IPART is reviewing the maximum prices that the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC) can charge customers to provide water planning, management and regulation services. The prices we set in this review will apply from 1 July 2025 for 5 years.
Our decisions will aim to support the long-term security of water entitlements and reliability of water supply in regional and rural NSW
Customers should pay only what WAMC requires to efficiently deliver the services their customers need. Our aim is to hold WAMC accountable in a way that delivers good short, medium, and long-term customer outcomes.
Under the IPART Act, when reviewing water prices, we are required to consider a range of matters, including:
- the cost of providing the service
- consumer protection against abuse of monopoly power by a water utility
- the need for greater efficiency in the supply of the service to reduce costs to consumers and taxpayers
- appropriate rates of return on public sector assets
- the social impact of our determinations
- the need to maintain ecologically sustainable development and protect the environment.
We will conduct a detailed and consultative process
We will conduct a thorough and transparent process to examine the costs and impacts for customers which includes consulting stakeholders. Through our price review process, we focus on protecting customer affordability, while also ensuring WAMC remains financially viable and able to efficiently deliver services.
We will closely review WAMC’s price proposal to determine whether it promotes value for money, is in the interests of customers, and delivers the outcomes customers need and want. We do this by thoroughly examining the costs and carefully considering impacts of WAMC’s price proposal on household budgets, service standards, the environment, and the economy more broadly.
Our Issues Paper summarises the key issues of WAMC’s proposal, including how WAMC has engaged with and understood its customers and communities, its proposed costs and service levels, and customer outcomes. Some WAMC customers also receive water services from WaterNSW. The Issues Paper also summarises a price proposal by WaterNSW for its rural customers which is also under review. Submissions to the Issues Paper are now closed.
We held an online public hearing on 14 November 2024, which provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to speak directly to the Tribunal.
Importantly, all stakeholders - including WAMC’s customers, and the broader community - will have the opportunity to comment on our Draft Report, which will be released early April 2025. You can submit your feedback on WAMC’s pricing proposal through our feedback form at the top of the page.
The following links provide more information on how we review and determine water prices and about the water businesses that we regulate.