Water Futures 2025 research wrap-up

Program highlights

Ozwater 2025: Shaping Australia’s water future

ISF took a leading role at the Australian water industry’s premier event. Professor Juliet Willetts delivered the opening keynote, highlighting how public health foundations continue to shape the sector and why they matter for sustainable growth.

The ISF team also shared practical solutions: Alexandra Butler introduced a non-residential water efficiency handbook developed with NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and BMT, while Dr Simon Fane led a workshop on smart water technologies – from AI-driven greywater systems to high-resolution smart meters.

ISF’s multi-award-winning SiMPACT project was also nominated for the Ozwater’25 National Water Research Award. Read more about ISF at Ozwater 2025.

WELS Evaluation: Quantifying water savings

ISF updated modelling for the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme, revealing significant environmental and economic benefits across residential and commercial sectors. The findings will inform national water policy and were launched by Minister Watt on 12 December. Read more about the project. Read Minister Watt’s media release.

International Water Association (IWA) – Efficient 2025

ISF continues to lead and shape approaches to water efficiency within both the Australian Water Association and IWA. ISF showcased several works at the biannual IWA Efficient Conference held in Melbourne this year, including WELS, benchmarking for non-residential water efficiency, the non-residential water efficiency programs handbook, and water conservation initiatives in Fiji. Dr Simon Fane, who is on the organising and scientific committee of IWA Efficient, held a workshop presenting on smart water devices in the home. We were also proud to see Joanne Chong, Environment Commissioner, Productivity Commission and Adjunct Professor with ISF, deliver a keynote speech for the conference. More information here.

Training Centre for Climate-Resilient Water

ISF secured $1.26 million over five years to support six PhD candidates and a postdoctoral researcher as part of the newly funded ARC Training Centre for Climate-Resilient Water.

The Centre will deliver cutting-edge research, industry training, and collaborative design challenges, backed by $5 million in Commonwealth funding and $4 million in industry support. ISF experts Pierre Mukheibir, Simon Fane, and Andrea Turner will mentor PhD candidates exploring adaptive water management, circular precinct design, and resilient infrastructure in partnership with NSW agencies. Read more here.

Coming up in 2026...

“We’ve been incredibly busy in 2025 working on important collaborative projects for federal, state and local governments as well as groups of utilities such those in Melbourne on water efficiency potential and aligning water forecasting”, said Dr Andrea Turner, Program Lead – Water Futures.

“We’re really looking forward to collaborating in 2026, releasing new leading edge efficiency benchmarks for WSAA, improving forecasting methods for utilities and breaking new ground in the water industry through our new cohort of ARC industry led PhDs.”