Future of the Regional Water Industry

Regionalisation and amalgamation of local government water utilities occurred in Victoria in the 1990s, and in South East Qld and Tasmania in 2007-2008. This means that regional Queensland and NSW are the last areas in Australia where water services are provided by numerous local governments. In acknowledgement of the possibility of institutional reform in Queensland, qldwater and LGAQ formed a program in 2008 to improve LG access to relevant information for making informed decisions about their future water business arrangements. Activities to date include:

  • commissioning research and discussion papers to inform the industry (see below),
  • initiating discussion at numerous local government forums,
  • convening the Local Government Future of the Industry Taskforce,
  • undertaking a broad communications program visiting regional centres during 2009-2011,
  • creation of the Queensland Water Regional Alliances Program (QWRAP).

Representation of the industry in strategic discussions were improved in the first half of 2010 by the development of a strategic level water advisory body convened by LGAQ. Increased communications with the state Regulator on the future of the industry culminated in a joint MOA signed by DEWS, LGAQ and qldwater. Further investigation of potential reform pressures and options is currently being furthered under the Queensland Water Regional Alliances Program (QWRAP)

Relevant Documents

Due Diligence Checklist Due Diligence Checklist - Release Date 18-Dec-2009: - Due diligence checklist for local government water utilities developed from the Future f the Queensland Water Industry Taskforce. | Free member download. | (1291KB)

Review of National Water Arrangements Review of National Water Arrangements - Release Date 01-Dec-2008: - Brief overview of water institutional arrangements across Australia undertaken by qldwater on behalf of the Future of the Water Industry Taskforce. | Free member download. | (1034KB)

10 Principles from Future of Water Industry Taskforce 10 Principles from Future of Water Industry Taskforce - Release Date 30-Sep-2008: - The Future of the Water Industry (outside SEQ) Taskforce met in Mackay in August 2008 and created general principles that should guide any future changes to the Local Government water industry. These principles were later endorsed by the LGAQ Executive Committee and presented to the Regulator. | Free member download. | (41KB)

Mackay Future of the Industry Meeting Mackay Future of the Industry Meeting - Release Date 01-Sep-2008: - The Future of the Water Industry Outside SEQ Taskforce met in Mackay in August 2008 to discuss institutional models for the industry and general principles on future arrangements for the local government Water Industry. | Free member download. | (825KB)