Reading your h2o meter is the of import first step that we take to calculate and result your quarterly nib.

The day our meter readers take a reading of your meter marks the end of one billing menstruum and the get-go of the adjacent.

The 4 steps below show how nosotros outcome your bill every quarter:

Pace ane: Reading your water meter

Unitywater engages contractors to read your h2o meter. They carry identification cards and habiliment loftier-visibility uniforms.

Nosotros read your meter every three months (quarterly), then send your neb a few days after. To ensure that we beak you correctly, please make it easy for our meter readers to access your meter by immigration whatsoever overgrown grass, shrubs or other obstructions.

Footstep ii: Leaving a reading notice

We go out a Water Meter Reading Notice (PDF) in your letterbox that shows the engagement it was read and the meter reading. We use the blackness numbers on your water meter (kilolitres but) when taking the reading, and the meter reader writes this number on the notice.

We recommend you read your water meter to confirm the reading printed on the notice and on your adjacent bill. If they are not the same, delight contact us.

Step 3: Doing an in-firm bank check

Your meter reading is put through a strict in-field and in-firm audit to check information technology against your previous meter readings. If the reading seems too high or too low, compared with previous readings, we may reschedule a 2d reading to double cheque information technology is correct.

Step 4: Calculating your water usage

Your water usage is calculated past deducting your previous reading from your current reading then you pay only for the water y'all use. This is shown on the 2d folio of your bill. The other charges on your neb are calculated and your bill is sent to you, unremarkably within 7 days of your meter reading.

How to monitor your own water usage and discover hidden leaks early

  • Regularly read and check your own water meter. We recommend every two weeks when you take your bins out.
  • Write down the meter reading in kilolitres (blackness numbers only).
  • Enter your meter reading online at My Usage Tracker which is available online at My Account.
  • Whatever sudden increases in water usage could betoken a hidden leak. If you accept whatever concerns that there may be h2o leaking, either earlier or afterward the meter, please read more than near checking for leaks.

Please note: unusually spinning numbers on your h2o meter (when you aren't using whatever water inside your property) could also indicate a potential hidden leak.

As the belongings owner, y'all are responsible for monitoring and maintaining all of the plumbing pipework and fittings on your individual holding (including the pipe running from the h2o meter to your residence, and whatever internal plumbing within your residence). If a leak occurs in any piping on your property, you are responsible for having the leak stock-still and for the toll of the h2o.

Different types of h2o meters

There are different types of water meters beyond the Unitywater region. The black numbers on your water meter stand for kilolitres (kL). Ane kilolitre (kL) equals 1000 litres (Fifty). Nosotros utilise the black numbers to calculate the water usage on your bill. Beneath are some examples of common h2o meters:

Itron water meterItron water meterGVT water meter

Elster V100 water meter Itron water meter Itron TD8 5 dial water meter GVT water meter

Meter reading FAQs

Your meter is usually found out the front of your residence, nigh the front border of your property. It could be inside a meter box or information technology may be above ground.

The blackness numbers on your water meter represent kilolitres (kL). 1 kilolitre (kL) equals g litres (L). This is the unit of measurement our meter readers record as your meter reading. We and so use this reading to calculate your bill. The white numbers on the red dials represent litres.

If y'all live or work in a unit complex, multiple properties may share 1 chief meter with the usage divided betwixt all the units at the property based on a 'property share percent' (or lot entitlement). This is brash to us past the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) and is detailed on the belongings's account. Unitywater does non make up one's mind this share percentage. If you have any questions, please contact your Body Corporate.

We read your water meter quarterly (i.e. every three months or roughly xc days). The number of days between meter reads can differ due to the fact that we may not exist able to read your meter on exactly the aforementioned dates in each quarter.

This tin be due to operational reasons or other factors, including bad atmospheric condition, locked gates or a dog on your belongings. This ways that the number of days you are charged for your h2o and sewerage services tin can vary (usually between 85-95 days), affecting the amount of your nib.

