The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART, formerly known as the Government Pricing Tribunal) has examined the feasibility of establishing a consistent set of pricing principles for local water authorities in New South Wales. The terms of reference for this review are shown in Appendix 1.

In its major water-related inquiry (Water and Related Services, Oct 1993) and the more recent inquiry into bulk water pricing in New South Wales (Pricing of Bulk Water Services in New South Wales, An Issues Paper 1995), the Tribunal has been called upon to establish appropriate pricing principles and to regulate prices, based on those principles.