We survey 5,200 water customers every 12 months across 15 state-owned urban and regional water corporations on four key areas: value for money, reputation in the community, level of trust and overall satisfaction.
How customers rate their water business
Overview
We survey 5,200 water customers every 12 months across 15 state-owned urban and regional water corporations on four key areas: value for money, reputation in the community, level of trust and overall satisfaction.
Customers rated each area out of 10, and we update these results each quarter to show the previous 12 months of survey results.
Survey results for March 2023 to November 2023
Our latest customer perception survey results show customer ratings of their water business on the measures of value for money, reputation in the community and level of trust decreased slightly compared to the previous survey - while customer ratings of overall satisfaction remained steady. Last survey, which saw slight increases in customer's ratings of value for money and level of trust.
Value for money
Average rating: 6.1 (down from 6.2 in the January 2023 to September 2023 rolling average)
Scores ranged from 5.7 to 6.9
Reputation in the community
Average rating: 6.4 (down from 6.5 the January 2023 to September 2023 rolling average)
Scores ranged from 6.0 to 7.1
Level of trust
Average rating: 6.4 (down from 6.5 in the January 2023 to September 2023 rolling average)
Scores ranged from 6.0 to 7.1
Overall satisfaction
Average rating: 6.6 (the same as the January 2023 to September 2023 rolling average)
Scores ranged from 6.2 to 7.3
Latest survey reports
Past survey reports are available under the 'Previous results' tab.
How we compiled these survey results
We engaged an external company to help us develop a survey that will be used to identify trends in what Victorian water customers think of their water providers.
We completed a 12-month trial to check that our survey questions were successfully helping us find out more about what Victorians think of their water provider. The trial confirmed the questions asked would elicit results that could be tracked over a long period of time and gave the businesses room to improve.
We use automated robocalls to survey around 1,300 Victorian water customers four times over the year (5,200 customers in total). We surveyed 100 customers from each urban and regional water corporation (except for the three smallest water corporations, East Gippsland, South Gippsland and Westernport Water, where we surveyed 25 customers).
We did not survey the same customers in consecutive surveys, which allowed us to survey a range of customers. We also surveyed people at different times during the quarter to make sure results weren't influenced by things like billing.
We're confident our results reflect customer sentiment
Based on the number of people surveyed over a 12 month period, we are highly confident the results we've collected reflect the entire customer base of water providers.
Our survey results reflect a twelve month 'rolling average'
The results we publish for each corporation is known as a ‘12 month rolling average’. This is based on the average of all four quarterly survey results in a 12 month period.
We do not publish quarterly results because 12 month rolling average results are a better indication of overall customer sentiment. This may mean that changes made by a water corporation will take longer than one survey period to show in the results.
Our water pricing framework encourages better consumer outcomes
In 2016 we released a new pricing approach called PREMO. One of the aims of PREMO is to shift water corporations’ focus to their customers’ priorities.
In 2018, we completed a price review for 16 of the 19 water corporations. We reviewed 15 of these water corporations under the PREMO framework.
As the Victorian economic regulator for water, we monitor the performance of water corporations against their pricing proposal commitments. View more on how we regulate the water sector.
You may receive a phone call about this survey
We aim to reach a wide variety of customers through our survey, which we run every quarter. You may receive a phone call asking questions about how satisfied you are with your water business. The answers to these questions provide us with important information, directly from customers, about their level of satisfaction. The survey is based on a short script and runs for roughly two minutes.
View more information for water consumers.
Do not call register
You can be contacted even if you are listed on the 'do not call register'. This is because market research is exempt from 'do not call' restrictions. We apologise if this causes you any inconvenience.
If you would like to be taken off our contact list, please send your full name, landline and mobile number to water@esc.vic.gov.au.
Got a question?
Contact us for more information.
Previous results
On 1 July 2021, City West Water and Western Water integrated to form Greater Western Water.
Survey results for April 2021 to January 2022
Survey results for February 2021 to October 2021
Survey results for November 2020 to July 2021
Survey results for August 2020 to April 2021
Survey results for June 2020 to February 2021
Survey results for March 2020 to November 2020
Survey results for November 2019 to August 2020
Survey results for August 2019 to June 2020
Survey results for May 2019 to March 2020
Survey results for January 2019 to November 2019
11 December 2019
View the score out of 10 that each water business received in four areas: value for money, reputation in the community, level of trust and customer overall satisfaction.
(PDF, 672.76 KB)
Survey results for September 2018 to August 2019
Survey results for June 2018 to May 2019
View the overall survey results for this time period.