The Third Review of the Water for the Environment Special Account (WESA) finds that existing funding is not sufficient to recover the full 450 GL of additional environmental water by the 31 December 2027 deadline.  

It concludes that funding to ease or relax river constraints is also inadequate—although current allocations are expected to sustain activity only until the end of 2026—and that it is too early to determine whether community adjustment payments will effectively offset socio-economic impacts associated with water purchases.  

Overall, the panel identifies substantial progress since 2023 but warns that the scale of the remaining recovery task, combined with budget limitations, state participation, and compressed delivery timeframes, places achievement of legislative objectives at significant risk. 

Find the full report here.