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What it means for your business
From small businesses to major community assets, the higher proposed prices in our 2025–30 pricing proposal will impact all businesses differently. Customers had their say during the public consultation process conducted by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART). A draft determination should be released in May 2025. You'll have another opportunity to comment before the final determination. New prices will take effect on 1 October 2025.
Snapshot of the price proposal
Our 2025–30 price proposal outlines the services and increased costs that both residential and non-residential customers may expect from 1 October 2025. It includes:
- how you're charged for our services
- potential impacts to your bill
- our guaranteed service standards
- our impact on the environment
- creating cool, green landscapes for our communities
- improving the resilience of our water supply system.
For non-residential customers, there is no change to the overall structure of your charges. You'll still have service charges, usage charges and trade waste fees (if applicable). There have been changes made to some of the individual charges, which are detailed below. We're also proposing to introduce backflow pricing for properties with a medium or high hazard rating.
You can view the full 2025–30 price proposal on the IPART website.
Proposed water, wastewater and stormwater pricing
The charges below are indicative of what we've proposed to IPART for the next 5 years. However, what you see on your bill will be different. The charges below will be adjusted each year for things like CPI and recovering any additional cost from the Sydney Desalination Plant. They are also based on a 20 mm service and assume a 100% discharge factor. There's breakdown of all meter size charges in the price proposal. You can view the full 2025–30 price proposal.
Most customers have water and wastewater services. You can check our stormwater catchment map to find out if your property is in one of our stormwater areas. Our service charges (fixed charges) apply each quarter, but are calculated using a daily rate. The July and October quarters have 92 days, while the January quarter has 90 days and the April quarter has 91 days. The charges below are for the maximum 92-day quarter.
| Charge | 2024–25 | 2025–26* | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water usage^ | $2.67/kL | $3.12/kL | $3.12/kL | $3.12/kL | $3.12/kL | $3.12/kL |
| Wastewater usage | $1.36/kL | $1.41/kL | $1.41/kL | $1.41/kL | $1.41/kL | $1.41/kL |
| Water 20 mm service | $16.90 a quarter | $21.48 a quarter | $35.66 a quarter | $50.82 a quarter | $67.47 a quarter | $85.29 a quarter |
| Wastewater 20 mm service | $139.29 a quarter | $174.18 a quarter | $187.90 a quarter | $201.84 a quarter | $217.69 a quarter | $233.84 a quarter |
| Stormwater service (200 m2 or less) | $7.11 a quarter | $8.19 a quarter | $9.21 a quarter | $10.34 a quarter | $11.67 a quarter | $13.13 a quarter |
| Stormwater service (201 m2 to 1,000 m2 or low impact) | $22.23 a quarter | $26.23 a quarter | $29.52 a quarter | $33.13 a quarter | $37.38 a quarter | $42.07 a quarter |
| Stormwater service (1,001 m2 to 10,000 m2) | $128.34 a quarter | $152.84 a quarter | $172.00 a quarter | $193.04 a quarter | $217.84 a quarter | $245.16 a quarter |
| Stormwater service (10,001 m2 to 45,000 m2) | $569.57 a quarter | $679.29 a quarter | $764.47 a quarter | $857.98 a quarter | $968.21 a quarter | $1,089.61 a quarter |
| Stormwater service (45,001 m2 or more) | $1,423.55 a quarter | $1,698.23 a quarter | $1,911.18 a quarter | $2,144.95 a quarter | $2,420.52 a quarter | $2,724.04 a quarter |
* New prices will begin from 1 October 2025.
^ If dam levels for Greater Sydney drop below 60%, the water usage charge will increase until dam levels are back over 70%. In 2024–25, the charge would go from $2.67 to $3.61/kL. For the 2025–30 period, the base water usage price (before yearly CPI) would go from $3.12 to $3.78/kL.
Charges we've proposed to change
Rouse Hill stormwater service charge
We're proposing that there no longer be a separate charging method for stormwater services in the Rouse Hill catchment. Properties within this catchment will now fall into one of the area-based stormwater charging bands listed above.
Rouse Hill land charge
The land charge helps pay for the floodways and flood-prone land that became part of the stormwater drainage system. From 1 October 2025, this charge will be included as part of developer infrastructure charges. Applications for connection prior to 1 October 2025 will still pay the Rouse Hill land charge for 20 quarters (5 years) from the time of connection.
Trade wastewater commercial agreement application fee
Previously, there was no application fee. The cost of new applications was absorbed by the ongoing agreement fees. We believe separating the application fee is fairer for all commercial trade wastewater customers. The new application fee will be tiered based on the number of trade waste processes that a customer applies for. These charges reflect the hours required to process each application.
