Australia’s water sector is used to managing volatility, but 2025 brought sharper contrasts than many expected. On one hand, record rainfall tested infrastructure across the east coast of Australia. On the other hand, dry conditions re-emerged on the west coast. Combined with ageing assets, population growth, and affordability pressures, these extremes reminded decision-makers that creating a sustainable water future will not be decided by a single event or project, but by how well planning, investment, and skills are sequenced over the next decade.
AWA members entered 2025 seeking more than just dialogue. The year’s events and forums became a testing ground for hard questions about capital expenditure, skills shortages and cultural change. As Corinne Cheeseman, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Water Association (AWA), explained, the sector’s ability to respond to climate extremes will depend on practical collaboration.
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Future of water investment
Capital investment has dominated this year’s agenda. As governments advanced housing and productivity programs, utilities were under pressure to demonstrate their infrastructure plans could meet community expectations on both price and resilience.
“I would say, the challenge is around whether we have the investment required to build the infrastructure that is needed for the future,” Cheeseman said.
“That balance between affordability, government funding constraints, and community needs has really come to the surface this year. We need water for housing, the economy, the environment, and the well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We need a mix of grey and green solutions – the traditional and the nature-based. And in our cities, that means investing in blue-green approaches that integrate water and nature for livability and resilience.”
At Ozwater’25 in Adelaide, infrastructure conversations quickly moved beyond project pipelines to the sequencing of entire portfolios.
Utilities compared notes on how to plan when one region is inundated while another faces drought.
The Water Leaders Forum sharpened this focus by drawing executives into discussions about long-horizon resilience, customer affordability and the governance needed to back difficult investment decisions.
Feedback through a survey on our next strategy confirmed that members and stakeholders sought clear pathways from conference discussions to actionable programs and submissions to policymakers. The sector’s planning is now less about single assets and more about how infrastructure portfolios can be timed to support community confidence and government affordability thresholds.
Cheeseman also stressed that underinvestment remains a long-term risk.
“This year’s biggest challenge was reconciling affordability with the investment needed to maintain and renew ageing infrastructure after decades of underinvestment,” she said. “Climate change impacts and skills shortages only add to that strain, so collaboration on pricing frameworks and clear regulation is vital.”
Future of water skills and collaboration
The challenge of investment is inseparable from the challenge of people. Workforce gaps were raised in nearly every state and territory meeting, particularly around operator training and diversity pipelines. As capital programs expand, utilities and contractors alike need clarity on timing so they can match the supply of skills with delivery.
“We are working with our members around the careers and skills that are needed, and the different types of people who must be part of that,” Cheeseman said.
“We are seeing governments and regulators looking closely at operator capability”.
“At the same time, communities expect us to engage in drought readiness and demand management. That makes skills central to the sector’s resilience.”
Collaboration remains a defining feature of 2025.
Beyond events, AWA has helped to convene initiatives, such as the Circular Water Taskforce in collaboration with Circular Australia and fostered long-standing partnerships focusing on biosolids. The aim is not just to facilitate networking but to actively carry ideas into programs where they could influence policy and regulation.
That shift was evident in the 2024 Voices from the Bush conference in Alice Springs, where Aboriginal leadership reshaped how agendas were designed and conversations were held. Rather than hosting two parallel groups (water industry representatives and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander speakers), the event was structured to foster trust, vulnerability and constructive challenge.
“We invited participants into a space where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices were not alongside the program, but integral to it,” Cheeseman said.
“The dynamic was very different, and it changed how people thought about cultural safety and collaboration.
“That constructive challenge is something we need to lean into more often as a sector.”
AWA’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) has played a central role in embedding this approach across 2025. It reinforces collaboration by elevating Indigenous water knowledge in planning and decision-making.
Cheeseman described the RAP as a tool that goes beyond symbolic recognition. It actively changes how utilities, researchers, and governments view water security and resilience by including perspectives that have been absent from traditional governance frameworks.
Future of water events and outlook
Events played a pivotal role in driving the industry’s progress throughout 2025.
Ozwater’25 in Adelaide achieved attendance numbers comparable to those of east coast conferences, signalling strong engagement from across the country.
The Water Leaders Forum allowed decision-makers to interrogate assumptions about capital programs and long-term resilience.
Later in the year, the Water Efficiency Conference in Melbourne sharpened the lens on leakage, smart metering, analytics and community engagement.
Each gathering created what Cheeseman described as “a tail,” with conversations continuing into boardrooms, ministerial submissions and project collaborations. Members increasingly sought digital access alongside face-to-face sessions, with AWA investing in platforms to extend the impact of events beyond the conference centre.
Looking ahead, Ozwater’26 in Brisbane will be the flagship event, running from May 26 to 28. Themes are expected to include recycled water, stormwater reuse, desalination readiness and the role of culture in sustaining sector resilience. With Queensland’s growth trajectory and climate outlook, Brisbane provides an apt stage for debating how utilities, regulators and suppliers can plan for the long term.
Cheeseman stressed that the sector’s work is not measured in single years.
“I think it’s hard to frame transformation within a single year,” she said.
“What we are going through will probably last for a decade. The opportunities now are about positioning ourselves as trusted players in building resilient communities. That takes planning, it takes skills, and it takes time to get right.”
Future of water in focus
The Australian water sector of 2026 will inherit both unfinished business and fresh opportunities. Productivity reviews, capital submissions and operator training programs are already setting the agenda. Climate extremes will continue to create discomfort for governments and communities, testing the sector’s ability to argue for infrastructure even when dams are spilling.
For Cheeseman, the message is simple: purpose must stay at the centre of every decision.
“Water is life,” she said. “We are purpose-driven in this sector, and that purpose holds when conditions are difficult. The work ahead will be complex, but it is achievable if we plan effectively and remain open to feedback. We will be there every step of the way.”
As 2026 approaches, AWA’s Strategy 2030 will launch, setting a bold course for transformational change. It will build on the achievements of Strategy’25, including digital initiatives that connected members and elevated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, while deepening member value and capabilities for the future. Priorities will include climate resilience, major infrastructure renewal, digital transformation, and workforce capability and diversity.
Cheeseman also sees the sector’s international role strengthening. Australia’s hard-won expertise in drought resilience, reuse, and integrated planning is increasingly relevant for regions facing scarcity.
“Australia has a responsibility to share what we know,” she said. “Strengthening partnerships abroad, while learning from others, is key to building collective global resilience.”
Digital transformation shaping resilience
Alongside investment and skills, digital innovation has become a defining feature of the sector’s progress. From advanced metering infrastructure to artificial intelligence for asset management, utilities are trialling tools that can deliver real-time insights into both networks and customer behaviour. These systems allow operators to detect leaks earlier, manage demand more efficiently, and communicate with households in ways that build confidence.
Cheeseman sees digital capability as essential to the sector’s future.
“Digital transformation is not an optional extra,” she said. “It is already shaping how we deliver services, how we manage costs, and how we engage communities. It helps utilities meet expectations around affordability while also building resilience into the system. We are just at the beginning of this journey, but the potential is enormous.”
The challenge now is to ensure digital benefits are shared equitably. Smaller utilities, regional councils, and communities with limited resources require support to access these tools, ensuring resilience is consistently built across Australia.
The water sector’s next chapter will be shaped by its ability to act decisively while keeping purpose at the centre, and Cheeseman wants to encourage further collaboration within the water community.
“What I want members to know is that they are not alone. We are a community, and together we can face the challenges ahead. We’ve proven that we can adapt, innovate, and inspire. That gives me enormous optimism for 2026 and beyond.”
For more information, visit awa.asn.au