IPART is reviewing the maximum prices that Essential Water can charge to provide water and wastewater services. The prices we set in this review apply from 1 July 2026.
IPART is also reviewing the maximum prices that WaterNSW can charge customers for water transportation services provided by the Murray River to Broken Hill pipeline. The prices we set for that review will also apply from 1 July 2026.
Prices that WaterNSW charges Essential Water for transporting water from the Murray River are a key factor when reviewing the prices that Essential Water customers in the Broken Hill region pay for water and wastewater services.
We recognise that access to safe, reliable and affordable water at a fair price is critical to our communities, environment and economy
Our price review focuses on protecting customers’ ability to pay and promoting value for money, while aiming to help water businesses remain financially viable to efficiently deliver their services. Our aim is to hold Essential Water accountable in a way that delivers good short-, medium-, and long-term customer outcomes.
What we consider in our decisions
Under the IPART Act, when reviewing water prices, we are required to consider a range of matters, including:
- the cost of providing the service
- consumer protection against abuse of monopoly power by a water utility
- the need to promote competition in the supply of the service
- the need for greater efficiency in the supply of the service to reduce costs to consumers and taxpayers
- appropriate rates of return on public sector assets
- the social impact of our determinations
- the need to maintain ecologically sustainable development and protect the environment.
All stakeholders including Essential Water’s customers and the broader community, will have several opportunities to have their say during this price review. We welcome your feedback on Essential Water’s pricing proposal and will consider any comments received via the survey, submissions to the Issues Paper or at the public hearing.
Stakeholders are encouraged to provide their input
We will conduct a detailed and consultative process and there will be multiple opportunities for stakeholders to provide their input.
- You can provide feedback and make a submission to our Issues Paper
- You can make a response to our survey on Essential Water
- You can register for our public hearing for this review which will be held in person in Broken Hill
- The Draft Report with our draft decisions will be released in March 2026. You can provide feedback on the Draft Report once it is released and before our Final Report will be published in June 2026.
We will closely review Essential Water’s pricing proposal to determine whether it promotes value for money, is in the interests of customers, and delivers the outcomes customers need and want. We do this by thoroughly examining the costs and carefully considering, for example, impacts of Essential Water’s pricing proposal on household budgets, service standards, the environment, and the economy more broadly.
The following links provide more information on how we review and determine water prices and about the water businesses that we regulate.
We value your feedback and will consider all submissions, survey responses, and comments you make when making decisions on the prices charged by Essential Water.
This review will affect Essential Water customers within the communities of Broken Hill, Menindee, Sunset Strip and Silverton. Essential Water provides potable water services to approximately 18,000 residents and non-potable water services to 48 rural users and residents in Silverton and Sunset Strip. Essential Water also provides wastewater services to Broken Hill.