National water reform in Australia (Insight series)
Australia’s national water reform program is widely regarded as one of the most ambitious and successful in the world. It has delivered stronger environmental protections, more efficient allocation systems and more transparent governance across much of the country. Yet despite this progress, reform momentum has slowed at a time when pressures on water systems are intensifying.
Climate change, population growth, infrastructure ageing, economic transition and rising community expectations are reshaping the context in which water policy operates. Increasingly, the binding constraints are not scientific knowledge or technical capability, but the ability of institutions to make legitimate, durable decisions in the face of uncertainty, competing values and uneven impacts.
This five-part series examines the state of national water reform through that lens. It explores how reform is experienced across very different contexts — from rural and remote communities working to maintain sustainable water services, to major cities balancing affordability and resilience, to the Murray–Darling Basin navigating the limits of water recovery alone.
The series also looks forward. It considers whether existing planning, regulatory and governance frameworks are fit for purpose in a non-stationary climate, and what role national policy settings — including the draft National Water Agreement — can realistically play in enabling better outcomes on the ground.
Rather than advocating for wholesale redesign, the series focuses on recalibration: clarifying roles, strengthening decision frameworks, aligning incentives and improving how trade-offs are made explicit and managed.
These papers are intended as conversation starters. We welcome reactions, feedback and ideas from across the water sector and beyond. Readers are encouraged to get in touch directly with the respective authors, or to contact matthew.coulton@ricardo.com in relation to the series as a whole, to continue the discussion and help shape the next phase of Australia’s national water reform.
Sustainable water services for rural and remote communities
Kate Maddy and Matthew Coulton examine the structural risks facing rural and remote water services, including climate exposure, affordability pressures and fragmented governance. The article explores whether current institutional arrangements are fit for purpose and considers how national reform settings could better support sustainable, equitable service delivery.
Paying for resilient water services in Australian cities
Richard Cawley and Nick Clarke explore how population growth, climate variability and rising infrastructure costs are reshaping urban water systems. It considers whether existing regulatory and funding frameworks can balance long-term resilience with affordability, and where national reform could add value.
Future-proofing water planning and management under a new paradigm
Joe Lorimer and Lawson Cole reflect on what the Basin Plan has achieved and where its limits are becoming apparent. The article argues for moving beyond water volumes as the primary reform signal, placing greater emphasis on delivery, resilience, governance and integration with non-water measures.
The future of the Basin Plan: lessons from implementation
Laura Venables and Ryan Gormly examine how water planning is becoming increasingly strategic and interconnected with energy, industry, regional development and First Nations outcomes. It explores whether existing planning and governance frameworks are equipped to manage growing complexity and system-shaping decisions.
Climate change and the missing framework for hard water decisions
Matthew Coulton and Alison Gardner argue that Australia’s greatest climate adaptation challenge in water is not a lack of science, but a lack of transparent, durable decision-making frameworks. The article explores how governments might better confront trade-offs and uncertainty in water policy under a non-stationary climate.
Addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander water interests and values
As part of this series, we grappled with how to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander water interests and values, which are reflected in Objective 3 of the current draft National Water Agreement. Greater recognition and integration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values and interests in water planning and management — and greater empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this space — are fundamental to sustainable and equitable water use across Australia. More importantly, they are central to improving life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and supporting ongoing connection to Country.
This is a highly complex policy area, and one we did not believe could be meaningfully addressed in a short paper focused on reform gaps and opportunities. We believe that pathways for improvement must be identified with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and should draw on places where stronger recognition, integration and empowerment are already being achieved. We are particularly keen to hear from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, organisations and communities, as well as from practitioners and policymakers who have seen tangible examples of success. Improved coordination and sharing of practical experience is essential if the intent of Objective 3 of the draft National Water Agreement is to be realised consistently across jurisdictions.
Want to continue the conversation? Join us at the AWA National Policy Forum 2026
These questions will be central to discussions at the AWA National Water Policy Forum in March, where policymakers and practitioners will be grappling with how national reform settings translate into decisions on the ground. We encourage readers to come to the Forum ready to engage on how water policy can better support legitimate decision-making under uncertainty — not just better data or modelling.
As with the other papers in this series, this article is intended as a conversation starter. We welcome perspectives from across the sector, including where readers agree, disagree, or see alternative ways forward. Readers are encouraged to engage with the national water policy refresh process, to bring these issues into policy discussions, and to get in touch with the authors or matthew.coulton@ricardo.com in relation to the series as a whole.