Understanding Charges & Payment Dates

To get started, select which Westnet billing system applies to you:

Advice for our old billing system

Why was my payment taken before the due date?

Direct debit payments are taken up to 3 working days before the due date to allow time for the payment to clear.

For same-day invoice payments, please switch your payment method to a credit card in MyAccount, as these payments can process instantly.

Payment clear timeframe example

Why am I paying in advance?

All Westnet services are billed monthly in advance. Having your service charges covered for a month in advance allows you to change plans or move house with fewer service disruptions due to unpaid bills.

What happens when I change my plan?

When you change your plan:

Any charges you paid in advance for your old plan will be credited back to your account.
You’ll be billed one month in advance at the rate for your new plan instead.
The resulting invoice alignments will be shown on your next invoice.
When downgrading to a cheaper plan, your next invoice may be lower than usual due to the credit you received for your old plan.
When upgrading to a more expensive plan, your next invoice may be higher than usual due to the charges for your new plan.

Why did I get another invoice after a plan upgrade?

When you upgrade your plan, it’s not a simple matter of adding $5, $10 or $20 to your next bill. Our billing system will immediately make an adjustment for the charges in your current billing period.

For example: Say you have a $69.99/mth plan that’s currently paid in advance up to 24 May. If you upgraded to a $74.99/mth plan on 28 April, here’s what the adjustment invoice would look like.

Billing period	Action taken	Example fees on invoice	Description
CURRENT MONTH (27 days pro-rata)	Credit for your old plan from 28 April to 24 May Charge for your new plan for 28 April to 24 May	-$62.13 $66.57	Charges you previously paid for your old plan are credited back from the date of the plan change. This time is then charged at the rate for your new plan.
Total charge on adjustment invoice		$4.44	The adjustment charge of $4.44 accounts for 27 days on the new $74.99 plan (0.89 months x $5/month).

Please note: If you're trying to follow along with a calculator, it's worth noting that our billing system calculates fees right down to the second. It's unlikely that a service would be activated at exactly 12AM, so while a $69.99 plan may cost $2.30 for each full day, less than that would be charged for the day a service was activated.

Why have I only been charged for part of a month?

You only get charged for the time you have an active broadband service or a particular plan. If you:

Have a broadband service activated partway through the month; or
Change plans partway through the month;

Then you’ll only be charged for part of the month, instead of the full month.

For more information, including detailed examples, see Understanding Invoice Alignments.

What should I do if I don’t understand a charge on my invoice?

If you have any issues with your Westnet bill, please contact us with your invoice number so we can investigate.

Advice for our new billing system