The independent watchdog for the Murray-Darling Basin says a review of the Water Act is a critical chance to fix long-running problems with how the Basin is governed.
Inspector-General of Water Compliance Troy Grant has made a submission to the 2026 statutory review of the Water Act 2007 (Cth).
Mr Grant said the review was an opportunity to modernise the laws and governance framework behind the management of the Murray-Darling Basin.
The submission focuses on how the institutions, laws, and governance arrangements now in place can be improved to ensure the future health of the Basin.
It sets out three priorities: clearer functions for the Inspector-General to oversee the system, clearer governance and accountability across Basin institutions, and more effective rules that drive implementation and results.
“This submission is informed by my practical experience of independent oversight,” Mr Grant wrote.
“Through inquiries, audits, compliance assessments, stocktakes and public reporting, my office has examined how the Basin system operates in practice.”
“The lessons are clear.”
The Inspector-General’s role was created after significant governance and accountability failures in water management came to light in 2017, against a backdrop of crippling drought.
The role provides independent oversight, assurance, compliance, and enforcement across Commonwealth and Basin state activities.
Mr Grant believes the review should look at how the role can be strengthened to help identify risks caused by poor governance and accountability.
“Independent assurance is not an optional extra,” Mr Grant wrote.
“It is a core element of effective governance.”
“The role of the Inspector-General exists to provide that confidence to the Australian public.”
Reforming governance and assigning clear accountability remain the most persistent challenge identified in the submission.
Numerous government and independent reviews, as well as the Inspector-General’s own work, have found fragmented governance, blurred accountability, and weak goal alignment are all hurting water management in the Basin.
The submission’s final priority is clear, measurable, and enforceable obligations for Basin activities. Well-designed rules give all stakeholders certainty about what is expected of them.
Mr Grant said the three priorities depended on each other and should not be viewed in isolation.
“The Inspector-General’s body of work has made it clear that there are issues upstream of compliance and enforcement, it is important governments get the policy, administrative arrangements and licensing right,” he wrote.
“The future of Basin Plan implementation depends on a simple combination: better regulatory design, clearer institutional accountability and strong independent oversight.”
The submission can be read on the Inspector-General of Water Compliance website at https://www.igwc.gov.au/what-we-do/submissions.
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