Trade wastewater commercial agreement variation fee
Similar to the application fee, the cost of variations to agreements was absorbed by the ongoing agreement fees. This charge will cover the cost of reviewing and processing any changes to the commercial permit.
Trade wastewater commercial discharge meter reading charge
This is a new charge for commercial customers only. It recovers the cost of travel to and from your site to read the discharge meter and record this reading in our billing system. Industrial customers pay this charge as part of their agreement fees.
Trade wastewater agreement non-compliance fee
This fee recovers the costs of writing to a non-compliant customer and managing their response to the non-compliance. If managing the non-compliance requires additional customer visits or site inspections, we will use the existing additional inspection fee.
Non-standard industrial trade waste application fee
We have proposed to use the existing non-standard industrial trade waste application fee to recover the costs of processing industrial trade waste applications, which are more complex or involved.
Trade wastewater non-standard industrial agreement variation fee
Similar to the non-standard industrial application fee, this hourly rate recovers the cost of processing industrial trade waste variations which take additional time beyond what has been allowed for within the standard variation fee.
Backflow prevention device annual administration fee
This fee recovers the cost of managing the backflow prevention containment program from business customers with a testable backflow prevention device. Visit the backflow prevention page to understand your responsibilities.
Backflow prevention annual test fee (third party testing)
Where a business fails to complete annual testing of their backflow prevention containment devices, we may arrange an accredited plumber to attend the site to complete testing.
Backflow prevention annual test – no access
This fee will apply when we have arranged a plumber to attend to test the backflow prevention containment device but access is refused.
Some examples of bill increases
Here are some examples of typical current costs for non-residential customers and how they may change over the next 5 years based on our proposal (in real 2025–26 terms). The figures in the table indicate prices for a whole year and are based on typical meter sizes and discharge factors. These figures do not include backflow fees and may change based on different activities at the properties over time.
Mark operates a mechanical workshop
Mark's workshop is in Doonside. Mark uses water to clean his workspace, in a kitchenette and bathroom on site. His workshop uses 100 kL per year. He has a 20 mm meter with a 95% discharge factor. He has a commercial trade wastewater agreement.
| 2024–25 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $1,175 | $1,276 | $1,383 | $1,498 | $1,621 |
Kim owns a laundromat
Kim's laundromat is in Five Dock. Many of Kim's machines are water efficient, but they could be upgraded to save water. The business uses 292 kL per year. She has a 20 mm meter with a 95% discharge factor. Kim has a commercial trade wastewater agreement.
| 2024–25 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,786 | $2,074 | $2,179 | $2,288 | $2,406 | $2,530 |
The Trinhs run a fast-food restaurant
The Trinhs' fast-food restaurant in Albion Park serves fried food and requires a large volume of water to cook with and clean the endless piles of dishes. The Trihns use 1,480 kL per year. They have a 25 mm meter with a 95% discharge factor. They have a commercial trade wastewater agreement that includes a grease trap pump-out requirement.
| 2024–25 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $8,908 | $10,724 | $10,918 | $11,176 | $11,472 | $11,720 |
The Easy Living nursing home
The Easy Living nursing home in Hornsby houses 60 residents. It provides meals and offers clinical services. The nursing home uses 5,180 kL a year. It has an 80 mm meter with a 75% discharge factor. It has a commercial trade wastewater agreement that includes a grease trap pump-out requirement.
| 2024–25 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28,034 | $32,761 | $34,390 | $36,113 | $37,968 | $39,937 |
A shopping centre
A shopping centre in the Illawarra contains over 30 stores and trades 7 days a week. Overall, the centre uses 9,800 kL per year. It has a 40 mm meter with a 95% discharge factor. It has a commercial trade wastewater agreement that includes a grease trap pump-out requirement for the food outlets.
| 2024–25 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $39,878 | $45,455 | $45,862 | $46,307 | $46,787 | $47,287 |
Industrial customers
Our industrial customers each have a contact at Sydney Water that they can reach out to if they have questions about how the proposed charges may apply to them. We'll continue to update these customers as the price proposal progresses.
Support for customers
There is no 'typical' non-residential customer, and impacts on businesses could vary greatly. We know this may cause payment difficulties for some customers. We have programs in place ready to assist them.
Our support falls into 2 main categories:
- empowering customers to save water and reduce their bills
- providing extra assistance to customers when they're in need.
Our support programs already exist and customers are using them. They can be scaled up to meet higher demand if and when that's needed.
If you'd like to know more, you can find a water saving program or get help to pay your water bill.