By: David Nixon, NSW SQID Taskforce Chair, Sydney
Date: October 11, 2025
What is the price of a functioning industry? What is the cost of reform?
For the NSW Stormwater industry, the initial down payment has been 5,000 hours.
This isn’t a theoretical number. It’s the real, tracked time that dozens of our industry’s leading experts—engineers, scientists, asset managers, and manufacturers—have voluntarily donated over the past 12 months. This is time they could have spent with their families, on their own businesses, or on their careers. Instead, they chose to invest it in a shared vision for a better future. ⏰
What 5,000 Hours of Expert Labour Represents
Let’s put that number into perspective. 5,000 hours is the equivalent of:
- Nearly three full-time employees working for an entire year.
- Hundreds of thousands of dollars in professional consulting fees, gifted to the industry for free.
- An unprecedented coalition of competitors and colleagues setting aside their commercial interests to solve a collective problem.
This “volunteer army” didn’t assemble for an academic exercise. They came together because they saw a system at a breaking point. They saw councils inheriting crippling debts, standards that were failing, and a verification process that was eroding trust. They sounded the alarm because they knew that the cost of inaction was simply too high.
The Report is Not the End—It’s the Starting Gun
After all that effort, the NSW SQID Taskforce Report is now on the table. It is a comprehensive diagnosis of our industry’s ailments and a detailed, practical prescription for the cure. It is the product of debate, rigorous analysis, and a shared commitment to excellence.
But a report, no matter how thorough, is just paper. Its value is zero if it is not acted upon.
This brings us to the fundamental challenge facing every single person in our industry today. The volunteers have done their part. They have raised the alarm, mapped the terrain, and drawn the battle plans. Now, we must ask the critical question: Is anyone listening?
A Challenge to Every Stakeholder
This report is a test.
- To Government: Will you acknowledge the systemic failures and take on the leadership role that only you can fill?
- To Industry Associations: Will you champion these reforms and mobilise your members for the collective action required?
- To Manufacturers and Consultants: Will you support the move toward higher standards, even if it challenges your current business models?
- To Councils: Will you use this report to advocate for the funding and support you so desperately need?
This report represents an unprecedented voluntary effort to diagnose and solve our industry’s biggest challenges. But it cannot be the final step. The real work of implementation and reform starts now. We are calling on every stakeholder to honour this effort by engaging deeply with the NSW SQID Taskforce Report and providing the constructive feedback needed to turn these recommendations into reality.
We have commenced a broad consultation process across industry, government, councils and industries. We are aiming to prepare a feedback supplement at the conclusion of the consultation period.
Review the consultation draft, Volume One, outlining recommendations, available on the Stormwater 2030 website.
Submit feedback via the Taskforce Feedback Form by Monday, December 1, 2025.
