Annual review of WaterNSW’s rural bulk water charges

IPART is seeking feedback before finalising its annual review of WaterNSW’s regulated charges for bulk

water services to apply from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. The charges will apply to NSW’s 9 valleys in

the Murray-Darling Basin and the Fish River Water Supply Scheme.

Our draft decision is to maintain the charges set under the 2021 Determination. This means that increases

in charges will be limited to inflation of about 7% from 1 July 2023.

IPART Chair Carmel Donnelly said that although water usage is likely to have been impacted in 2022-23

by the recent flood conditions across NSW, the combination of high dam storage levels, high allocation

rates and potential move to drier conditions could support recovery in water usage levels over 2023-24.

“At this time, there is no evidence of a sustained shift in water sales. Therefore, we do not consider it

reasonably necessary to vary rural charges for 2023-24 except for inflation.”

“We will continue to use our annual reviews to monitor changes in demand. If we see any evidence of a

sustained shift in demand or an opportunity to improve price stability, we will consider updating charges,”

said Ms Donnelly.

IPART encourages customers and the community to make submissions on the Draft Report by Friday

19 May 2023.

The Draft Report and supporting information are available via IPART’s website.

Media Contact: Adrian Flood

0427 105 865

media@ipart.nsw.gov.au