IPART has released draft decisions on the maximum prices Sydney Water can charge for water and water-related services from 2025-26 to 2029-30.
Tribunal Chair Carmel Donnelly said the Tribunal considered the current cost-of-living, effectiveness of existing rebates, and opportunities to adjust project timelines to minimise price impacts, as well as efficiency and the need for safe, reliable water services.
“Our aim is to set prices that mean customers only pay what Sydney Water requires to efficiently deliver quality water services,” she said. “We have set draft prices that are lower than Sydney Water’s proposed prices. However, some increase is necessary to allow Sydney Water’s services and infrastructure to keep pace with Sydney’s growth and deliver safe, reliable services that meet community expectations”.
“With many households and businesses dealing with cost-of-living pressures, affordability was the key theme in feedback during our consultation on Sydney Water’s pricing proposal.”
The Tribunal is consulting on draft maximum prices that would see a typical Sydney Water bill increase $73 (or 6%), plus inflation, in 2025-26, which is lower than the $220 (or 18%) plus inflation increase proposed by Sydney Water for next year. Sydney Water also sought 6.8% increases for each of the following 4 years, plus inflation.
Under IPART’s draft decision, over the full 5 years to 2029-30, the typical average household bill would increase an average of 4.6% each year, rising from $1,220 in 2024-25 to:
- $1,293 in 2025-26, plus inflation
- $1,527 in 2029-30, plus inflation
Ms Donnelly said under the draft decision, Sydney Water’s typical bill would be around the average charged by similar water businesses around Australia.
“We welcome feedback from customers of Sydney Water, whether they are households or businesses, on these draft prices. We will consider all comments made through our customer survey and in submissions via our website before we finalise our decisions.”
IPART’s Draft Report and Sydney Water’s pricing proposal are available on IPART’s website. We invite people to complete our customer survey or make a submission until 23 June 2025. The Tribunal will publish a Final Report with final pricing decisions in September 2025. The prices set in this review will apply to customers from 1 October 2025.
Media Contact: Mark O’Brien
0427 105 865