Water NSW Regulation remake

WaterNSW is responsible for protecting the health of the Greater Sydney catchment area to ensure reliable, quality drinking water is available for the more than 5.4 million people of Sydney and the Illawarra, Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, Goulburn and Shoalhaven regions.

The Water NSW Regulation is essential for WaterNSW so that it can manage and protect the declared catchment areas and water management works in these areas. The Regulation enables WaterNSW to protect and enhance the quality and quantity of water in declared catchment areas, promote the protection of public health and safety, and protect the environment. It also defines the local councils to which WaterNSW is responsible for supplying water.

Under the staged repeal process in NSW, the Water NSW Regulation 2020 was due for automatic repeal on 1 September 2026, unless replaced by a new Regulation.

A replacement Water NSW Regulation 2026 commenced on 1 September 2026  following a public consultation process in early 2026.

Much of the content of the new 2026 Regulation is the same as the 2020 Regulation, but some changes were made to:

• Modernise and restructure the Regulation and clarify terminology.
• Allow WaterNSW to direct someone to remediate damage they have caused to a special area or controlled area after bringing in a pollutant or contaminant.
• Reclassify the area immediately downstream of Warragamba Dam from a Schedule 2 (restricted access) special area to a Schedule 1 (no access) special area to improve public safety, particularly during water release and spilling events, and protect water supply infrastructure.
• Improve compliance, including increasing penalty notice offence amounts to account for inflation and deter illegal activity.
• Improve public access to information to improve user experience and customer service.

For more information visit Legislation NSW.