Crown monitor for Watercare
We monitor and report on Watercare’s performance as Auckland’s water and wastewater provider.
Our role
We are the Crown monitor for Watercare, Auckland’s water and wastewater provider. Our role began on 1 April 2025 and will continue to mid-2028, when price-quality regulation will replace the interim Watercare Charter. This will apply alongside information disclosure regulation.
We monitor Watercare’s performance under the Charter and report annually. If Watercare does not comply with the requirements of the Charter, we can investigate and take enforcement action.
Our Crown monitor role is specific to Watercare and separate from our other water regulation work, including Wellington Water’s foundational information disclosure regime.
What Watercare must do
Under the Charter, Watercare must:
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Comply with a maximum annual revenue allowance and increase infrastructure growth charges by a minimum annual percentage.
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Report quarterly on its investment delivery and how it performs against minimum service quality standards and other targets.
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Develop plans on how to improve its delivery, asset management, and operational cost efficiency, and on its plan for reviewing and redesigning its pricing (including infrastructure growth charges). Watercare will publish these plans in 2026.
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Publish annual progress reports against its plans.
Updates on our work as Crown monitor
We are required by legislation to produce formal reports as the Crown monitor, including annual reports on Watercare’s performance. We may also share other updates and information that could be of interest to stakeholders and the wider public.
Annual report of Watercare’s performance
On 28 November 2025, we delivered our first annual assessment of Watercare’s performance to the Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Minister for Local Government, and Auckland Council. This report establishes a baseline for future annual performance assessments. It looks at Watercare’s performance in 2025 through a lens of current public performance reporting and targets. It also identifies the factors that will drive future performance improvements.
Letter to Watercare on compliance with revenue requirements
In October 2025 we sent a letter to Watercare providing feedback on its compliance with the revenue requirements for FY26 under the Charter.
Letter of expectations
On 17 April 2025 we published our letter of expectations to Watercare. Our letter sets out how we will monitor Watercare, our enforcement powers and what it can expect from our engagement.