Commenced 1 July 2014

From 1 July 2014, South East Queensland Water Entities (Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU) and Unity Water) will be responsible for the “Water Approval Process” whereby they will receive, assess, provide advice and approve applications for the connection, disconnection or alteration to water and sewerage networks, instead of Councils. This will apply across Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset under QUU and across Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast and Noosa under Unity Water.

This change has resulted from the Water Supply Service Legislation Amendment Act 2014 recently passed by the Queensland Parliament.

Key Points

Water Approval process now separate process from Development Application assessment;
For all but domestic development we recommend developers seek a Services Advice Notice;
Council will require confirmation of ability to connect prior to issuing a Development Approval;
For most applications only Services Advice Notice is required prior to approval; and
For large or complex applications requiring construction of trunk infrastructure, we recommend lodgement of Connection Application at development application lodgement.

Water Approval Process Overview

Development applications will continue to be made to Council for all aspects of a proposed development, with the exception of water and sewerage connections which require assessment by Water Entities under the new process. Both the Development Approval Process and the Water Approval Process can run in parallel, however they do not always need to be submitted at the same time (depending on Council’s requirements). Where developers are proposing to connect to water and sewerage services Council will require evidence that a connection is available.

Transitional Development Applications

Applications lodged prior to 1st July or those with an existing Development Permit will be subject to transitional arrangements. Development applications lodged with Council before July 1st will remain with Council for assessment although operational works applications lodged after July 1st will be assessed by the water entity. All applications lodged after July 1st will be assessed by the water entity. QUU has confirmed that they will recognise original development approval conditions in assessing transitional applications.

Obtaining Approvals

A connection is applied for by completing the relevant application form and paying the applicable fee. Both application fees and connection fees are charged, and vary depending on the connection type and number of lots. A summary of connection types and fees are as follows:

QUU Connection Type	Fees
http://www.urbanutilities.com.au/development-services/help-and-advice/connections/fees-and-charges
Standard Connection: a connection, disconnection or alteration to the water or sewerage networks for a single dwelling house on an existing lot or each proposed lot in a two-lot residential sub-division.	$149 Standard Confection Request Fee $55 Connection Charge
Property Service Connection : any connection to a single property from QUU water or sewerage reticulation infrastructure.	$550 Application Fee / connection
Network Connection : any connection of new reticulation infrastructure to QUU’s existing water or sewerage networks.	$550 Application Fee (1-10 lots) / service $1,100 Application Fee (11-50 lots) / service $1,650 Application Fee (50+ lots) / service
Staged Water Connection : any connection where the developer seeks to carry out the connection in more than one stage.	$550 Application Fee (1-10 lots) / service $1,100 Application Fee (11-50 lots) / service $1,650 Application Fee (50+ lots) / service
Unity Water Connection Type	Fees
http://www.unitywater.com.au/Development/Fees-and-charges.aspx
Staged or Other Connection Application Non RAL	$360 small, $515 medium, $900 large $520 network works base fee $10/ meter network works incremental fee
Staged or Other Connection Application RAL	$65 / lot no network works $165/ lot with network works

For moderate to high risk developments (those where infrastructure may need to be extended or upgraded to service the proposed development) it is recommended that the developer request a Services Advice Notice, similar to Council’s pre-lodgement service. For most development applications, the timing for this process is demonstrated in the below diagram.

A Services Advice Notice is obtained by submitting a request form along with development plans and other relevant information to the Water Entity to allow an assessment of the network capacity and connection point to be undertaken.

QUU levies a fee of $495 for this service which includes a meeting to discuss the proposal. Currently Unity Water does not charge a fee for this service. If seeking greater certainty, the Water Approval Process can be undertaken earlier and a full Water Approval issued in the place of the Services Advice Notice.

For large or complex applications requiring construction of trunk infrastructure, we recommend lodgement of a Connection Application prior to or at the same time as the lodgement of a development application.