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West Australian
12-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Water watchdog under fire: Just five inspections in North West for two trillion litres of allocations
There were only five on-ground inspections of water licence holders in the North West in four years, despite the region containing almost half of the water entitlement for the entire State. A scathing report released on Wednesday by the Office of the Auditor General found the government agency in charge of monitoring licence holders was not doing 'anywhere near enough' to protect water resources across WA and could not be confident licence holders weren't taking water illegally. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) is tasked with monitoring more than 12,000 water licences across WA. The licences are used for everyday life, industry, mining and agriculture, with 78 per cent of all water used across the State drawn from underground aquifers. These free licences allow for the extraction of more than four trillion litres of water annually — enough water to fill more than 1.7 million Olympic swimming pools. In the North West there are 907 licences for a combined water entitlement of 2045 gigalitres, or two trillion litres. But only five on-ground inspections were held in the North West between 2021 and 2024. In the Ord River Irrigation Area, DWER failed to follow the recommendations of its own specialists who determined that based on scientific evidence and research, 10 per cent of licensees should be inspected annually. Auditor General Caroline Spencer found that while DWER carried out more than 2000 compliance activities a year, that number had decreased over the past three years and most activities were desktop reviews of unverified meter readings and information reported by licence holders. On-ground inspections also decreased, dropping State-wide by 67 per cent between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2024. Ms Spencer said despite increasing demand for water and a drying climate, DWER couldn't be confident that licence holders were meeting their licence conditions and that water was being extracted appropriately. 'This audit shows that DWER is not doing anywhere near enough to adequately protect our water resources, with compliance activities in recent years reactive and ad hoc,' she said. 'Poor management, over-extraction and illegal taking of water all threaten the long-term sustainability of our groundwater supplies and creates an uneven playing field for operators who are doing the right thing. 'As regulator, DWER has a critical role to ensure those licensed to extract and use water comply with their licence conditions.' Reports by the OAG in 2003 and 2009 also found the regulator's monitoring of water use in WA was not sufficient to ensure the resource was not being taken illegally. The report noted DWER had few staff to carry out on-ground inspections and while some compliance activities were performed by licensing officers, there were only seven dedicated compliance officers. In a response to the findings, DWER said it welcomed the report, would review its findings and implement improvements. It said the audit was held during a transitional period for its water assurance activities and while improvements were under way. 'An increase in enforcement activity under the Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914, including the issuing of daily penalty notices, resulted in record fines for water assurance enforcement activities in 2024,' it said.
The Advertiser
11-06-2025
- General
- The Advertiser
'Poor management': regulator in hot water over licences
In one of Australia's driest states, authorities are not monitoring how much water is being pumped from the ground or if it's taken legally, a report says. Western Australia's auditor-general found that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) was not enforcing the conditions on the more than 12,000 water licences. Often handed out for free, the licences allow more than four trillion litres of water to be extracted annually - enough to fill more than 1.7 million Olympic swimming pools. "DWER is not doing anywhere near enough to adequately protect our water resources, with compliance activities in recent years reactive and ad hoc," Auditor-General Caroline Spencer said. "Poor management, over extraction and illegal taking of water all threaten the long-term sustainability of our groundwater supplies and create an uneven playing field for operators who are doing the right thing." The report, tabled in state parliament on Wednesday, said the department's compliance checking activities have decreased over the past three years. Most are desktop reviews of unverified meter readings, with information reported by licence holders. On-the-ground inspections decreased by 67 per cent during the audit period from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024, weakening the department's understanding of compliance. "Only five per cent of licence holders were visited in that time (and) in 2023-24, half of the regions saw no inspections all," Ms Spencer said. There is also no effective deterrence of future non-compliance because they are not prioritised for investigation. It's the third report by the Office of the Auditor-General that has found issues with the planning and monitoring of water use in WA. During the three years of the reporting period, 87 per cent of potential incidents of non-compliance were never assigned to a staff member to investigate. There was also no effective guidance to help staff assess the severity or impact of non-compliance. The report said this risked inconsistent outcomes or ineffective enforcement options. "(The regulator) needs to improve its enforcement approach, including more timely actions to address potential incidents of non-compliance and to better deal with and deter future breaches," Ms Spencer said. The department accepted the report findings and said it had improved its water compliance and enforcement functions "Since June 2024, there has been an increase in enforcement activity, including the issuing of daily penalty notices, which has resulted in a significant fine for water assurance enforcement activities in the current financial year," it said. The opposition accused the government of negligence. "This is a staggering failure of oversight ... the government has no idea whether it's being used lawfully or sustainably," water spokesman Peter Rundle said. In one of Australia's driest states, authorities are not monitoring how much water is being pumped from the ground or if it's taken legally, a report says. Western Australia's auditor-general found that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) was not enforcing the conditions on the more than 12,000 water licences. Often handed out for free, the licences allow more than four trillion litres of water to be extracted annually - enough to fill more than 1.7 million Olympic swimming pools. "DWER is not doing anywhere near enough to adequately protect our water resources, with compliance activities in recent years reactive and ad hoc," Auditor-General Caroline Spencer said. "Poor management, over extraction and illegal taking of water all threaten the long-term sustainability of our groundwater supplies and create an uneven playing field for operators who are doing the right thing." The report, tabled in state parliament on Wednesday, said the department's compliance checking activities have