conveying or reticulating water that forms part of the infrastructure owned or operated by a licensee.

water supply licence area means an area declared under section 8.

water supply services means supplying water to customers (including operating water supply infrastructure and distribution infrastructure) and includes retailing water supply services.

(2) Nothing in this Act renders the Crown in any of its capacities liable to be prosecuted for an offence.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to an authority of the Territory granted a licence under this Act.

(4) For the purposes of this section, a reference to the Crown extends:

(a) not only to the Crown in right of this Territory but also (so far as the legislative power of the Territory permits) to the Crown in any other capacity; and

(b) to an instrumentality of the Crown, and to an officer or employee of the Crown and any contractor or other person who carries out functions on behalf of the Crown.

The Utilities Commission has (in addition to the Utilities Commission's functions under the Utilities Commission Act 2000):

(a) the licensing and other functions and powers conferred by this Act;

(b) the function of providing advice to the Minister on the operation of this Act; and

The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, declare an area to be a water supply licence area.

The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, declare an area to be a sewerage services licence area.

(2) The Minister must consider an application under subsection (1) within 2 months after it is made and may grant or refuse to grant the application.

(3) If the Minister grants the application, the Minister must under section 8 or 9 declare the area or a part of the area as he or she thinks fit to be a water supply licence area or sewerage services licence area, as the case may be.

The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, vary a water supply licence area or sewerage services licence area.

to be varied.

(2) The Minister must consider an application under subsection (1) within 2 months after it is made and may grant or refuse to grant the application.

(3) If the Minister grants the application, the Minister must under section 11 vary as he or she thinks fit the water supply licence area or sewerage services licence area, as the case may be.