Cadell Construction Joint Water Supply Scheme Inc

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Cadell Construction Joint Water Supply Scheme Inc. (Cadell) in relation to alleged breaches of the Water Charge Rules 2010 (Water Charge Rules).

Cadell is a small, volunteer run, not-for-profit irrigation infrastructure operator. It is located on the Murray River near Moama NSW (within the Murray Darling Basin) and has around 35 customers who co-hold a general security water access licence.

In November 2023, Cadell purported to issue a revised 2023-2024 schedule of charges, with a backdated commencement date of 1 July 2023. Cadell purported to more than double its general security fixed access charges per megalitre per annum of water delivery right held against Cadell. Cadell then issued invoices to all its customers on the basis of the backdated schedule on 28 November 2023 and 24 January 2024. Following an investigation into the conduct, the ACCC formed the view that in backdating the schedule of charges and in levying charges on customers based on that schedule, Cadell had contravened rule 7(1) of the Water Charge Rules.

Cadell was not entitled to levy the charges because those charges were not included on a schedule of charges in effect at the relevant time. Under the Water Charge Rules, a valid schedule of charges cannot take effect retrospectively.

Cadell has also admitted to breaching Rule 11(6) because the schedule of charges it adopted on 17 June 2023 did not include all of the information required by Rule 13.

To address the ACCC’s concerns, Cadell provided the ACCC with a section 163 undertaking in which it:

• admitted to breaching Rule 7(1) and Rule 11(6) of the Water Charge Rules 2009.
• undertook to not breach those rules in future and to inform its customers of the breach and the signed undertaking.