June 2026

WaterAble Leadership Program – Expressions of Interest now open

Back in 2023, WaterAble founder Llewellyn Prain wanted to develop a program to support people with a disability to move into leadership positionsin the water sector. The leadership program was specifically designed to help build leadership potential and support participants personal and career growth. WaterAble has run this program twice now with 12 graduates and is very excited to be opening expressions of interest for the third round of the WaterAble Leadership Program. It has been a pleasure to get to know, and work with the alumni of the program and I am really excited to see the next round of this program get underway.

If you work for a WaterAble partner organisation and identify as having a disability, this is a great chance to build your leadership skills, connect with others, and invest in your future. Starting in July 2026, the program will run across five online sessions designed to help you grow your confidence and strengthen your leadership capability. The program has been designed to be supportive and use practical learning experiences to support participants to set their leadership and career goals, identify the skills and competencies they want to build, and explore how they can increase their impact in the sector.

Expressions of interest will close on Friday 19 June 2026. If you are interested in learning more, please contact me or have a look on the WaterAble website.

Having seen the growth and development of the last two cohorts from this program, I can’t wait to see the outcomes from this round.

Tara Daniel

May 2026

Women Deliver Conference 2026

I am a strong believer that gender equality is not a luxury and not just a women’s issue, so when the opportunity arose to attend the Women Deliver 2026 Conference in Melbourne, I jumped at the chance!

The conference was the first Women Deliver conference to be hosted regionally in the Pacific and brought together more than 6,000 delegates from 189 countries. The conference focused on gender equality while centring efforts to shift power, challenge existing systems, and elevate the voices and leadership of Pacific women at the nexus of climate justice, gender equality, and decolonisation.

• Rising Tides, Raising Voices: This session was developed and delivered by WaterAid, featuring voices from across the Oceanic Pacific who used Pasifika storytelling to share their lived experiences, highlighting intersecting challenges of water insecurity, gender equality and climate change. I sat at a table with a woman who attended a senior briefing on water security in her own country, and when the men went off to relax, the women who had been invited to be at the table went to collect the water they had been discussing. This set the tone for the discussion on leadership and allyship to shift the conversation. Her story, and those from the panel focused on shifting the narrative from vulnerability to strength and the need to have those most impacted by climate change, to be at the table making decisions.
• The Melbourne Declaration for Gender Equality: 30 years on from the Beijing Declaration on Women’s Rights no country has achieved full equality, so the Melbourne Declaration has been developed to create a framework for its implementation. It calls for organisations, governments and communities to take meaningful action to achieve lasting gender equality through inclusive leadership, equitable opportunity, safe workplaces and systemic cultural change. I spent a lot of time through the week thinking about how I could embed this within the work that I do in the Victorian water sector, and there are opportunities within the strategies and structures that we have already developed, especially if we start to think a little differently.

It is fair to say that there were aspects of the conference that were uncomfortable, but overall, I left the conference with hope that meaningful change is possible, and I am looking forward to actively translating what I learned into my own leadership, decision making and action.

April 2026

One of the benefits of my role is seeing the “better together” ethos being lived by our members. Collaboration and partnerships continue to be a theme for 2026.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee (DISC) has published the 2026 Equity Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report. This report is completed annually and demonstrates progress against the targets within the 2023- 28 Strategy. This year’s report indicates an overall decline in E,D and I performance across the sector compared to the previous year. The DISC will be looking closely at the data to understand the insights and identify areas to focus on in 2026/27.

WaterAble

WaterAble held a members meeting on 23 March 2026. This meeting was open to all employees of WaterAble’s partner organisations and discussed the key activities they will be undertaking this year. All attendees had the opportunity to provide feedback on how to improve and support disability inclusion in the water sector. There were some great suggestions and ideas come through the meeting that the WaterAble committee will discuss at their upcoming meeting.

Cyber Security

We are continuing to work on the Digital Safety Water Standards, which aim to provide assurance to all parties that the sector is ‘digitally safe’. We have completed the discovery phase and are now working on the development phase. The discovery phase of the project had some great findings, which have reinforced that digital safety is about organisational culture and not just technical safety. Through the development phase, the project team has been working to develop a model that reframes cybersecurity as a whole‑of‑organisation capability. Rather than focusing on individual controls, it defines what good looks like and creates a shared language for executives, leaders, and technical teams with an aim of making cyber risk visible, discussable, and governable alongside other enterprise risks. The project team will be holding a workshop to further discuss this at the end of April with a view to testing what this looks like throughout May and June.

