2025-30 Pricing Proposal

2025-2030 Pricing Proposal

WaterNSW customer with two staff members

WaterNSW will be submitting its Proposal for customer prices for the period 2025-2030 to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) in September 2024. WaterNSW needs to make strategic and financial investments over this five-year period. This is so we can continue to deliver on our vision and our core business - to support the resilience of NSW communities and provide the right level of water services to our customers.

We will submit one pricing proposal that includes separate price assessments for each regulated river valley in NSW, Greater Sydney, and for the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC), where some functions are carried out by WaterNSW.

Throughout 2023-24 we are asking our customers and stakeholders to tell us which WaterNSW services and business areas should be prioritised, to ensure that we respond to the challenges you face when it comes to water.

Who have we engaged with?

We have spoken to, and received feedback from, a range of stakeholders and customer groups including:

  • Regulated, unregulated and groundwater custome
  • Government agencies
  • Recreational water users and community members
  • Industry group members
  • First Nations and environmental stakeholders

Our Water Working Groups are online forums that combine the feedback of all stakeholder groups to provide a comprehensive picture of what the needs and priorities of all NSW stakeholders are when it comes to our services.

These groups are the first of their kind and include substantial collaboration amongst the three water agencies – The Department of Planning and Environment - Water (DPE - Water), Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR), and WaterNSW.

The groups comprise all 13 valleys and Greater Sydney, which are split into four regions – Coastal, North-West, Central, and South-West.

Customer Advisory Groups are the primary forum for WaterNSW to regularly consult, on an area basis, with a broad cross-section of its customers on issues relevant to the performance of WaterNSW’s obligations to customers under the WaterNSW Operating Licence or WaterNSW Customer Service Charter.

Membership includes WaterNSW customers from the regulated and unregulated streams, groundwater irrigators, stock and domestic water users, major water utilities, local water utilities, local government, environmental water users and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage water users.

Have something to add? We want to hear from you

Please take a moment to look at our timeline on the top right of the page or at ‘Engagement’ tab to see all past and future events or meetings.

Customer priorities

Each year we engage and listen to our customers through a range of channels. For example, we

  • hold regular meetings with our Customer Advisory Groups (CAGs) for each major valley across NSW.
  • conduct annual customer surveys.
  • organise ‘Kitchen Table Conversations’ where industry and government stakeholders contribute a discussion paper, which is then distributed widely via media and community networks for our customers to complete.

We also speak to stakeholders through:

  • consultation on major projects
  • community forums and events
  • communication during events e.g. flooding and drought
  • Water Working Groups formed in 2023 for the Pricing Proposal 2025-2030

In our community engagement carried out so far, we have heard some of the top priorities for customers include:

  • Water security and delivery
  • Water affordability
  • Sustainable water and land management.
These priorities emerged from our face-to-face meetings with CAG’s, at field days, annual general meetings and from our online survey, which has had hundreds of responses.


What’s next?

While the majority of our face-to-face engagement has already been completed our survey will remain open and in-depth conversations with stakeholders will continue to occur at CAG and Water Working Group meetings for our Pricing Proposal to IPART in September 2024.

Engagement

Our engagement timeline

As we prepare our proposal for customer prices for the period 2025-2030 to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) due in September 2024 we are engaging with customers, the community and our stakeholders to find out what matters to them.

Phase 1

Check-in, listen and discover

In Phase 1 of our engagement we asked for big picture thinking to learn what matters to our customers, community and stakeholders.

Engagement schedule:

  • 12 – 13 May: Riverina Field Days
  • 7 - 8 July: Mudgee Small Farm Field Days
  • 10 – 12 July: First Nations Roadshows in Broken Hill, Wilcannia and Menindee
  • July – August: Customer Advisory Group meetings
  • 7 – 11 August: First Nations Roadshows in Dubbo, Lake Cargelligo, Tamworth and Walgett
  • 8 August: Virtual NSW Irrigators Council update meeting
  • 10 – 11 August: Australian Rice Growers Conference
  • 14 August: Namoi Valley Water AGM
  • 21 – 25 August: First Nations Roadshow in Wagga Wagga, Moama and Nowra
  • 22 – 24 August: AgQuip Field Day in Gunnedah
  • 19 – 21 September: Henty Machinery Field Day in Henty
  • 21 September: Yanco Creek and Tributaries Advisory Council Inc. Annual General Meeting

Phase 2

Customers and communities to deliberate on their priorities

In Phase 2 our Water Working Groups are meeting 5 times across 6 months (beginning in September 2023).

The Water Working Groups are made up of representatives from water user groups, customers and community members to explore a range of preferences for water planning and delivery.

Engagement schedule:

  • September 2023: Round 1 water group meetings
  • October 2023: Round 2 water group meetings
  • November 2023: Round 3 water group meetings
  • February 2024: Round 4 water group meetings
  • March 2024: Round 5 water group meetings

Phase 3

Confirm and finalise

During Phase 3 our regular Customer Advisory Group (CAG) meetings will occur during February and March 2024.

In this period we will report back the outcomes to customer and community groups and deliberate on price and affordability. A scorecard will be co-developed with industry experts.

Submission

Submit Pricing Proposal to IPART

WaterNSW Pricing Proposal 2025-2030 will be submitted, informed by our engagement journey.

Closing the loop with customers and stakeholders, confirming outcomes and obtaining further feedback for future engagement.

FAQs