Stage two engagement September 2024
Engagement on the draft Service Report template was held between 2 - 22 September 2024.
During the engagement period we issued approximately 150 invitations to council regulators and service agents to provide feedback on the draft Aerated Wastewater Treatment System (AWTS) service report template via an online survey.
During the three week engagement period, we had 36 responses, representing a 25% response rate, representing 13 service agents and 23 council regulators (EHOs).
Service agents responding to the online survey were asked the likelihood of whether they would implement the service report template and if so in what timeframe.
Three of 13 (23%) of service agents said that they would implement the standard report template in the following timeframes:
- immediately (this agent has already been road testing the form and is ‘happy’);
- within the next 1-3 months;
- within the next 3-6 months.
The remaining 10 agents that said that they would not implement the form and provided the following reasons:
- the form is too complex/technical (6/10)
- already using software that won’t accommodate the change (2/10)
- happy with how things are (1/10)
- already have 2 years’ supply of hard-copy forms (1/10).
All regulators that responded to the survey were generally supportive of the standardised AWTS service report template.
Regulators responding to the online survey were asked how closely the service report template met their needs from a regulatory perspective. Nineteen of the 23 respondents answered this question.
The majority of responses (74%) said the service report template met 100% of their needs from a regulatory perspective.
The remaining respondents ranged in value from 70% to 100%, with an overall average of 91%.
Regulators were further asked if they supported a standardised form being made mandatory.
Nineteen regulators responded to this question with 100% of respondents answering yes they would support a standardised form being made mandatory for service reporting.
Stage one Engagement April 2024
In March and April 2024 we engaged with service agents as well as local government Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) willing to share their perceptions of the current Aerated Wastewater Treatment System (AWTS) service reporting process.
In 1:1 phone conversations that lasted up to an hour each, we spoke with 7 different service agents that altogether represented a cross-section of businesses: from small to large operations, very experienced or new to the industry, servicing domestic as well as commercial systems, and operating across SA.
We also collected data from EHOs representing 15 different councils via an online survey.
We sought to understand the issues, barriers and complexities facing industry and councils in relation to their respective roles around AWTS servicing.
We asked the service agents as well as EHOs if they would support a standardised AWTS service report form and if so, what did they think needed to be considered.
Overwhelmingly, there was support from service agents as well as EHOs for a standardised AWTS service report form.
We heard from service agents that they would like the service report form to assist them to walk the fine line between serving the needs of their customers as well as the local councils.
We heard from EHOs that they’d like to see education for property owners around health risks associated with inadequate maintenance and servicing of AWTSs.
Together with State Government regulators, EHOs representing 10 different local councils then workshopped information for inclusion in a standardised report form. This involved thinking about, amongst other things: the wide range of different service report forms that are used already by the industry, the risk touchpoints, requirements of the On-site Wastewater Systems Code, as well as TAFE course content for service agent qualification.
We are now sharing the AWTS service report that we’ve developed with service agents and EHOs before finalising the document for voluntary use by service agents.
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