Water and sewerage services reform

The NT Government, led by the Department of Treasury and Finance, is developing reforms to improve the economic regulation of water supply and sewerage services in the NT.

Water and sewerage services are essential to Territorians. As customers do not have a choice of service providers, economic regulation ensures services are safe, reliable and affordable.

A reform directions paper released early 2025 outlines proposed high-level reforms that were developed following consultation with stakeholders. The reforms aim to:

• expand coverage of the economic regulatory framework to service providers across the NT
• apply a consistent and transparent method to inform the level of regulation that should apply to ensure regulation is proportionate to the scale of service provision
• ensure customers in similar service areas receive similar protections, rights and information about service performance.

A proposed approach to enacting the reform directions is set out in the following:

• Regulatory Framework design – discussion paper PDF (735.8 KB): a detailed description of what is proposed and why, as well as potential legislative changes required
• Regulatory Framework design – summary PDF (208.7 KB): a summary of the proposed reforms in table format
• Proposed regulation of water and sewerage services in regional and remote areas PDF (426.4 KB): a less technical summary of the proposed reforms that relate to small service providers currently not subject to the regulatory framework.

Following consultation, these documents will be updated to inform the drafting instructions for a reformed Water Supply and Sewerage Services Act.

We value any feedback or questions you may have regarding the proposed reforms. Please email DTF.Water@nt.gov.au by close of business Monday 12 October 2026.