e-News Edition #71 New

Date: 28-Aug-2026

Welcome to Edition 71 of the Irrigation Australia e-News. This edition starts in the member portal, where your invoices can now be viewed and paid online under My Purchases, and looks ahead to a drier than average spring. Irrigation leaders have put water on the agenda of the National Food Security Strategy, Basin water ministers have signed off the River Murray works budget, Tasmania's Northern Midlands scheme has laid its final pipe, and coastal water users in New South Wales have a 1 December metering deadline to meet. We also hold two October dates, Smart Water Connect on 13 October and National Water Week from 19 to 25 October, and close with the latest allocations, the full training calendar and an Administrator vacancy at Irrigation Australia.

Hot Topics

Your Invoices Are in the Member Portal, Under My Purchases
Spring Outlook: Plan for a Dry Season Now
Water Policy Belongs on the Food Security Menu
NSW Coastal Metering: Are You Ready for 1 December?
Basin Ministers Sign Off the River Murray Works Budget
Tasmania: Final Pipe Laid on the Northern Midlands Scheme
Smart Water Connect: Sydney, Tuesday 13 October
National Water Week, 19 to 25 October: Water Is Life
Allocations Update: Murrumbidgee Lifts, Northern Victoria Opens Low

1. Your Invoices Are in the Member Portal, Under My Purchases

You can view and pay your Irrigation Australia invoices any time in the member portal, without waiting for the office to open.

Log in, open the My Purchases tab, and your invoices are listed under All Invoices with the outstanding balance and a link to view and pay each one. If you have not logged in before, our step by step guide to the member portal walks through it.

How to navigate the member portal

2. Spring Outlook: Plan for a Dry Season Now

The Bureau of Meteorology's long-range forecast points to a drier than average spring. September to November rainfall is likely to be below average across south-eastern Australia, Tasmania, the far south-west of Western Australia and parts of eastern and northern Queensland, with warmer than average days south of the tropics. El Nino is expected to strengthen and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole is likely to develop and persist into spring, the combination that historically dries out the south and east.

For irrigation businesses that means demand arrives early and clients notice quickly when a system is not up to it. Western Australia's Winter Sprinkler Switch-Off ends on 31 August, so Perth, Mandurah and South West clients can water again from 1 September, which is the natural moment for a controller review, a pressure and distribution check and a scheduling conversation. Everywhere else, the same checks in September beat the same calls in November.

Long-range forecast, Bureau of Meteorology

Winter Sprinkler Switch-Off, Water Corporation

3. Water Policy Belongs on the Food Security Menu

Irrigation industry leaders used the National Farmers' Federation summit in Canberra on 18 August to argue that Australia's first National Food Security Strategy cannot ignore water as a critical input. The National Irrigators' Council, NSW Irrigators' Council, Ricegrowers' Association, Citrus Australia and Cotton Australia issued a joint release calling for the strategy to test whether current water policy leaves Australia capable of producing food in the future, rather than treating healthy rivers and productive agriculture as competing objectives. The Government is consulting on the strategy now, and the release is worth a read for any member whose customers depend on entitlement reliability.

Read the joint media release

4. NSW Coastal Metering: Are You Ready for 1 December?

Coastal water users in New South Wales whose works are nominated by a total licence entitlement of 100 ML or more must have a compliant, pattern-approved meter installed and validated by a Duly Qualified Person by 1 December 2026. Works nominated by more than 15 ML and less than 100 ML have until 1 December 2027 or the renewal of their work approval, whichever is later.

The NSW Government's non-urban metering pages are the source for the rules. Irrigation Australia's role is awareness and capacity: the Certification Directory lists every Certified Meter Installer and Validator in the country, and we are gauging demand for additional Certified Meter Installer training in coastal New South Wales. If your business would send staff to a coastal course, or you are a coastal water user struggling to find an installer, tell us at info@irrigation.org.au.

Find a Certified Meter Installer and Validator in the Certification Directory

NSW non-urban metering guidance

5. Basin Ministers Sign Off the River Murray Works Budget

Murray-Darling Basin water ministers met virtually on 14 August and agreed the 2026-27 budget and a three-year workplan to maintain and make safe the jointly owned River Murray infrastructure. They also agreed amendments to the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement enabling full operation of the River Murray Increased Flows SDLAM project and improved intrastate trade across the southern connected Basin, and discussed advice from the independent panel on relaxing constraints to environmental water in the Murray and Goulburn rivers. Ministers were updated on water availability, progress against recovery targets and the expected SDLAM shortfall, and noted the 2,400 submissions received in the Basin Plan Review consultation. They meet again in 2027.

Read the Ministerial Council communique

6. Tasmania: Final Pipe Laid on the Northern Midlands Scheme

The last section of pipeline for the Northern Midlands Irrigation Scheme went into the ground on 12 August, completing the largest construction component of a $218 million project. More than 150 kilometres of underground pipe will deliver 25,500 megalitres of high-reliability water a year to farms around Ross, Campbell Town, Conara, Barton, Macquarie and the Lower Isis Valley. Attention now turns to commissioning, with first water deliveries planned for the 2026-27 irrigation season. The scheme is funded by the Australian Government ($108.98 million), the Tasmanian Government ($72.26 million) and irrigators ($36.72 million), and it becomes the 20th scheme operated by Tasmanian Irrigation.

