By Hannah Vandenbogaerde
Journalism graduate from University of Melbourne
It’s been nearly two years since Greater Western Water (GWW) launched a new billing system causing delayed bills and limited service due to errors in the new system.
Many customers in the West have been confronted with incorrect bills, and/or suspended quarterly billing and direct debit services without notice.
Catherine Wolthuizen, a spokesperson for the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria, says complaints from GGWW customers have significantly increased since then.
“From December 2024 to March 2026, we received 3,671 cases about Greater Western Water, which is almost three times higher than the industry average for metropolitan water corporations. Even with these relatively high complaints, we are concerned that there are many more affected customers who are dealing with difficult issues, but don’t know that help is available.”
She identified billing issues as ‘the most common type reported by Greater Western Water, making up 84% of the cases.’
“Customers let us know that delayed bills were the most common issue, along with errors on bills. We also hear about a range of other billing issues, including missing concession entitlements, direct debit problems and estimated bills.”
And the complaints haven’t stopped, she says. “In 2026, we’re starting to see a spike in backbilling complaints, as customers receive bills from Greater Western Water and have concerns about the periods they’ve been charged and what the rules and obligations are.”
“In the January to March 2026 quarter, we received 891 cases related to Greater Western Water, up 47% compared to the previous quarter”, Wolthuizen says.
In November 2025, the Essential Services Commission accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from GWW which demands that it provide a $130 million customer remediation package while being granted four time-limited exceptions to quarterly billing.
The ESC media team says this undertaking is designed to provide a resolution for over 500,000 customers without them having to take individual action.
But the decision has left many residents across the western suburbs confused about their water bills and how much they owe.
If you think you may have been affected, here’s what you should do.
Step 1: Review your bills carefully.
The Greater Western Water site recommends checking for:
- The water usage period covered
- The property address listed
- Whether any concessions are correctly applied
- If any payments you have made have been correctly recorded
Step 2: Work out which period the charges relate to and check if delays apply.
In normal circumstances, you are billed every three months for network and usage charges. However, the exception allows GWW an extended billing period. This means they can send delayed bills for January 2024 to June 2026 charges on certain conditions.
This can lead to a lot of confusion.
“Some customers will be getting multiple bills at once for a range of billing periods, which can make it difficult to understand if the amounts are correct”, Wolthuizen says.
As a residential or small business owner, if you have received delayed bills for 2024 charges check that:
- The bills were not issued by 1 September 2025, these should be waived
- If these were billed by 1 September 2025, you should check for the notification date. You can only be charged for four months of the delayed charges before you were notified.
If you have received delayed bills for 2024 charges as a large business owner check:
- If these bills were not issued by 28 February 2026, these should be waived.
- If these bills were issued by 28 February 2026, charges still apply.
If you have received delayed bills for 2025 and 2026 charges check:
- If these are issued before 31 October 2025: these do not fall under the billing exception. You will hold your usual rights under Water Industry Standard and Greater Western Water customer charters, which means you cannot be charged for more than four months before you were notified of the delay
- If these are issued after 31 October 2025: the exception might apply. Depending on which billing period the charges fall under, GWW may be allowed to bill for longer periods.
- January-March 2025: if these bills are not issued by 31 March 2026, these should be waived
- April-June 2025: if these bills are not issued by 31 October 2025, these should be waived
- July 2025-June 2026: charges should only be billed if GWW had notified the customers about any delay in issuing the bill within four months of the end of the quarter being billed and the bill is issued no later than 12 months from the end of the quarterly usage period
- If these are issued after 31 October 2025: the exception might apply. Depending on which billing period the charges fall under, GWW may be allowed to bill for longer periods.
Step 3: Work out which period the charges relate to and check if credits apply
Some customers are entitled to credits.
If you have received 2024 delayed charges
These bills were not issued by 1 September 2025: your charges will already be waived and credits generally do not apply
