IPART has released draft decisions on the prices the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC) can charge for water management services from 2025–26 to 2027–28.
IPART Chair Carmel Donnelly said the Tribunal had considered the affordability impacts of the proposed prices, the prudence of the proposed costs, opportunities to adjust projects and how costs should be allocated between water licence holders and the NSW Government.
“We aim to set prices that mean licence holders only pay their fair share of what WAMC requires to efficiently deliver water management services,” Donnelly said. “We know that many license holders are dealing with affordability pressures – this was the key theme in the feedback we received from the community about WAMC’s pricing proposal. Increases in prices are required to support the reliability and long-term security of water supply in rural and regional NSW. The draft report proposes increased prices but not to the extent sought by WAMC.”
The Tribunal has proposed maximum prices that would see WAMC’s component of the bill for a typical customer increase by five per cent, plus inflation, in 2025–26 or by 2.5 per cent for customers paying the Minimum Annual Charge.
WAMC charges vary by water source, resulting in differences in the bill increases experienced by customers across different water sources.
Donnelly said the prices in the draft decision will enable WAMC to effectively manage the state’s critical water resources for the long-term benefit of water users and the broader community.
“We welcome feedback from stakeholders on these draft prices. We will consider all comments made in submissions before we finalise our decisions,” Donnelly said.
IPART’s Draft Report and WAMC’s pricing proposal are available on IPART’s website. We welcome customer and community feedback by submitting via the IPART website until 1 July 2025.
The Tribunal will publish a Final Report with final pricing decisions in September 2025. The prices set in this review will take effect for customers as of 1 October 2025.
Review the decision here.
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