2024-25 Annual compliance plan

The 2024-25 Annual compliance plan (PDF, 6MB) is available.

The highest risk regulatory behaviours are shown as areas of focus for the department's activities.

Areas of focus

Focus area 1: Quality and timeliness of required information to the department

The regulated community must provide correct and complete compliance information to the department within a specific timeframe. We use this information to monitor compliance and ensure they are following the laws. By receiving information that is correct and timely, we can focus on the protection of:

public health and safety
the environment
long-term management of Queensland’s water resources.

We evaluated our progress towards achieving the regulatory outcomes. We still need to improve non-compliant behaviour associated with focus area 1. A longer-term investment on this focus area is required to achieve better regulatory outcomes.

This year, new policy and legislative changes will have an impact on the regulated community. Changes in expectations are relevant to this focus area. We have considered the learnings from the strategies and activities from 2023-2024 to determine the regulatory activities that we will do this year.

Overview of the regulatory activities that will be undertaken for focus area 1

Regulatory tool	Objectives	Activities
Inform	Ensure our regulated communities are informed and aware of their obligations and how we undertake our regulatory role. Ensure our regulatory activities and areas of concern are transparently communicated.	Use various communication channels to present key regulatory messages. Publish Annual Compliance Plan 2024–25 and end of year report 2024–25. Supported by focus area 2 activities
Guide	Guide and educate the community helping them to understand their obligations including consequences of non-compliance and likely impacts on the wider community.	Communicate to those impacted by new policy and legislation changes, and where improved outcomes are required. Develop key messages to reach targeted geographical areas or regulated communities. Set expectations and provide information on how to comply. Supported by focus area 2 activities
Monitor	Ensure compliance across our regulatory activities by monitoring risk and impacts to water resources, the environment, and communities.	Monitor: on-time submission of measurement device certification documents on-time and accurate submissions of meter readings complete and accurate information provided on drill logs, particularly for high-risk areas and newly licenced drillers documents required from dam owners for on-time, complete and accurate submissions documents required from water service providers for on-time, complete and accurate submissions. Supported by focus area 3 activities
Respond and enforce	Address risks and issues to improve compliance and achieve water resource management outcomes. Ensure our responses are targeted and proportionate by making fair, transparent and evidence-based decisions.	Focus on addressing non-compliant behaviours and activities across: high-risk regulated communities intentional non-compliance, particularly providing false or misleading information non-submission of required documentation offences within high-risk areas. Supported by focus area 3 activities

Focus area 2: Improving our regulatory presence

Our focus this year will be to continue to improve our regulatory presence. Our regulatory messaging will be more effective when targeting particular geographic areas or regulated communities. We also need to improve the timing of the messages, to ensure that expectations are communicated early to promote voluntary compliance.

Key activities for this year will include:

engaging with high-risk regulated communities (including dam owners, water service providers, water users, water bore drillers and riverine quarry operators)
communicating the benefits of compliance, how we monitor compliance and our enforcement actions
using a range of communication channels to provide proactive and targeted compliance messages such as:
- our websites
- social media
- media releases
- newsletters
- information/attendance at key industry events
targeting regulatory messages to:
- those impacted by new policy and legislative changes
- areas of greater regulatory risk due to high rates of non-compliant activities
- those within catchments that have been determined to be a high-risk in the statewide water use risk assessment.

In 2023-2024, we increased the use of communication channels. This included social media platforms which provided regulatory messaging to a wider audience. This aligns with the core principles of the Water Resource Management Regulatory Strategy (PDF, 552KB) of being an accountable, transparent, responsive and supportive regulator.

We have evaluated progress towards achieving regulatory outcomes. Information on progress and learnings from the previous annual compliance plan have been considered in determining the regulatory activities that will be undertaken this year.

