The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has marked the close of the formal public consultation period for the Basin Plan Review, a significant milestone in shaping the future of water management across the Basin.
More than 2,400 submissions have been received from First Nations people, community members, organisations, local, state and national government agencies.
Many were shared in the final days of the consultation period which ended on 1 May.
MDBA Chief Executive Andrew McConville said the level of engagement reflected the importance of the Basin Plan to communities and industries across the region.
“People care deeply about the Basin and its future. We’ve seen that in the time people have taken to share their experiences, challenge our thinking and put forward ideas,” said Mr McConville.
The 12-week consultation period began on Thursday 5 February and closed on Friday 1 May 2026. Over that time:
- more than 2,800 participations in engagementmeetings, forums and online channels
- we connected with more than 500 First Nations peoples and groups
- we visited more than 90 towns and regional centres across the Basin.
Every submission will now be individually read by the MDBA and considered in detail.
This analysis will inform the What We Heard report that will be published alongside submissions (where consent has been provided) in late June.
