NSW Coastal Metering: 1 December 2026 Deadline Approaching New

Date: 23-Jul-2026

The NSW Government's non-urban water metering rollout has reached the coast. Under the updated Water Management (General) Regulation, larger water users in coastal NSW have until 1 December 2026 to bring their metering equipment into line with the state's non-urban metering framework.

Who is affected

The rules apply to water supply works, not licence types, and the key threshold is the total licence entitlement nominating a work.

If your works are nominated by a total entitlement of 100 ML or more, you need a pattern-approved meter compliant with Australian Standard AS4747, validated by a duly qualified person, together with a local intelligence device and telemetry, installed and operating by 1 December 2026.

Surface water pumps of 500 mm or more should already be compliant, regardless of entitlement size.

Smaller users are on a longer timeline. Works nominated by entitlements above 15 ML and below 100 ML have until 1 December 2027, or the renewal of the work approval, whichever is later. Works at or below 15 ML do not need a meter unless water allocations are traded, though usage must still be recorded and reported.

Two points regularly catch people out. The threshold is based on entitlement, not allocation, so a 150 ML entitlement still requires a meter in a year when only half the allocation is available. And the entitlement test is cumulative across all licence categories nominating the work, including high security, general security, supplementary, and domestic and stock.

What to do now

Metering equipment must be installed and validated by a duly qualified person. Certified Meter Installers hold this qualification, and installer availability tightens as compliance deadlines approach, so affected water users should not leave installation to the second half of 2026.

Irrigation Australia recommends coastal water users take three steps:

1. Check your position. Confirm the total entitlement nominating each of your works and what the rules require. The NSW Government's non-urban metering pages set out the requirements, exemptions and available financial support: NSW Government non-urban metering information.
2. Talk to a Certified Meter Installer early. Find one near you in the Irrigation Australia Certification Directory, searchable by certification type and location.
3. Keep records. Whatever your entitlement size, recording and reporting of water take remains mandatory.

Irrigation Australia delivers the nationally accredited Certified Meter Installer and Validator training that underpins the directory (RTO 91313). Details are on the Irrigation Australia training pages.

For questions about the rules themselves, contact the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water or WaterNSW.