The NSW Productivity Commission has been requested by the Minister for Water to investigate funding options to help reduce service risk for local water utilities and provide advice to the NSW Government on a future direction.
The NSW Government’s policy position is that there shall be no forced amalgamations and that councils will continue as the owners of their water and sewerage assets. Continuation of this policy position is a critical assumption of this investigation.
The terms of reference of the review requires consideration of:
- minimum levels of service
- the diversity of local water utilities
- the extent to which funding models could lift performance of local water utilities and overall incentives to lift performance
- transition pathways to a new funding approach and ways to leverage the capabilities of State Owned Corporations
- pensioner rebates.
Proposed timeframe for the review:
| Deliverables | Delivery date |
|---|---|
| The Issues Paper has been released for public consultation | February 2024 |
| Consultations on issues paper | March 2024 |
| Draft report (findings and options) published | April 2024 |
| Consultation draft report | May/June 2024 |
| Final report provided to Government | June 2024 |
Please contact the team at [email protected] if you would like more information.