WAITING TIMES CUT FOR WATER TANK AND WASHING MACHINE REBATES

People applying for Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme payments for water-saving products such as water tanks, washing machines and toilet suites now have a shorter time to wait.

Water Minister Craig Wallace said processing times for applications received during the past three months had fallen from more than 60 calendar days to 48.3 days.

Waiting times have been cut by strategies including appointing action teams to concentrate on processing applications for popular items such as water tanks and washing machines.

As of yesterday, around 102,000 applications worth $58.7 million have been approved and paid.

“The Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme has been a runaway success,” Mr Wallace said.

“Queenslanders are doing their bit to conserve water in the worst drought on record by buying water-efficient products in record numbers,” he said.

“People have known that the Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme is immensely popular and have been patient waiting for rebates.

“I thank them sincerely for their patience and I am pleased to say that waiting times are getting shorter,” he said.

Administrative reforms that have helped reduce processing times include:

·Outsourcing mail opening and sorting to CorporateLink

·The use of an early “gateway” process to identify incomplete applications that require more information from the applicants.

·Establishing special teams to process high-value rebate applications for water tanks and washing machines.

·Last month appointing 25 more processing staff, to bring total staffing to 156.

·Staff members have also cut down a backlog in the data entry of applications.

Mr Wallace said he thanked staff members of the Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme who were processing rebate applications as quickly as possible in the most popular rebate scheme in the State’s history.

He said last week was a record week for the scheme, with staff processing over 6000 applications for rebates worth over $3.78 million.

The Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme offers rebates for a range of products, including up to $1000 for water tanks, $200 for 4-star or better water-rated washing machines, $500 for greywater systems, $150 for dual flush toilets and $30 for 3-star showerheads.

Media inquiries: Paul Childs, Craig Wallace’s office, on 0407 131 65