New Water Services Legislation
Laws covering the powers and responsibilities of water services providers have not kept pace with major institutional changes over the past 15 to 20 years.
Many parts of the legislation are now outdated and have been made more complex by amendments made over time to numerous related Acts.
As a result, the State Government released for public comment the Review of Western Australia’s Water Service Legislation Draft Report in February 2007.
The Draft Report is structured around key recommendations on core water services issues of:
- Regulation – the regulation of water service providers;
- Powers – the powers required by service providers to enable the construction of works and the efficient provision of services; and
- Governance – the establishment and management of government owned water service providers.
It is proposed that a new Bill (or possibly several Bills) will be developed to consolidate and modernise the existing water service statutes.
Drafting instructions for the new Bill(s) are currently being prepared and expected to be tabled in Parliament in December 2007.
The following public submissions were received:
