The inquiry was conducted by the Inspector-General of Water Compliance (IGWC), Troy Grant, under the Water Act, drawing on over 12,000 documents, 16 submissions, field visits across the northern Basin, and interviews with senior officials from five government agencies.
The Toolkit arose from the MDBA's 2016 Northern Basin Review, which reduced the northern Basin's water recovery target from 390 to 320 gigalitres per year. The 70 gigalitres that remained in consumptive use was agreed on the basis of commitments by the Australian, New South Wales and Queensland governments to deliver environmental outcomes through complementary measures — commitments this inquiry found were not met.
"Even ardent defenders of the implementation of this program would have conceded that delivery has been slow, fragmented and in some cases lacking transparency," Mr Grant said.
He said policy measures in the Toolkit largely succeeded. Infrastructure projects — which received all the dedicated funding — largely did not.
“The NSW Reconnecting the Northern Basin project has so far delivered just 64km of fish passage against an original target of 2135km. Despite over $37 million in committed funding, the Gwydir Constraints project has not secured a single land purchase or flow easement. The Bifurcation Weirs project in Queensland never proceeded past the feasibility stage.
“The Australian Government funds Basin programs but depends on states to deliver them — and that only works when incentives are aligned and consequences are shared. The Toolkit had neither. The 70 gigalitre reduction was secured through commitments alone, not proof of delivery. Funding agreements carried no penalties for non-delivery. When projects fell short, the environment bore the cost.”
"Allowing delivery to be quietly scaled back undermines confidence in the Basin Plan," Mr Grant said.
The inquiry makes seven recommendations to maximise delivery of remaining commitments before the December 2026 deadline and identifies 11 lessons for future Basin programs. It calls for accountability mechanisms that link funding to outcomes rather than planning milestones and ensuring any reductions in water recovery targets are matched by actual project delivery.
“These lessons are directly relevant to the current review of the Basin Plan,” Mr Grant said.
The full report is available at inquiry.igwc.gov.au