Bank check the top right of your bill, under the 'Billing catamenia' heading, to see exactly how many days you have been charged for on that detail bill.

You lot should receive a bluish Water Meter Reading Find (PDF) in your letterbox advising you of the appointment your meter was read and meter reading number.

We recommend you lot take a meter reading on the same day you receive your H2o Meter Reading Notice to confirm the reading on the notice and on your next bill are the same.

Keeping a record of your own meter readings is always useful as occasionally meter readers are unable to exit a card due to bad weather condition, or the find could get caught upwards and thrown out in the junk post.

Y'all normally receive you bill within a few days of your meter beingness read, but information technology can accept up to 10 days or sometimes longer if you live in a unit complex. We need this time to inspect all meter readings for accurateness. In this audit process, we compare the new reading with previous readings to ensure it is in line with previous usage patterns – all to make sure nosotros are billing you lot correctly. If the reading seems too loftier or too depression, compared with previous readings, we may reschedule a second reading to double bank check it is right.

We are unable to notify customers of the exact dates of future meter readings (for instance, for tenant billing purposes). Still, we do advise an approximate appointment of the next meter reading. This is found on page 1 of your pecker, along with the beak number and billing catamenia information.

We also cannot have keys to backdrop or gates (to allow meter readers access). Please contact us on 1300 086 489 if access to your water meter is restricted.

If we were unable to access your meter, we get out a cherry 'Urgent - Water Meter Not Read' Notice (PDF 26KB) in your letterbox advising you that we will attempt to read your meter a second time in the adjacent few days. If nosotros are unsuccessful in reading your meter once again, the water usage on your next bill volition be estimated based on previous bodily water meter readings.

Unitywater endeavours to read every meter during our scheduled meter reading periods. If nosotros cannot take a meter read on the scheduled day nosotros will estimate the read.

Estimates are washed where:

  • the meter is inaccessible (i.e. located behind locked gate, dog on premises),

  • the meter is damaged and dials are not readable;

  • the meter has stopped working and is not recording water passing through the meter, and

  • the meter cannot exist located.

When we estimate information technology is based on:

  • the belongings's previous usage design;

  • an actual meter reading is scheduled for the next billing period and will be obtained where possible. The bill so 'catches up' using the actual read to ensure the client has simply been billed for what they have used.

It is possible to install individual water meters, rather than having one main water meter, to existing buildings or unit complexes.

The Body Corporate must use on behalf of the owners and all owners must give their consent. The installation will exist at the cost of the owners or the Trunk Corporate.

For more nearly the process, fact sheets and application forms, delight read the Sub-metering information kit (PDF one.9MB)

One time you are set up to go on, your plumber can find all the data they need in the sub-metering for plumbers section.

Note: sub-metering became mandatory for all unit complex developments built after ane January 2008.

Sometimes you will receive a Meter Reading Notice and then run into that your meter box is full of dirt. Our meter readers can read your meter if the meter box full of dry dirt. They simply move the clay aside so they can read the dials on your meter and then put the clay back into the meter box.

However if the dirt is wet, difficult or compacted and information technology cannot be removed past the meter reader, a find will be left in your letterbox to propose that we couldn't read your meter. Please brand certain your meter box is accessible and well maintained, removing any dirt or other obstructions, so we can bill y'all correctly and on time.

Our meter readers do not leave the removed clay on your lawn or garden beside the meter, as they are required to leave the area as they plant information technology.

During sure times of the year, Australian native bees may colonise Unitywater meter boxes. While these bees provide low risk to yourself and our meter readers, they can impede on our ability to read the meter. If you accept a colony in your meter box, delight google and phone call a Native bee re-locator or removalist to attend and relocate the colony, so nosotros tin assistance protect the native bee population.

If, however, you have a wasps nest in your meter box, please remove the nest yourself or have it removed by professionals if you feel more comfortable with this.

Meter reader opening the water meter hat

Meter reader clearing the clay from the meter

Meter reader writing down the reading