AWA National Policy Forum 2026

AWA National Policy Forum 2026: Governing Water As If Its Many Values Mattered
Water underpins Australia’s prosperity, resilience, and liveability, but do our laws, institutions, and regulatory settings reflect the values Australians hold for today? While Australian water policy has successfully driven economic productivity, does it embed instruments for broader cultural, social, environmental and intergenerational outcomes? 

Join the Australian Water Association in Canberra for a high-level, one-day forum bringing together policymakers, regulators, community leaders and industry executives to examine what it would take to govern water as if its many values genuinely mattered. 

Through a series of provocative discussions and real-world case studies from across Australia, we’ll explore where our current water governance frameworks support, and where they constrain, the outcomes communities expect. Together, we’ll consider how to align rhetoric with reality, balance efficiency with equity and environmental integrity, and build reform pathways that are both ambitious and politically feasible. 

This is your opportunity to help shape the next chapter of water policy in Australia and contribute to defining the principles that will guide our shared water future. 

Speakers

	Dr Jane Doolan Member Murray Darling Basin Authority, Honorary Member International Water Resources Association, Member Water Policy Group Dr Jane Doolan has over 30 years' experience in sustainable water resource management, providing policy advice at senior levels to both the Australian and state governments on issues such as water supply and security, national water reform, river health, environmental water allocation, catchment management, and the management of water during drought and climate change.  Jane is currently a Member of the Murray Darling Basin Authority, a Member of the Victorian Water Security Task Force and a Founding Member of the Water Policy Group. Previous positions include Director of Southern Rural and Western Water Corporations, Environment Commissioner with the Australian Productivity Commission, Commissioner with the National Water Commission, Professorial Fellow in Natural Resource Governance at the University of Canberra and Deputy Secretary for Water in the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries. In 2024, she was appointed as an Honorary Member of the International Water Resources Association.
	Matthew Coulton Associate Director, Ricardo Matthew is an Associate Director at Ricardo and an adviser to Australian Governments, industries and communities on water science, policy and management. He has held senior policy and science roles in the NSW and Commonwealth Governments, including as an adviser to water ministers and as General Manager of Water and Agriculture at the Bureau of Meteorology. Matthew is passionate about preserving the successful elements of Australian water policy, while ensuring is can adapt and evolve in response to changing community expectations and emerging threats.
	Phillip Birtles Urban Water Manager, Sydney Water Phillip Birtles is the Integrated Water Cycle Manager at Sydney Water, where he leads innovative strategies to enhance waterway health and urban liveability. Phillip's team have integrated a design approach into the city planning around the new Western Sydney Airport that protects the ecology of the waterways, respects Country and combines harvested stormwater with recycled wastewater to create cool, shady urban spaces.

What to expect: 
At the heart of the Forum is a candid and potentially uncomfortable conversation:  

Does Australian water policy (as expressed through our laws, regulations and institutions) truly reflect the values Australians hold for water? And if not, what must change in our policy settings, governance arrangements and sector behaviour to bring intent and outcomes back into alignment?  

Our speakers, panellists and participants will grapple with these questions through a mix of short keynote provocations, facilitated panel discussions, interactive Q&A sessions and a hands-on workshop. This format is designed to surface diverse viewpoints, challenge assumptions, and co-develop a clearer, more actionable direction for reform. 

The Forum will run under the Chatham House Rule which helps create a trusted environment to engage in constructive discussion to resolve complex problems. Its guiding spirit is: share the information you receive, but do not reveal the identity of who said it. 

Don't miss this event, happening at the same venue the night before: ACT Water Leaders Dinner & Awards 2026

Event Details

Registration