Advocacy

Community Service Obligation funding

Community Service Obligation (CSO) funding helps make sure the cost of essential services is fair across different areas. It recognises that some services are important for public health and the environment, even when they cost more to provide than they return in revenue.

This is often the case for wastewater services in regional areas. Geography, smaller towns, and fewer customers can make these services more expensive to deliver than in larger metropolitan systems.

In 2025–26, the South Australian Government will provide $40 million in CSO funding to SA Water to help cover the gap between the cost of providing wastewater services and the revenue collected under state-wide pricing.

However, this funding does not extend to other wastewater service providers, such as local government Community Wastewater Management Systems (CWMS).

A 2020 review of the Water Industry Act 2012 by the Department for Environment and Water recommended considering CSO funding for providers beyond SA Water. This recommendation has not yet progressed.

In November 2025, the City of Onkaparinga raised this issue at the Local Government Association's (LGA) AGM and requested that the LGA advocate on behalf of the CWMS sector to address this inequity. The motion was carried with unanimous support. An update from the LGA can be viewed here. 

ESCOSA Regulatory Framework Review

In November 2025 we made a submission to the review of regulatory framework for small-scale water and sewerage retailers being undertaken by the Essential Services Commission of SA (ESCOSA). View a copy of our submission here. 

Petition to SA Water

In 2024-25 we initiated a petition to the parliament on behalf of the residents to have SA Water take over the management of Council CWMS networks. Further information can be found on the project's page on Your Say Onkaparinga.