The Productivity Commission has commenced its 2026 National Water Reform Inquiry and is calling for public submissions. Submissions close on Friday 24 April 2026.
This inquiry will assess progress under the National Water Initiative and provide advice on how Australia’s water systems can remain secure, affordable and sustainable in the face of increasing pressure. It represents a key opportunity to ensure that the condition of rivers, wetlands and aquifers is properly considered in the next phase of national water reform.
From a waterways perspective, a central issue is whether current policy settings adequately recognise rivers as living, integrated systems, rather than simply as sources of supply. While there are examples of more progressive approaches, such as the Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act 2017, this framing has not yet been embedded consistently across broader water policy and planning frameworks.
The inquiry also provides an opportunity to reconsider the role of environmental water. In many frameworks, environmental outcomes are treated as secondary or discretionary. In practice, they underpin water quality, ecological function and long-term system resilience. There is a strong case for recognising environmental water as essential infrastructure within water system planning and investment.
A further issue is the continued reliance on efficiency gains and reallocation within systems that are already highly constrained. In many southern Australian catchments, there is limited capacity to accommodate additional demand without trade-offs. This becomes particularly relevant as new, high-volume users emerge, raising questions about how water is allocated, how costs are distributed, and how impacts on waterways are assessed.
Water pricing frameworks sit at the centre of these questions. The extent to which pricing reflects the true cost of supply, including climate-resilient sources, has direct implications for both affordability and environmental outcomes. There is a need to ensure that pricing structures do not inadvertently shift costs onto households or defer impacts onto already stressed river systems.
The role of climate change must also be more explicitly addressed. Reform settings should prioritise the use of climate-independent water sources, such as recycled water and desalination where appropriate, to reduce reliance on declining surface water and groundwater systems. Closely related to this is the need to better account for surface water–groundwater connectivity, given the well-established role of groundwater in sustaining baseflows and dependent ecosystems.
This inquiry is a timely opportunity to examine how water policy settings align with the realities of a drying climate, increasing demand, and the need to protect the ecological systems that support both communities and economies.
The Concerned Waterways Alliance will be preparing a submission to the inquiry and encourages others with an interest in Australia’s water future to participate. Even concise submissions can play an important role in ensuring that these issues are clearly articulated and considered.
Further information on the process, including how to lodge a submission, is available through the Productivity Commission call for submissions.
https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries-and-research/water-reform-2026