Payment Assistance

Gippsland Water has a range of alternate payment options available to assist you to pay your account.

Time extension

An extension of time beyond the due date of your account may be granted in which to pay some or the entire amount owed. Any extension of time granted will be at full discretion of Gippsland Water and flexible to suit your individual capacity.

Regular instalment payment plan

You may wish to enter into a simple plan of weekly, fortnightly, 4 weekly or monthly payment instalments that suit your situation in a variety of ways which can ease the necessity of needing to pay a larger amount at any one time.

Centrepay payment arrangement - allows at no cost to yourself, fortnightly payments to be deducted directly from your nominated Centrelink payment and forwarded to Gippsland Water.

Direct Debit payment arrangment - offers a convenient way to establish regular payments of your choice to be deducted directly from your nominated bank account and credited to your Gippsland Water account.

EasyWay Formal arrangement with or without a payment card - should you chose, you can contact Gippsland Water and set up an ongoing instalment plan that suits your requirements and enables you to make payments at any Post Office, via BPay, direct to our office or over the Internet without the pressure of making full payment by the due date.

Please refer to our PAYMENT OPTIONS or contact Gippsland Water on 1800 050 500 for further information.
 

Utility Relief Grant Scheme

The Federal Government's Utility Relief Scheme provides assistance for domestic customers who are unable to pay their utility bills due to a temporary financial crisis.

To qualify for the Utility Relief Grant Scheme you need to show that unexpected hardship has left you seriously short of money and you cannot pay your utility bill without assistance.
Examples of such events would include:

  • A significant increase in consumption
  • A recent decrease in income
  • High unexpected expenses for essential items

If the application is successful the grant may pay part or all of your utility bill and arrears. The Scheme will not provide you with ongoing help with your utility bills, as assistance is normally given once only.

Gippsland Water's Hardship Policy 

Gippsland Water has a Hardship Policy that details procedures for assisting our residential customers.

 

Without limiting this general obligation, the hardship policy provides internal assessment processes to determine a customer’s eligibility using objective criteria as indicators of hardship and where possible, is designed to make early identification of a customer’s hardship.

  

Gippsland Water’s aim is to ensure customers in hardship are treated with sensitivity without making value judgements and will exempt customers in hardship from supply restriction, legal action and additional debt recovery costs while payments are being made to Gippsland Water according to an agreed flexible payment plan or other payment schedule.

  

A wide range of payment options are available to suit in accordance to a customer’s capacity to pay and Gippsland Water will offer further information or referral to government assistance programs (including the Utility Relief Grant Scheme) and non-cost independent financial counsellors.

DOWNLOAD THE CUSTOMER FINANCIAL HARDSHIP BROCHURE

For more information on any of these payment assistance options or Gippsland Water's Hardship Policy contact Gippsland Water on freecall 1800 050 500 or email us.