HUNTER WATER is strengthening support for customers who may be affected by cost-of-living increases, with a range of assistance programs and support services available.

Kylie Bennett has led Hunter Water’s customer assistance team for thirteen years.

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Her local team provides personalised support to the residents of the Lower Hunter.

The team is passionate about understanding each customer’s individual situation and determining how to support them. 

“Whether you need extra time or support paying your bill or options on managing your payments, our team is here to support you. 

“We know many people in our community are impacted by cost-of-living pressures, and this impact may increase in the coming months, especially with extra expenses around Christmas time and the return-to school period.

“We want to do everything we can to support you, our customers through this,” Ms Bennett said. 

Personalised support is available for any eligible customer or water bill-paying private tenant experiencing financial difficulties, these include payment extensions and flexible payment options such as a bill smoothing program, Easy Pay.

Hunter Water Executive Manager Customer Services, Matt Hingston, encourages customers to get in contact if they need help paying their water bills.

“Hunter Water recognises the essential services we deliver to our customers and community, so for anyone who may have difficulty paying their water bill, we urge them to please get in touch with us as we can work together to find the right support for you.

“Our non-residential customers, especially small business owners, are also encouraged to contact Hunter Water to discuss their options and how we can tailor our support,” Mr Hingston said. 

On top of direct support, Hunter households have a large degree of influence over their water bills by controlling their water usage.

By using a WELS 4-star rated showerhead and by reducing shower time to four minutes, the average household could save over 5,000 litres of water per person per year or nearly $15 per person per year in water charges.

In addition to the water saving, households would also save more than $50 per person in energy consumption for hot water heating.

Hunter Water kicks off community panel

LAST week marked the start of participation in Hunter Water’s representative community panel to shape the future services provided by Hunter Water between now and the end of the decade.

The panel is one of the final engagement stages for Hunter Water’s submission to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART), which will set Hunter Water’s prices from 2025 to 2030 and include deliberation on Hunter Water’s service levels and investments that are a priority for our customers and community.

Hunter Water has already heard from almost 6,000 people so far this year about what is important to them via earlier prioritisation surveys, bill simulations and focus groups.

Now, they are commencing the third stage of engagement to inform the pricing proposal.

Hunter Water Executive Manager Strategy and Engagement, Emma Berry, is looking forward to the opportunity to engage with the community and gain insights from the panel, which is statistically representative of Hunter Water’s customer and community, and selected at random to remove biases.

“Commencing this week our 45-person representative panel will meet on six separate days over coming months to consider evidence, deliberate, make trade-offs, and provide consensus recommendations on behalf of the entire community,” said Ms Berry.

“One of the main tasks for the panel will be helping us to strike the right balance of customer affordability and providing the services our customers and community want from us.

“We need our community’s help to determine how we balance providing reliable, high-quality services and securing our water future, protecting the environment and creating a positive legacy for future generations, while also keeping water bills affordable,” said Ms Berry.

The Hunter Water community panel was formed by sending invitations to register interest in being involved to 12,000 randomly selected customers and community members in the Lower Hunter region.

The final panel has been independently selected to reflect the diversity of the region.

More information about Hunter Water’s pricing proposal can be found at www.hunterwater.com.au/haveyoursay/2025-2030-price-proposal