The Basin Condition Monitoring Program:
- forms part of the Australian Government’s response to the 2020 Independent assessment of social and economic conditions in the Murray–Darling Basin
- responds to the needs of Basin communities
- is driven by the requirements of the 2026 Basin Plan Review.
Projects and themes
Running through to December 2025, the program is split into 5 themes:
Cultural
- Pathways to the Basin Plan Review
- Cultural flows
- Outcomes for First Nations peoples
- Digitising and interpreting the Darling (Baaka) Scrolls.
Economic
- Economic and social conditions report
- Economic values beyond irrigation
- Changes to employment
- Dynamics of the water market.
Environmental
- Impacts of water delivery and operations
- eDNA monitoring
- Floodplains and wetland fish
- Satellite vegetation maps.
Hydrology
- Community flow measurement.
Social
- Basin community values
- Community oral histories
- Communication.
Program development
We used a community-centred ‘bottom-up’ approach to developing the Basin Condition Monitoring Program.
Regional Community Forums
We established Regional Community Forums across 6 regions of the Basin in 2021. The forums discussed a broad range of community issues, values and priorities, and developed these into the Basin Conditioning Monitoring projects. These projects cover what is important and achievable without duplicating existing monitoring work.
The Basin Condition Monitoring Program is not operating in isolation. There are core long-term monitoring programs in the states and Commonwealth, and other focused programs that together complement the Basin Condition Monitoring Program.
First Nations
We are working with First Nations groups directly on the design of the cultural projects. These include Murray and Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN), the Basin Community Committee (BCC) Indigenous sub-group and others communities.
Basin governments
Basin governments were consulted via the inter-jurisdictional Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Working Group (MER WG) to ensure there is no overlap and the projects complement existing monitoring. In addition, the social and economic projects have been developed in consultation with the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), a division of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
The Authority
Our Authority approved the suite of projects in April 2022.
Last updated: 29 April 2025