decreased over the past three years. Most are desktop reviews of unverified meter readings, with information reported by licence holders. On-the-ground inspections decreased by 67 per cent during the audit period from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024, weakening the department's understanding of compliance. "Only five per cent of licence holders were visited in that time (and) in 2023-24, half of the regions saw no inspections all," Ms Spencer said. There is also no effective deterrence of future non-compliance because they are not prioritised for investigation. It's the third report by the Office of the Auditor-General that has found issues with the planning and monitoring of water use in WA. During the three years of the reporting period, 87 per cent of potential incidents of non-compliance were never assigned to a staff member to investigate. There was also no effective guidance to help staff assess the severity or impact of non-compliance. The report said this risked inconsistent outcomes or ineffective enforcement options. "(The regulator) needs to improve its enforcement approach, including more timely actions to address potential incidents of non-compliance and to better deal with and deter future breaches," Ms Spencer said. The department accepted the report findings and said it had improved its water compliance and enforcement functions "Since June 2024, there has been an increase in enforcement activity, including the issuing of daily penalty notices, which has resulted in a significant fine for water assurance enforcement activities in the current financial year," it said. The opposition accused the government of negligence. "This is a staggering failure of oversight ... the government has no idea whether it's being used lawfully or sustainably," water spokesman Peter Rundle said. In one of Australia's driest states, authorities are not monitoring how much water is being pumped from the ground or if it's taken legally, a report says. Western Australia's auditor-general found that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) was not enforcing the conditions on the more than 12,000 water licences. Often handed out for free, the licences allow more than four trillion litres of water to be extracted annually - enough to fill more than 1.7 million Olympic swimming pools. "DWER is not doing anywhere near enough to adequately protect our water resources, with compliance activities in recent years reactive and ad hoc," Auditor-General Caroline Spencer said. "Poor management, over extraction and illegal taking of water all threaten the long-term sustainability of our groundwater supplies and create an uneven playing field for operators who are doing the right thing." The report, tabled in state parliament on Wednesday, said the department's compliance checking activities have decreased over the past three years. Most are desktop reviews of unverified meter readings, with information reported by licence holders. On-the-ground inspections decreased by 67 per cent during the audit period from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024, weakening the department's understanding of compliance. "Only five per cent of licence holders were visited in that time (and) in 2023-24, half of the regions saw no inspections all," Ms Spencer said. There is also no effective deterrence of future non-compliance because they are not prioritised for investigation. It's the third report by the Office of the Auditor-General that has found issues with the planning and monitoring of water use in WA. During the three years of the reporting period, 87 per cent of potential incidents of non-compliance were never assigned to a staff member to investigate. There was also no effective guidance to help staff assess the severity or impact of non-compliance. The report said this risked inconsistent outcomes or ineffective enforcement options. "(The regulator) needs to improve its enforcement approach, including more timely actions to address potential incidents of non-compliance and to better deal with and deter future breaches," Ms Spencer said. The department accepted the report findings and said it had improved its water compliance and enforcement functions "Since June 2024, there has been an increase in enforcement activity, including the issuing of daily penalty notices, which has resulted in a significant fine for water assurance enforcement activities in the current financial year," it said. The opposition accused the government of negligence. "This is a staggering failure of oversight ... the government has no idea whether it's being used lawfully or sustainably," water spokesman Peter Rundle said. In one of Australia's driest states, authorities are not monitoring how much water is being pumped from the ground or if it's taken legally, a report says. Western Australia's auditor-general found that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) was not enforcing the conditions on the more than 12,000 water licences. Often handed out for free, the licences allow more than four trillion litres of water to be extracted annually - enough to fill more than 1.7 million Olympic swimming pools. "DWER is not doing anywhere near enough to adequately protect our water resources, with compliance activities in recent years reactive and ad hoc," Auditor-General Caroline Spencer said. "Poor management, over extraction and illegal taking of water all threaten the long-term sustainability of our groundwater supplies and create an uneven playing field for operators who are doing the right thing." The report, tabled in state parliament on Wednesday, said the department's compliance checking activities have decreased over the past three years. Most are desktop reviews of unverified meter readings, with information reported by licence holders. On-the-ground inspections decreased by 67 per cent during the audit period from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024, weakening the department's understanding of compliance. "Only five per cent of licence holders were visited in that time (and) in 2023-24, half of the regions saw no inspections all," Ms Spencer said. There is also no effective deterrence of future non-compliance because they are not prioritised for investigation. It's the third report by the Office of the Auditor-General that has found issues with the planning and monitoring of water use in WA. During the three years of the reporting period, 87 per cent of potential incidents of non-compliance were never assigned to a staff member to investigate. There was also no effective guidance to help staff assess the severity or impact of non-compliance. The report said this risked inconsistent outcomes or ineffective enforcement options. "(The regulator) needs to improve its enforcement approach, including more timely actions to address potential incidents of non-compliance and to better deal with and deter future breaches," Ms Spencer said. The department accepted the report findings and said it had improved its water compliance and enforcement functions "Since June 2024, there has been an increase in enforcement activity, including the issuing of daily penalty notices, which has resulted in a significant fine for water assurance enforcement activities in the current financial year," it said. The opposition accused the government of negligence. "This is a staggering failure of oversight ... the government has no idea whether it's being used lawfully or sustainably," water spokesman Peter Rundle said.
