Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025 (No. 42 of 2025).

This Act establishes a framework for local government to provide water services in a flexible, cost-effective, financially sustainable, and accountable manner, by— (a) providing for territorial authorities’ responsibility for providing water services in their districts and the different methods by which they can structure service provision arrangements, including through water organisations; and (b) setting out the responsibilities that apply to territorial authorities and water organisations as water service providers, and the functions, duties, and powers that are associated with meeting those responsibilities; and (c) ensuring that information about providing water services, including information relating to revenue, charging, expenditure, and levels of ser‐ vice, is transparent for consumers and communities. The Act consists of 345 sections divided into five Parts; Preliminary provisions (1); Structural arrangements for providing water services (2); Provision of water services: operational matters (3); Planning, reporting, and financial management (4); Miscellaneous provisions (5). Various Parts are divided into Subparts.
Part 2 provides for matters concerning the structural arrangements for providing water services and in particular makes provision for the responsibility of territorial authorities for providing water services and their relationship, the key role of water organisations as being, along with territorial authorities, water service provider, and the relationship between the two. This Part also regulates out other water services arrangements and defines the role of water service providers in relation to— (a) assessing water services; and (b) ensuring water supply when a drinking water supplier is facing a significant problem or potential problem; and (c) closing and transferring small water services.
Part 3 provides water organisations with the ability to charge for providing water services in accordance with rules set out therein. This Part is also about development contributions a developer is required to make under a development contributions policy adopted by a water organisation or a territorial authority. It enables water organisations to recover from those persons undertaking development a fair, equitable, and proportionate portion of the total cost of capital expenditure necessary to service an additional or increased demand on water services infrastructure over the long term. The part also makes provision for various other operational matters such as development agreements, stormwater management, wastewater management, and the carrying out of works.
Part 4 provides for a cycle of planning, performance, and reporting (a water strategy, a water services annual budget, and a water ser‐ vices annual report) that promotes accountability to consumers of water services and to shareholders in water organisations. It also provides additional planning, reporting, and performance requirements for water organisations and sets out financial matters, including provisions relating to operating revenues, borrowing in foreign currency, and income tax.
Part 5 deals with a wide variety of matters including water organisation bylaws (including a source water risk management plan), compliance and enforcement (also included in bylaws), the definition of of offenses and review of water services system.