A major independent inquiry has found that the Northern Basin Toolkit — a $160 million package of infrastructure projects and policy reforms agreed to in exchange for reducing the northern Basin's water recovery target under the Basin Plan — has severely underdelivered on its environmental commitments, with key infrastructure projects falling drastically short of their original targets over the program’s seven years. 

The inquiry was conducted by the Inspector-General of Water Compliance (IGWC), the Hon. Troy Grant, under the Water Act 2007, 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," said Mr Grant. 

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 64 kilometres of fish passage against an original target of 2,135 kilometres. 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 7 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. 

"Complementary measures have a role to play in delivering positive environmental outcomes in the Murray–Darling Basin," said Mr Grant. "However, they require excellence in design and implementation, which was too often missing in the Northern Basin Toolkit." 

The full report is available at inquiry.igwc.gov.au.