March 2026

The VicWater programs are now in full swing, and this year there is much allignment, with all programs focusing on partnerships and being “better together”.

Before I go further, I will add that we welcomed Lucy Hall to VicWater in late January, to support VicWater programs including WaterAble and IWN. It has been fabulous to have her on board to support our members. If you see her around, please make sure you say hi!

WaterAble

WaterAble have started planning for this year and will be holding a members meeting on 23 March 2026. This meeting is open to all employees of WaterAble’s partner organisations and will share some of the key activities they will be undertaking this year.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The Practitioners network kicked off the year with a meeting that had a large focus on their Gender Equality Action Plans (GEAPs), which are due 1 May 2026. GEAPs are a huge piece of work that provide a structured, transparent way to align goals and track progress across an organisation. This year the Practitioners Network have been working to align actions to support a collective and collaborative approach to GEAPs.

Safety 

The Safety Executive Group met in person and discussed how to create tangible outcomes for the sector. Some of the areas they discussed were change management, culture and capability and, critical risks and controls.

Earlier this month, Julie Foat from Southern Rural Water kicked off the first OHS Network online knowledge sharing session for the year. The topic was Assurance for OHS Management Systems. Southern Rural Water and Melbourne Water shared how they are moving their assurance systems beyond compliance and into a learning culture.

Cyber

We are continuing to work on the Digital Water Standards, which aim to provide assurance to all parties that the sector is ‘digitally safe’. We have completed the discovery phase and entering into the development phase. The discovery phase of the project had some great findings, which have reinforced that digital safety is about organisational culture and not just technical safety. The end product will be a co-created, co-owned, and co-managed capability model between DEECA and the water sector.

If you want to hear more about any of the mentioned programs – please feel free to reach out – tara.daniel@vicwater.org.au. See you next month!

February 2026

Happy New Year!

Although some time has passed, I really wanted to take the time to highlight the WaterAble celebration for International Day for People with Disability, held on 3 December 2025. This is always the highlight of the WaterAble calendar, and with over 150 people joining us to hear from Mike Rolls, the event was very well attended. Mike was an incredible speaker and really made the audience think. He spoke authentically about building resilience, and I came away with a reminder to approach life with curiosity and empathy, which is always a good lesson to be reminded of. WaterAble is currently planning for 2026 and if you want to know more, please reach out – contact@waterable.com.au.

Speaking of planning for 2026, I was fortunate to spend much of January on holiday and have returned refreshed and energised for the year ahead, so I am very much looking forward to what is in store. Once again, this year looks set to be full of collaboration and shared initiatives, from digital safety and cyber culture through to safety leadership, and equity and inclusion there is strong appetite to collectively “shift the dial”. This willingness to share is something that really sets the water sector apart and makes me glad to be part of it.

On a personal note, as many of you know, I love to travel, and this year I was lucky enough to visit Patagonia and Antarctica. It was an incredible experience, with remarkable wildlife and breathtaking scenery at every turn. However, the significant and enduring impacts of climate change were reinforced throughout the trip. Seeing retreating glaciers and declining ice shelves firsthand, alongside watching fires and floods unfold in Victoria from afar, was sobering. It deepened my appreciation for working in a sector and an organisation that understands these challenges and takes them seriously.

When I think about the work that VicWater and the sector does, there is a huge breadth of areas and expertise, and every year there seems to be a lot to do. But I am optimistic for 2026 and looking forward to seeing what comes from it.

December 2025

I can’t believe that we are now in December and like many others I feel like 2025 has been a busy year that has completely flown, full of enjoyable challenges and achievements. I felt for the final program update for the year I would take a moment to reflect on what I’m most proud of from this past year and share what I’m most excited about as we head into 2026.

• Proudest moment – I have to call out the Insight: Executive Women in Water program graduation. The vibe leading into this was definitiely mixed from “we are completely prepared” to “what is the worst that can happen”. But the resulting graduation was a reflection of a truly incredible leadership program. Our workshop explored enterprise leadership and the importance of embedding broad, strategic thinking across the sector and moving beyond siloed organisational approaches. It was invaluable to have Chairs and MDs participate, and discuss a culture of interconnectedness in strategic planning and fostering collaboration across the sector.

