Fees and charges

Setting fees and charges

Water management services

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW (IPART) determines the maximum prices that water licences holders pay for water planning, management and compliance services provided by the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC). The department, the Natural Resources Access Regulator and WaterNSW deliver these services on behalf of WAMC.

WAMC manages the state's freshwater resources by developing and implementing policies and plans for sharing water between users and the environment, administering water licences and allocations, and ensuring compliance with water laws and licences. These services are essential to ensure water can be made available to water users and the environment on a timely and sustainable basis.

The costs of managing freshwater resources in NSW are recovered partly through WAMC’s water management charges and other fees that IPART determines, and are partly paid by the NSW Government on behalf of taxpayers.

A breakdown of how the revenue from WAMC charges is allocated across WAMC services under IPART’s current price determination can be found at 2023-24 IPART pricing breakdown - WaterNSW.

Current IPART Review of WAMC water management prices

Every 5 years, WAMC agencies make a submission to IPART with its proposed services and pricing changes for the next determination period.

WAMC has submitted its pricing proposal for services and prices to apply from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2030 to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART). To view the proposal, visit the IPART website.

IPART will conduct an independent, public review of the proposal over the next 9 months and determine the prices that WAMC can charge over the next 5 years. To help inform this decision, IPART will seek feedback from WAMC customers, stakeholders and the public on the pricing proposal.

To view the IPART issues papers and register for the public hearings, please visit the IPART website.

Key dates

Our engagement with customers and community on WAMC services and prices

WAMC agencies conducted extensive customer, community, and stakeholder engagement from early 2023 to early 2024 to inform the pricing proposal. The WAMC Engagement Charter sets out our approach to engagement, in conjunction with engagement strategies of each agency. The Engagement Outcomes Report summarises the feedback we heard during this process and how it is reflected in our pricing proposal.

• WAMC Engagement Outcomes Report PDF, 3422.3 KB
• WAMC Engagement Charter PDF, 614.19 KB

Two-part tariff

The water management charges for your unregulated river or groundwater licence can be billed under a 1 or 2-part tariff. This billing structure might act as an incentive for customers to have their water take metered or assessed.

If you are billed under the one-part tariff, the entitlement charge is applied to your licence volumetric ML entitlement or unit shares.

Under the 2-part tariff your water take is metered or assessed and you are billed for:

• lower entitlement charge (than under the 1 part tariff) applied to your licence volumetric ML entitlement or unit shares
• water take charge applied to your ML of usage
• water take reading/assessments charge or a meter service charge (if your meter is a corporation meter)

Regulated river licence holders are all required to meter their water usage and are billed under the 2-part tariff.

WaterNSW issues water bills in rural and regional areas of NSW.

For more information about charges go to Water management charges

Application for the 2-part tariff

To apply for the 2-part tariff visit WaterNSW and complete and return the application form to WaterNSW. A determination will be made and you will be advised in writing if your application was approved.

If your application is successful:

• You might not be able to revert to a 1-part tariff (contact WaterNSW for further information)
• The 2-part tariff will be charged from 1 July of the year following the year of your application. This is to ensure
  that the full year water usage is metered or assessed.

Having your water take assessed

Metering your water take is the best way to determine how much water you used during the billing period and provide WaterNSW with evidence of your water use. Metering your water take will also provide you with accurate, real time information you can use to improve your water efficiency and achieve cost savings. Contact WaterNSW for more information.

Water management charges

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW (IPART) sets the prices that can be charged for water management services delivered on behalf of the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC). Fees and charges are adjusted each year for inflation.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, the Natural Resources Access Regulator and WaterNSW are responsible for delivering water management services across NSW.

Three types of fees and charges are levied for WAMC services in NSW:

• Water management charges recover part of the cost of water management services
• Consent transaction fees recover part of the cost of processing your applications
• Metering and water take assessment charges recover part of the cost of determining and recording your water usage.
  IPART has commenced its periodic review of WAMC water management prices.

The department and the Natural Resources Access Regulator made a joint submission to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s review of pricing on 30 June 2020. The new fees and prices determined by IPART will apply from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2025 (the 2021 regulatory period).

To find out more about the submission, visit the IPART website.

For more detailed information on fees and charges and how they are set, visit Setting fees and charges or visit IPART

Your water licence bill

The bill for your water access licence is issued by WaterNSW. For further information about your water bill and how charges are applied visit WaterNSW

Reports to IPART

View the latest reports on certain output measures and performance indicators set for the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC) by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW (IPART).

• Annual statement on cross-border and national commitments, June 2022-23 PDF, 1841.43 KB
• Annual statement on cross-border and national commitments, June 2021-22 PDF, 339.92 KB