Hannah Price’s Post

Unbelievable that OzWater was a month ago, how time flies! I’ve been mulling over the conversations ever since, and what struck me most wasn’t any single presentation or technology – it was the shared recognition that the Australian water sector is no longer preparing for change. For years, we’ve talked about the pressures of population growth, housing demand, climate uncertainty, tighter regulation, ageing assets, affordability challenges and increasing community expectations. This year, I felt a significant shift in our collective mindset – these are no longer emerging trends. They have created a sustained period of transition that is reshaping how our industry plans, invests, delivers and operates. The challenge ahead is not simply building more infrastructure. It's building the organisational capability, workforce, governance models and productivity required to sustain unprecedented levels of investment over the coming decades. That is a much bigger leadership challenge and, for me, perhaps the most important conversation to emerge from Ozwater 2026. The best part was returning to TSA Riley, sharing insights with our national team, and reinforcing that we’re on the right track. Our clients know the challenges – our role is helping them make clear decisions within them. This begins by asking the right questions. 💧On investment prioritisation, it’s not: which projects do we want? But: which projects can we realistically deliver over the next 10 to 20 years with the funding, workforce and supply chain available? 💧On delivery models, not: how do we procure this project? But: how do we structure programs so we’re not competing for the same people and resources? 💧On asset management, not: what needs replacing? Rather: what delivers the greatest resilience, service and community benefit from the investment available? 💧And on productivity, not: how do we deliver more projects? But: how do we remove friction from planning, approvals, governance and delivery so existing teams can achieve more? Thank you to everyone who contributed to another great OzWater event. I'm already looking forward to next year to see what we've learnt, what we’ve achieved, and what new questions we're asking as we continue building the capability and resilience for the decades ahead. #OzWater26 Australian Water Association 💦