Report tracks clear progress in water law compliance in NSW

The Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) has released its fifth annual Progress Report, detailing the agency's achievements in the 2022-23 financial year and looking ahead to its plans and objectives for 2024 and beyond.

For the first time this year, the report contains regional water compliance snapshots of the whole of NSW. These will not only allow water users to assess their own region’s compliance with the water laws, but also to compare it with the rest of NSW.

NRAR Chief Regulatory Officer Grant Barnes said the data in the report painted a clear picture of how compliance with NSW water laws was progressing.

"The data shows, for example, that the North Coast had the highest number of investigations finalised (468) and the most enforcement actions taken (75) while the Central Coast had the fewest finalised investigations (32) and the lowest number of enforcement actions (3)," Mr Barnes said.

"In the important area of non-urban metering compliance, the Murray Water Sharing Plan area is leading with 45 per cent of applicable meters compliant at July 2023, while the Border Rivers region in the north had only reached 9 per cent by that date.

Mr Barnes said experience over the last five years has enabled NRAR to expand its technological capabilities to monitor and audit compliance at unprecedented levels of accuracy.

"We have enhanced our ability to work directly with people to help them successfully navigate the complexities and challenges of NSW water laws," Mr Barnes said.

"When rules are broken in a serious way, we take strong action, and you can also read about the often-innovative outcomes of our legal actions in this year's report," he said.

"We remain committed to our goal of building public trust in NSW water regulation, and the annual progress report is an important cornerstone of that process."

Read the full report (or download a copy) on our website.