• What I am excited by – I have to say, and I never thought I would say this, but Digital Water Standards. This project is an exciting opportunity to develop a sector-wide model that will uplift cybersecurity capability. As we come to the end of phase one, I am reminded of the collaborative energy, from my Insight graduation. I’m genuinely excited about the direction this project has taken and the potential that this has for the sector, to champion a truly collaborative approach between the water sector, VicWater and DEECA, to create meaningful outcomes that benefit everyone.

I often say I have the best job in the Victorian water sector and I really look forward to continuing to work with our members in 2026. Stay safe over the holiday season and I hope you all have a chance for a break. See you in 2026!

November 2025

We are now in the countdown to mince pie season, and it feels like October has passed in a blur. There has been quite a bit on, but a few key items that I am pleased to highlight:

Safety Executive Group visit to North East Water: In early October the SEG were hosted by North East Water at the Wodonga Wastewater Treatment Plant and featured a tour of the construction site for NEW’s $73 million Wodonga Capacity & Emissions Reduction flagship project. This project is impressive in its size, complexity and ambition and I really hope that we are able to return to see the finished project once it is operational.

RMIT EnGenius Awards: As both a woman in STEM and an RMIT Alumni I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to present the VicWater Women in STEM Award at the recent RMIT EnGenius Exhibition. This award was presented to Angelina Iliaskos, Hannah Merry, and Chloe Pattas for their project Design and Development of a 3D-Printed Waterjet Propulsion System for Uncrewed Vessels. This is an annual industry sponsored event that showcases undergraduate engineering capstone projects. I was really impressed at the calibre of the projects, which were much cooler than when I was an undergraduate!

WaterAble Industry Project: We held a workshop to support the development of the industry project earlier in the month. My Inclusion Passport is designed to help people with disabilities communicate their workplace adjustment needs while maintaining control over their data, privacy, and consent. Stakeholder feedback from the workshop will guide the next development phase, with a planned launch early next year following testing and further research into similar initiatives to inform best practices.

October 2025

Last month I had the pleasure of facilitating a panel at the VicWater Annual Conference on the very broad topic of Innovating the Customer Experience. My first thought was, “I know nothing about customer experience!” but I promptly said yes anyway, because being out of my comfort zone is something I have been trying on…(and I liken it to buying new jeans, which are awful in the beginning, but then become so comfy you never want to take them off).

Once I began preparing, I realised just how complex this space really is. Customer experience is about people, and people are, quite simply, incredibly complex. We all have different needs, expectations, and ideas about what “good service” looks like. So, throughout the preparation – I tried to keep front of mind the question of – how do you innovate in a way that brings people with you?

My panellists – Sarah Cumming (Gippsland Water), Catherine Wolthuizen (EWOV), Danny Gorog (Snap Send Solve) and Adele Rohde (GWMWater) – were very engaging and insightful but two very simple and poignant themes continued to shine through, which were trust and empathy. Reflecting on the conversation, I think the answer is that innovation isn’t just about shiny technology or streamlined processes, instead it’s about connection. It’s about using data and digital tools to better understand people, anticipate their needs, and respond with care. As the discussion showed, technology can help us do things faster and smarter, (ask me about the letters I sent to my niece from her elf on the shelf), but ultimately it’s empathy and trust that ensure we’re doing the right things, for the right reasons, for the people we serve.

September 2025

I thought it timely to provide an update on the different programs that I support in my role at VicWater.

WaterAble

WaterAble are very excited to announce that they will be holding an online event for International Day for People with Disability on 3 December 2025 at 10:30 am.  Please save the date and more details will be coming soon!

Cyber Governance Steering Committee

VicWater on behalf of DEECA have kicked off a project to develop a set of Digital Water Standards for the sector. This is not about telling the sector what Frameworks or tools they must use but rather providing some guidance on how they could be applied consistently to meet the various obligations that they have.

The CGSC has also been having some interesting and ongoing conversations about the use of AI to leverage the power of it, but doing so in a safe and responsible way.

Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee

The DISC has commenced a piece of research looking at the barriers and opportunities to increase diversity and inclusion in our operations and maintenance areas.  This project aims to look at the entire employee life cycle and will include significant engagement with people across the sector.

Safety Executive Group

With the anticipated changes to the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations in December 2025 the SEG have been focused on what this means for their organisations and the role of leadership in psychosocial safety.