Farmers across New South Wales have been granted a substantial reprieve from exorbitant proposed water bill increases that would have priced them out of business and kept Aussie food off the shelves.

IPART has recently announced that WaterNSW charges will increase by 1.9% plus CPI in 2025-26 and only by CPI in the following two years. This is far below the five year, 22% average per annum price hikes initially proposed by WaterNSW.

During the consultation phase, NSWIC raised many concerns relating to the scale of proposed increases, budget blowouts, declining service delivery and an unfair cost-sharing model. We are pleased that many of our concerns have been acknowledged by IPART and that a more thorough approach is being taken.

A three-year determination allows for a deeper investigation into cost drivers and gives stakeholders more time to properly assess the pricing framework. IPART has already noted the emergence of broader structural issues throughout its review, and NSWIC strongly supports allocating the time necessary to address these.

Given the scale of the proposed price increases, it is crucial that this determination process ensures a fair, efficient, and justified pricing model that reflects the actual costs of service delivery — without passing on unnecessary or inflated costs to customers.

The WAMC pricing determination is expected to be released in early-June 2025.