West Australian
11-06-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
'Poor management': regulator in the dark over water use
Authorities are not monitoring how much water is being pumped from the ground in one of Australia's driest states or if it's taken legally, a report says. Western Australia's auditor-general found that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) was not enforcing the conditions on the more than 12,000 water licences. Often handed out for free, the licences allow more than four trillion litres of water to be extracted annually - enough to fill more than 1.7 million Olympic swimming pools. "DWER is not doing anywhere near enough to adequately protect our water resources, with compliance activities in recent years reactive and ad hoc," Auditor-General Caroline Spencer said. "Poor management, over extraction and illegal taking of water all threaten the long-term sustainability of our groundwater supplies and create an uneven playing field for operators who are doing the right thing." The report, tabled in state parliament on Wednesday, said the department's compliance checking activities have decreased over the past three years. Most are desktop reviews of unverified meter readings, with information reported by licence holders. On-the-ground inspections decreased by 67 per cent during the audit period from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024, weakening the department's understanding of compliance. "Only five per cent of licence holders were visited in that time (and) in 2023-24, half of the regions saw no inspections all," Ms Spencer said. There is also no effective deterrence of future non-compliance because they are not prioritised for investigation. It's the third report by the Office of the auditor-general that has found issues with the planning and monitoring of water use in WA. During the three years of the reporting period, 87 per cent of potential incidents of non-compliance were never assigned to a staff member to investigate. There was also no effective guidance to help staff assess the severity or impact of non-compliance. The report said this risked inconsistent outcomes or ineffective enforcement options."(The regulator) needs to improve its enforcement approach, including more timely actions to address potential incidents of non-compliance and to better deal with and deter future breaches," Ms Spencer said. The opposition accused the government of negligence. "This is a staggering failure of oversight ... the government has no idea whether it's being used lawfully or sustainably," water spokesman Peter Rundle said. The department has been contacted for comment.
Perth Now
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
'Poor management': regulator in the dark over water use
Authorities are not monitoring how much water is being pumped from the ground in one of Australia's driest states or if it's taken legally, a report says. Western Australia's auditor-general found that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) was not enforcing the conditions on the more than 12,000 water licences. Often handed out for free, the licences allow more than four trillion litres of water to be extracted annually - enough to fill more than 1.7 million Olympic swimming pools. "DWER is not doing anywhere near enough to adequately protect our water resources, with compliance activities in recent years reactive and ad hoc," Auditor-General Caroline Spencer said. "Poor management, over extraction and illegal taking of water all threaten the long-term sustainability of our groundwater supplies and create an uneven playing field for operators who are doing the right thing." The report, tabled in state parliament on Wednesday, said the department's compliance checking activities have decreased over the past three years. Most are desktop reviews of unverified meter readings, with information reported by licence holders. On-the-ground inspections decreased by 67 per cent during the audit period from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024, weakening the department's understanding of compliance. "Only five per cent of licence holders were visited in that time (and) in 2023-24, half of the regions saw no inspections all," Ms Spencer said. There is also no effective deterrence of future non-compliance because they are not prioritised for investigation. It's the third report by the Office of the auditor-general that has found issues with the planning and monitoring of water use in WA. During the three years of the reporting period, 87 per cent of potential incidents of non-compliance were never assigned to a staff member to investigate. There was also no effective guidance to help staff assess the severity or impact of non-compliance. The report said this risked inconsistent outcomes or ineffective enforcement options."(The regulator) needs to improve its enforcement approach, including more timely actions to address potential incidents of non-compliance and to better deal with and deter future breaches," Ms Spencer said. The opposition accused the government of negligence. "This is a staggering failure of oversight ... the government has no idea whether it's being used lawfully or sustainably," water spokesman Peter Rundle said. The department has been contacted for comment.
ABC News
11-06-2025
- General
- ABC News
Auditor-General slams WA's water regulator as report exposes lack of oversight
Authorities have no idea how much water is being pulled from the ground each year in Western Australia nor whether any is being taken illegally, a blistering report has revealed. And despite more than two decades of warning of surging demand amid a drying climate, the state's Auditor General found that the agency tasked with the responsibility of managing the precious resource was still in the dark on what was happening. The report says that agency — the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation — is "not doing anywhere near enough" to adequately protect WA's water resources, and "does not understand" if water is being extracted legally or not, or how much is actually being used. 'Despite increasing demand for water and our drying climate, DWER cannot be confident that licence holders are meeting their licence conditions and that water is being extracted appropriately," Auditor General Caroline Spencer said.
