Water price review 2026

We have released our draft decisions

We have released our draft decisions on the price submissions of Melbourne Water and North East Water.

We are currently seeking feedback from interested parties and customers of the two water businesses on our draft decisions. Consultation is now open on Engage Victoria and closes on 1 May 2026.

Our review

The two water businesses submitted their proposals on 1 October 2025.

The proposals have been assessed against a legal framework established by the Victorian Government and set out in the Water Industry Regulatory Order, and the commission’s PREMO pricing framework.

PREMO includes incentives for each water business to put forward its best offer to customers and deliver the outcomes its customers value most.

We released our guidance to Melbourne Water and North East Water in November 2024, which sets out the information each business will be required to provide us in its price submission. We also explained our approach and methodology to assessing water businesses' price submissions and making a price determination.

As this review is the second round under PREMO for both Melbourne Water and North East Water, we introduced the backward-looking 'Performance' element of PREMO which holds businesses accountable for its price and service commitments from the previous price review. We required Melbourne Water and North East Water to show in their price submissions how they have advanced the previous proposals to deliver great value to their customers.

How does this affect you?

Melbourne Water provides bulk water and sewerage services to metropolitan water businesses and some regional urban water businesses and provides waterways and drainage services to end-use residential and business customers in metropolitan Melbourne.

North East Water provides water and sewerage services to residential and business customers in north east Victoria.

Our determination impacts how much customers will pay for the services they receive from their water business, and the key service outcomes they can expect for the period from 1 July 2026.

Consultation on draft decision

We are currently seeking feedback from interested parties and customers of the two water businesses on our draft decisions. Following consultation on our draft decision, we will issue a determination and final decision in June 2026 that sets the maximum prices each of the water businesses may charge its customers from 1 July 2026.

Consultation is now open on Engage Victoria and closes on 1 May 2026.

How to participate

You may provide your feedback by completing a survey and providing a submission document on our project pages on Engage Victoria.

Alternatively, you can send it to us via the below contact details:

• Email: water@esc.vic.gov.au 
• Mail: Essential Services Commission, Level 8, 570 Bourke Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000

You can also call us on 03 9032 1300 to discuss other options, including attending a public forum.

If English is not your first language, please contact TIS National on 131 450 to make your submission using an interpreter.

Learn more about water price regulation

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

Got questions?

Contact us for more information.