Northern Midlands Irrigation Scheme, Tasmanian Irrigation

7. Smart Water Connect: Sydney, Tuesday 13 October

The Water Conservancy's annual water efficiency forum, Smart Water Connect, runs at the Aerial Function Centre in Ultimo on Tuesday 13 October. The program covers customer behaviour change and water literacy, reducing water use in homes, businesses and communities, drought resilience and outdoor water management, and the uptake of water-efficient products, with a keynote from Russell Beatty (HARC) and Guenter Hauber-Davidson (UtiliOS) on where Australian water efficiency goes next. Registration includes the evening Water Night launch hosted by Costa Georgiadis. The organisers are keen for stronger representation from the irrigation sector, and members working in landscape, public open space and residential irrigation will find the program directly relevant.

Smart Water Connect program and registration

8. National Water Week, 19 to 25 October: Water Is Life

National Water Week runs from 19 to 25 October 2026 under the theme Water is Life. It is the one week of the year when councils, water utilities and schools across the country are all talking about water at the same time, which makes it a natural hook for member businesses to talk about efficient irrigation with their own customers. If your business, council or regional committee is planning an activity, tell us and we will share it across our channels. Irrigation Australia's own plans for the week will follow in a coming edition.

National Water Week

9. Allocations Update: Murrumbidgee Lifts, Northern Victoria Opens Low

New South Wales lifted Murrumbidgee general security allocation by 6 per cent to 22 per cent on 3 August, with high security at 95 per cent, and statements continue fortnightly. In northern Victoria, Goulburn-Murray Water opened water ordering for the 2026-27 season on 10 August with storages lower than usual after two consecutive years of below-average inflows, and seasonal determinations are reviewed fortnightly through the season. With the Bureau of Meteorology's outlook pointing to a drier than average spring across south-eastern Australia and the far south-west of Western Australia as El Nino strengthens, this is the year to have the scheduling and system efficiency conversations early.

NSW water allocation statements

Victorian seasonal determinations

Also This Fortnight

Spring Irrigation Journal publishes 7 September. The Spring edition is in production and lands in inboxes and on Publuu on 7 September. Members who missed the advertising deadline can book the Summer edition of The Overflow, which closes on 20 November. The Irrigation Journal

Productivity Commission water reform final report due 4 September. The National Water Reform 2026 inquiry reports to government by 4 September, with tabling required within 25 sitting days. Entitlement reliability, water market integrity and metering standards are all in scope. National Water Reform 2026

The Overflow Edition 84 is online. The Western Australian Region's quarterly, with the apprenticeship pathway on the cover, is available now. Read The Overflow

Upcoming Training Courses

Irrigation Australia is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO 91313) delivering nationally accredited irrigation qualifications, workshops and short courses. Our courses use a blended learning model, combining hands-on face-to-face training with interactive virtual classrooms.

Early 2027

Funding and discounts: Western Australian participants should check the WA Apprenticeship and the current Priority Industry Training funding subsidies, which substantially reduce the cost of the Certificate III in Irrigation Technology. Councils and contractors sending staff to the October Western Australian intake should ask the training team about eligibility before they enrol, not after. Group discounts are available for organisations enrolling multiple staff, so please contact the training team before booking a team in.

Self-paced online options also remain open, including the free Irrigation Insights induction course and the Introduction to Irrigation Part A and Part B courses. Company members can purchase a 12 month subscription giving all staff unlimited access to all three online courses.

View all upcoming training courses and dates

Irrigation Australia Is Hiring: Administrator

We are seeking a highly organised and motivated Administrator to join our team. The successful candidate will provide administrative support for our training programs, including coordinating training bookings, assisting with course scheduling and communications, and supporting trainers and participants throughout the training process. This role would suit someone with strong organisational and communication skills, excellent attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines in a professional and collaborative environment. If you are proactive, reliable and enjoy coordinating activities and helping things run smoothly, we would love to hear from you.

To apply, or to ask about the role, email info@irrigation.org.au with the subject line Administrator Role.

Apply for the Administrator role

The Irrigation Australia Talent Hub: Employers Wanted!

Irrigation Australia has partnered with Goheadhunt to deliver the Irrigation Australia Talent Hub, a dedicated recruitment channel for our industry. If you are hiring, or expect to be hiring, this is the place to be visible.

Employers can create a free employer profile and get in front of a growing pool of industry talent, including graduates of our Certificate III and certification programs and people coming through the Irrigation Insights induction course.

Free employer profile, no cost to list your business
Access to a growing pool of irrigation-specific talent
Pay-for-Success model, so you only pay on a successful placement

The Talent Hub only works if employers are on it. We would encourage every member business with current or upcoming vacancies to register a profile.

Explore careers and the Talent Hub at irrigationcareers.org.au

Advertise in the Summer Edition of The Overflow

The Summer edition of The Overflow, Irrigation Australia's Western Australian publication, closes for advertising material on Friday 20 November and publishes on 7 December. It reaches Waterwise Program participants, golf course superintendents, retailers, contractors and manufacturers across Western Australia, and every advertisement carries live links so readers go straight from the page to your website.

Your advertisement is promoted through:

Direct member emails to our membership base
The Irrigation Australia website
The e-News, reaching more than 6,900 subscribers
Irrigation Australia social media channels and our 8,800-plus LinkedIn following
QR codes displayed in irrigation retail stores across Western Australia
Publuu digital distribution of each publication

Members receive preferential rates, and Irrigation Futures Sponsors have access to a discounted two-edition rate that pairs the Summer Overflow with the next Irrigation Journal. To book, or to request the media kit and current rate card, contact the team at info@irrigation.org.au.

Find out more about The Overflow

Find out more about The Irrigation Journal

Irrigation Australia Ltd | 1/35 Paringa Road, Murarrie QLD 4172 | 07 3517 4000 | info@irrigation.org.au

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