Developer Charges

For a list of current developer fees click here. Application and other miscellaneous fees also apply to developer charge applications and approvals.

Developer charges are up-front charges paid by developers to Hunter Water to recover part of the infrastructure costs incurred in servicing new developments such as subdivisions or property redevelopments.

Developer charges are needed because adding new customers to our water and sewer networks means we have to provide more systems to service those new customers. As our customer numbers grow, we need to ensure that our dams, reservoirs, water mains, pumping stations, sewer mains and wastewater treatment plants can handle the changes in demand.

So what are these charges? Every development is unique and places different demands on our systems, so there is no simple answer. For instance, charges vary because of:

• Size – a 100 home subdivision in a new area requires much more capacity than that needed for a new duplex in an established suburb.
• Geographical location – it costs more to service areas furthest away from water sources and wastewater treatment plants than it does to service those closer to dams or treatment plants.

Developer charges are calculated according to a method specified by IPART. The charges are based on Development Servicing Plans for specific areas.

These plans outline, for each area, the existing infrastructure available for growth, (eg water mains, pumping stations) as well as plans for new works to accommodate future growth and their expected cost.

The plans also explain how developer charges are calculated for different types of development in the area, eg single residential, multi-residential, commercial-industrial, etc.