The NSW Government has announced a proposal to shift the costs of the Beachwatch program onto local councils in the Sydney region. Most of the Sydney Councils who have Beachwatch sites in their local government area are refusing to pay. As of July 2025, the state-funded program is likely to discontinue at popular swimming sites across coastal Sydney.

The NSW Government’s proposal involves transferring the financial burden of the program, which includes monitoring responsibilities, to local councils. This shift is expected to place additional strain on council budgets, which are already stretched thin due to existing cost-shifting practices.

The Beachwatch program, which monitors water quality at swimming locations, is particularly important to swimmers and beachgoers. The program provides vital information on water safety, helping to protect public health and ensure that Sydney’s beaches remain safe and enjoyable for everyone. Shifting the costs of this program onto local councils could jeopardize its effectiveness and availability, potentially putting the community at risk.

The Sydney Coastal Councils Group (SCCG) has highlighted that councils are not legally responsible for monitoring water quality at ocean and harbour beaches. Councils’ responsibility generally does not extend beyond the mean high water mark.

The SCCG also believes that the majority of poor Beachwatch ratings in the Sydney region are primarily due to sewage contamination which is the responsibility of Sydney Water, a state owned corporation. During wet-weather, un-treated sewage can often be introduced to the aquatic environments through stormwater infrastructure (1). Research using molecular microbiological approaches done at Rose Bay also found that human faeces from sewer was the key source of contamination both during wet-weather and dry-weather (2).

Acting Chair of the SCCG, Mr Hugh Phemister stated, “Sydney is defined internationally by our extraordinary harbour, beaches, and waterways. The coordinated management and monitoring of these vital waterways is best undertaken and funded by the NSW Government, especially given the impact arising from sewage which is the responsibility of Sydney Water.

The NSW Governments proposal seeks to shift the cost of monitoring to Councils and their rate payers without adequate justification and analysis. It is crucial that the State Government acknowledges its responsibility for water quality monitoring for the benefit of local residents and to maintain our international reputation as the one of the world’s most beautiful harbour cities.”

The proposed cost shift is part of a broader trend of cost-shifting practices that have imposed a cumulative burden of over $10 billion on NSW councils over the past decade. This practice has forced councils to divert rate revenue away from existing services and infrastructure to cover the unrecoverable costs of state-imposed programs and functions.

Recent incidents of water pollution have led to the closure of 23 Sydney beaches due to the presence of balls of pollutants washing ashore. Pollutants from sewer was a key component. These incidents highlight the importance of maintaining robust water quality monitoring programs to protect public health and safety and maintain the economic viability of business surrounding these beaches.

Local councils are calling on the NSW Government to reconsider this proposal and engage in meaningful dialogue to find a more sustainable solution that does not compromise the financial stability of local governments or the quality of services provided to communities.

For further information, please contact:

Sarah Joyce Executive Director of the Sydney Coastal Councils Group | sarah@sydneycoastalcouncils.com.au | 0407733075

End of Release

This media release aims to inform the public and stakeholders about the NSW Government’s proposal and its potential impact on local councils. It emphasizes the councils’ lack of legal responsibility for water quality monitoring and calls for a reconsideration of the proposal by the state-government.

Read the Media Release here.

The SCCG is proud to announce that it has been awarded Winner in Division D for the Communication, Education, and Empowerment category at the 2024 Local Government NSW Excellence in the Environment Awards!

Our Little Penguin Education Video, developed with Northern Beaches Council, NPWS, TfNSW, and local penguin wardens, highlights the threats faced by Manly’s endangered Little Penguins from boat strikes and seagrass damage. The project empowers the boating community to take action, contributing to the protection of marine biodiversity.

This award recognises our ongoing efforts to foster community engagement, protect marine ecosystems, and promote sustainable practices across Sydney’s coastal communities.

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!

View Winning Projects from the 2024 LGNSW Excellence in the Environment Awards.

The NSW Marine Estate Community Wellbeing Surveys are part of a project under Initiative 8 of the Marine Estate Management Strategy, aiming to monitor benefits and threats to the NSW marine estate. These surveys target coastal residents, youth, and visitors to gather data on their connection to the coastline, quality of life, and perceived threats such as litter and overcrowding. The surveys are expected to be conducted every three years and are divided into 7 distinct coastal regions along the NSW Coast.

The survey results from 2024 have recently been released and had surveyed over 2,100 coastal residents, 850 youths (aged 14-17), and over 1,100 coastal visitors. The community shared valuable insights into the way they engage with the coast and what’s important to them with respect to the distinct region.

Key findings from the Greater Sydney region reveal that 52% of residents and 63% of youth visit the marine estate at least once per week emphasising that engagement with the NSW coast enhances their wellbeing such as physical and mental health benefits and quality of life. The results also found that the Greater Sydney community considers ‘protecting nature’ and ‘ensuring that a healthy marine estate can be enjoyed by future generations’ as important reasons for managing the marine estate. Threats that have the greatest current impact on community experiences within the Greater Sydney region include litter, overcrowding, illegal behaviour or activities, loss of natural habitat, and climate change in that order; the Greater Sydney region was noted to have the highest impact scores for all threats compared with other NSW Coastal regions.

More information on the Community Wellbeing Surveys can be found here along with detailed summaries of the survey findings for each NSW Coastal region.

Summary of the Greater Sydney region survey findings can be found here.

The SCCG is thrilled to announce that the Little Penguin education video has been selected as a finalist in the Communication, Education, and Empowerment category of the LGNSW Excellence in the Environment Awards. This award recognises outstanding initiatives that inform and empower communities, increasing their capacity to actively contribute to sustainability efforts.

Our video, targeting the boating community, highlights the threats faced by the endangered Little Penguin population at Manly, including boat strikes and damage to crucial foraging habitats like seagrass beds. Developed in collaboration with Northern Beaches Council, NPWS, TfNSW, and local penguin wardens, this project forms a key part of SCCG’s broader sustainability strategy to protect marine biodiversity and promote compliance with boating regulations.

The awards ceremony will take place on 4 December 2024, and we are honoured to be among the finalists in this category, which celebrates environmental education programs and initiatives that foster community engagement and consultation.

Stay tuned for the results and our continued efforts in protecting the Little Penguins and other vital marine ecosystems!

Finalists | Environment Awards (lgnsw.org.au)