Melbourne Water price review 2021

We're reviewing prices from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2026

Melbourne Water has submitted a proposal on pricing and key outcomes for customers for the five years from July 2021. We are reviewing its submission. 

This review is relevant to water customers living in and around the Melbourne metropolitan area

Melbourne Water provides wholesale water supply and sewage management services to retail water corporations that we also regulate. These retail water corporations are City West Water, South East Water, Yarra Valley Water, Western Water, Barwon Water, South Gippsland Water and Westernport Water. 

Melbourne Water also provides drainage and waterways services in and around Melbourne. 

This review informs the maximum charges customers pay for these services. We are seeking feedback from Melbourne Water customers and stakeholders.

Feedback on Melbourne water’s price submission

We consulted on Melbourne Water’s 2021-26 price submission from December 2020 to 5 February 2021 via Engage Victoria.

We received eleven submissions:

• Four from organisations: Hume City Council, Yarra Riverkeeper Association, Friends of Steele Creek and Werribee River Association
• Seven from the general public.

Submissions from the public covered topics including:

• affordability
• the proposed sewage pricing
• lack of incentives for water savings
• the waterways and drainage charges.

The submission from Hume City Council covered topics including:

• the support for the increased protection of natural wetlands
• a request to investigate the timing for the construction of end of line stormwater quality treatment assets
• support for the Sunbury and Upper Merri Creek stormwater harvesting infrastructure.

The submission from Yarra Riverkeeper Association covered topics including:

• support for the waterways and drainage charges proposal
• customers desire for healthy biodiverse waterways as a result of coronavirus
• Melbourne Water’s engagement and its regulatory obligations for waterways’ environmental health. 

The submission from Friends of Steele Creek covered topics including:

• support for the increased water ways and drainage charges
• relevance and consideration of the consultation process and finding.

The submission from Werribee Riverkeeper Association covered topics including:

• support for the increased water ways and drainage charges
• challenges for the Waterways including endangered species
• the impact of coronavirus resulting in an increased use of the waterways.

Thank you to all stakeholders who made a submission. We are now reviewing your submissions and will release our draft decision in March 2021. 

We will seek further feedback following the release of our draft decision.

Access all of our submissions

View a full list of submissions in the ‘resource’ tab of this page.

How we're reviewing Melbourne Water prices under our new pricing framework

We are undertaking this review under our water pricing approach PREMO, which includes new incentives for water businesses to deliver outcomes most valued by customers. PREMO also enables us to fast-track submissions where we are able to quickly assess compliance with our guidance and the regulatory order.

Our guidance for Melbourne Water's review is similar to the guidance we used in our 2018 water price review (under PREMO) of 17 water businesses. We have made modifications to the guidance to reflect Melbourne Water's role as a bulk water and sewerage supplier, its waterways and drainage functions and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

We review water prices in line with key requirements

As part of the water price review process, Melbourne Water can send us submissions on their proposed prices and key outcomes. Once we make a determination on these proposals, we create an annual tariff schedule for Melbourne Water. The schedule outlines the maximum prices Melbourne Water can charge its customers (City West Water, South East Water, Yarra Valley Water, Western Water, Barwon Water, South Gippsland Water and Westernport Water) for specific services, such as water delivery and sewage processing. And the maximum prices it can charge consumers of waterways and drainage services. 

We review the price submission against the Water Industry Regulatory Order (2014), the Essential Services Commission Act 2001, and the guidance we provided water businesses in November 2019 and August 2020.
 

Learn more about water price regulation 

Read about how water bills are calculated and how we regulate the water sector.