Queensland's water infrastructure pipeline is gaining momentum
Queensland Government FY26 Budget
The FY26 Queensland Budget was released on Tuesday, 24 June 2025. It outlines significant investment in public infrastructure, including A$1.14B of direct water infrastructure investment across the government owned corporations and regional water authorities. FY26 is a 27% increase from FY25, and also the largest spend by Queensland government since Seqwater’s creation in 2008. In FY26 the highest funding is budgeted to Seqwater, primarily to support dam safety, with the next highest being Sunwater.
Seqwater dam upgrades include Wivenhoe, Somerset, North Pine and Lake Macdonald. Other investments are the Toowoomba‑Warwick Pipeline and Mt Crosby flood resilience. Sunwater also has a dam improvements program and the New Paradise dam wall project.
Queensland’s water infrastructure pipeline – A decade of delivery
Queensland’s Strategic Water Infrastructure Plan (SWIP) takes a longer-term view with future investment levels higher than the FY26 budget. It includes A$47.8B investment over 10 years. Most investment is in three main themes: dam safety improvements with investment starting now, urban water security and regional economic development and some is included for commercial projects.
Queensland compared to other states
Queensland's water investment pipeline scale over the next decade is the largest in Australia by some margin, three times NSW and six times Victoria.
Strategic challenges
Queensland faces capacity challenges of both labour and expertise with supply forecast currently peaking and decreasing over the next decade while a significant increase in demand occurs from the planned investments. Such a shortfall will constrain progress.
Other challenges include achieving a realistic funding profile, avoiding gaps that create ‘valley of death’ scenarios as seen in Defence, and achieving climate resilience during delivery of these programs and projects in live catchments, cities and regions.
Effective portfolio governance, innovative funding and procurement, careful planning, regular coordination, prudent engineering, risk and change management and real-time catchment intelligence for responses will all be essential.
Ricardo at Ozwater’25
Ricardo chaired the 'How do we pay for water services in the future?' panel at Ozwater’25 and presented on cost recovery, climate risk, and financial innovation. Strategic meetings were held with major Queensland Water Corporations. Here is a snapshot of Richard Cawley’s insights into the Australian Water Market and funding ideas.
Ricardo’s role in investment success
Ricardo understands climate change impacts for water utilities and government policy drivers and implications. We use this knowledge to support better decision making by our clients for their pipeline and each capital investment which will have long lives. Our services span strategy, economics, planning, procurement, engineering and O&M advisory.
Let’s build Queensland’s water future
Ricardo’s Australian water and environment team helps Queensland unlock capital and invest it wisely, accelerating approvals, procuring and designing cleverly, delivering practical infrastructure that maximises social return and achieves environmental outcomes.
