Greater Western Water (GWW), the government-owned utility supplying water to Sunbury and much of Melbourne’s west and north-west, has recorded an estimated $150m loss following the failed rollout of a new billing system, prompting emergency financial backing from the Victorian Treasurer.
The loss is detailed in the firm’s 2024-25 annual report, released on Christmas Eve, which confirms Treasurer Jaclyn Symes provided the corporation with a letter of financial support to ensure it could continue operating as a going concern.
GWW services more than 650,000 residential and business customers, including those in Sunbury, the Macedon Ranges, Moorabool and Wyndham, as well as Melbourne’s CBD and western suburbs.
The financial hit followed the launch of a new billing and collections system in May 2024, which resulted in tens of thousands of customers being incorrectly charged, while some customers also had personal details exposed.
According to the annual report, the water authority was unable to cover its interest payments during the 2024–25 financial year. The report also shows a negative operating cash flow of $191m, with current liabilities exceeding net current assets.
Customer hardship indicators also worsened over the year. The number of customers on flexible payment plans rose to 28,981, a 23% increase on the previous year, while complaints relating to payment issues increased by more than 200%, reaching 0.68 complaints per 100 customers.
GWW spent more than $36m on information technology, with the majority attributed to efforts to stabilise the new billing system.
The Opposition has seized on the figures, describing the situation as a financial crisis for one of the state’s largest water authorities.
Opposition Leader and Shadow Treasurer Jess Wilson said the corporation would likely be insolvent without government intervention.
“Greater Western Water does not have enough cash to pay the interest on its debt and would not be operating without emergency financial support,” Ms Wilson said, describing the Treasurer’s letter as a “de facto bailout”.
Shadow Minister for Water Tim McCurdy said customers had borne the consequences of the billing system failure, arguing the problems highlighted broader issues with the management of essential services.
The Victorian Government has not disputed the figures in the annual report but has previously said work is ongoing to resolve billing issues and restore confidence in the system.
For Sunbury residents and businesses, GWW remains the sole water provider, with the corporation’s financial recovery and billing stability now under close scrutiny.
Sunbury Life repeatedly asked GWW for its 2024-25 annual report with our first request dating back to 3 October. The company responded stating: “Our annual report is usually tabled in Parliament in October, depending on sitting dates. After that, it’s published online.”
On 14 November the firm’s Kim Murray, Chief Operating Officer, told us: “We’re taking the time needed to ensure every figure in the report is accurate and complete – our customers and community deserve nothing less than full transparency and accuracy.”
“We’re in the final stages of review and approvals and expect to publish the report soon.”
GWW published its report three months later than normal on Christmas Eve. It also broke a promise to email the report to us upon publication.
In March 2025 the firm was accused of breaching customer data. Click here to see all our reports on GWW.