Overview of the regulatory activities that will be undertaken for focus area 2

Regulatory tool	Objectives	Activities
Inform	Ensure our regulated communities are informed and aware of their obligations and how we undertake our regulatory role. Ensure our regulatory activities and areas of concern are transparently communicated.	Publish Annual Compliance Plan 2024–25 and end of year report 2024–25. Communicate information, activities and outcomes across a variety of channels. Supported by focus area 1 activities
Guide	Guide and educate the community helping them to understand their obligations including consequences of non-compliance and likely impacts on the wider community.	Communicate to those impacted by policy and legislation changes, and where improved outcomes are required. Proactively target key messages to specific areas or groups to set expectations and provide information on how to comply. Supported by focus area 1 activities

Regulatory tool

Objectives

Activities

Inform

Ensure our regulated communities are informed and aware of their obligations and how we undertake our regulatory role.

Ensure our regulatory activities and areas of concern are transparently communicated.

Publish Annual Compliance Plan 2024–25 and end of year report 2024–25.
Communicate information, activities and outcomes across a variety of channels.

Supported by focus area 1 activities

Guide

Guide and educate the community helping them to understand their obligations including consequences of non-compliance and likely impacts on the wider community.

Communicate to those impacted by policy and legislation changes, and where improved outcomes are required.
Proactively target key messages to specific areas or groups to set expectations and provide information on how to comply.

Supported by focus area 1 activities

Focus area 3: Non-compliant behaviour and activity spotlights

We take a risk-based approach when investigating non-compliance behaviour and activities. This means we assess any non-compliance we have identified and then prioritise it for investigation and necessary action.

Compliance action for each risk must be effective, efficient and proportionate. It must align with the principles of the Water Resource Management Regulatory Strategy (PDF, 552KB). We aim to reduce non-compliant behaviour by promoting cases that demonstrate the consequences. This includes fines, reduced access, and legal action have escalated for compliance action.

We are a data and intelligence led regulatory agency. We work to improve how we monitor compliance. This includes enhanced:

detection capabilities
data collection
intelligence gathering.

This helps us align regulatory strategies with outcomes by identifying:

trends
current and emerging risks
behavioural drivers for non-compliance.

We are progressing policy, legislative and systems reforms, and working closely with stakeholders to take a modern, best practice approach to regulation.

In 2023-24, the department continued to meet its regulatory responsibilities and address non-compliance proportionately. Investigations and enforcement action is resource intensive and requires a long-term investment to achieve regulatory outcomes.

We have evaluated our progress and the learnings from the strategies and activities in 2023-2024 have been considered in setting the activities for this year.

Overview of the regulatory activities that will be undertaken for focus area 3

Regulatory tool	Objectives	Activities
Monitor	Ensure compliance across our regulatory activities by monitoring risk and impacts to water resources, the environment, and communities.	Use a variety of audit and detection methods for intelligence purposes i.e. remote sensing, data analytics and desktop tools. Improve systems and data quality. Develop and maintain strategic partnerships. Monitor and communicate legislative reform. Supported by focus area 1 activities
Respond and enforce	Address risks and issues to improve compliance and achieve water resource management outcomes. Ensure our responses are targeted and proportionate by making fair, transparent and evidence-based decisions.	We will continue to focus on: high-risk regulated communities alleged offences which involve providing false or misleading information to the department and/or financially motivated non-compliant behaviour failure to submit of required documentation unauthorised and non-compliant behaviour in high-risk areas identifying and acting on non-compliance, in alignment with the regulatory strategy. Supported by focus area 1 activities

Regulatory tool

Objectives

Activities

Monitor

Ensure compliance across our regulatory activities by monitoring risk and impacts to water resources, the environment, and communities.

Use a variety of audit and detection methods for intelligence purposes i.e. remote sensing, data analytics and desktop tools.
Improve systems and data quality.
Develop and maintain strategic partnerships.
Monitor and communicate legislative reform.

Supported by focus area 1 activities

Respond and enforce

Address risks and issues to improve compliance and achieve water resource management outcomes.

Ensure our responses are targeted and proportionate by making fair, transparent and evidence-based decisions.

We will continue to focus on:

high-risk regulated communities
alleged offences which involve providing false or misleading information to the department and/or financially motivated non-compliant behaviour
failure to submit of required documentation
unauthorised and non-compliant behaviour in high-risk areas
identifying and acting on non-compliance, in alignment with the regulatory strategy.

Supported by focus area 1 activities

Last updated: 04 Dec 2025