IPART is reviewing the maximum prices for connecting, extending, or upgrading metropolitan water, wastewater, and recycled water services.
These developer charges apply to Sydney Water Corporation, Hunter Water Corporation, and Central Coast Council and are applied through their Development Servicing Plans (DSPs), which are registered by IPART.
We last reviewed water and wastewater developer charges for these businesses in 2018, and recycled water developer charges in 2019.
Developer charges help water businesses fund the net costs of delivering services to new developments
These costs include building new infrastructure, consuming capacity in existing infrastructure and net operating costs. Cost-reflective developer charges:
- send pricing signals to developers about the relative costs of providing services to different areas so developers can make informed decisions about where to develop
- protect other water customers from paying higher prices in their annual bills for infrastructure they do not need or use.
What our review will consider
Our review will:
- consider the principles underpinning our approach
- consider whether the current form of regulation remains appropriate
- explore alternative price calculation methods
- consider whether approaches to price inputs can be simplified
- consider how price inputs should be updated over time
- consider how we define equivalent tenements and its representation of demand
- assess how DSP boundaries are set
- consider whether the current DSP registration process is suitable
- consider how a new framework might affect land and dwelling prices.
We will consider developer charges for recycled water alongside those for water and wastewater. Recycled water is becoming a core part of how water businesses service future growth – particularly high-demand users like data centres.
We have published our Issues Paper
We are seeking feedback on our Issues Paper by Monday 6 July 2026. You can make a written submission via our website by clicking the ‘Have your say’ button on the review timeline.
We will consider all written submissions and feedback we receive before publishing a Position Paper for further consultation in December 2026. We propose to publish a Draft Report with our draft decisions in April 2027 and a Final Report in August 2027. We will hold a Public Hearing and may hold other targeted stakeholder workshops to explore issues and gather feedback on options.
The following links provide more information about the water businesses that we regulate and our current register of DSPs.