Leak detection on the Gold Coast: the council's leakage remission

On the Gold Coast the water utility is the council, and its leak scheme has two conditions to plan around: a minimum loss of 50 kilolitres, and two meter readings taken a week apart as evidence. Meet both, fix the leak within a month, and the City refunds all its own charges on the lost water and most of the state bulk water charge.

The leakage remission, in one table

The pipe limit works like Brisbane’s: the leak has to be in the supply line between the boundary and the first building. A leak inside the house falls outside it; for a pipe beyond the first building, ask the City before assuming either way. The 50 kL minimum means a slow leak caught early may not qualify — and is still cheaper to fix early.

The two readings a week apart

The City’s quick test is to use no water for at least an hour, longer if possible, and take another reading. The remission evidence is different: two readings a week apart, which shows the rate of loss rather than just its existence. Take the first as soon as you suspect a leak, photograph it with the date, and take the second a week later; if the plumber repairs it in between, record the reading on the day of the repair as well. Those photos and the invoice are the whole application.

The deadlines run from different dates, which is easy to miss. The month to repair runs from when the leak was identified or notified; the three months to apply runs from the date of the water and sewerage rate notice. A leak noticed between bills can therefore have a repair deadline before the notice that starts the application clock even arrives. Fix first, then apply when the notice comes, and keep the readings and the invoice together.

The City’s side and yours, and the damage

So a leak at or before the meter is the City’s to fix, at no cost to you, and does not need the remission. A leak after it is yours to find and repair, and the remission refunds part of the water. The City also says it is not responsible for private plumbing damaged by pressure fluctuations (City of Gold Coast, Water and Sewerage Customer Service Standards and Charter, s 4.4.1). hipages publishes leak detection at $168 to $400 nationally, indicative.

In a unit, the supply pipe to the building may be common property. Titles Queensland counts 14,093 community titles schemes in the city, so for many Gold Coast households the first call about a supply leak is the body corporate, not a plumber.

If it has already damaged the house. A supply-line leak that runs under a slab or against a wall can damage the house; a leak inside the house is a water damage question and falls outside the remission. The water damage can be a listed event as an escape of liquid (Insurance Contracts Regulations 2017 (Cth) reg 19(1)(a)(vi)). The national leak guide compares every utility, and the Gold Coast page covers canals, body corporates and the sewer gully.

Common questions