After years of simmering frustration, irrigators across the NSW Central Murray and Goulburn-Murray regions are finally getting their day in court.
A landmark class action against the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) and the Commonwealth Government is set to begin in the Supreme Court of NSW on August 11.
The legal battle represents 28,000 group members, and seeks at least $750 million in damages. The claimants allege “gross negligence” and mismanagement of the Murray-Darling system, a claim that, in the words of Barooga farmer Chris Brooks, means the MDBA has “wasted our water.”
Mr. Brooks, who launched the class action in 2019 as the lead litigant, remains deeply committed to its outcome, even though he’s no longer the lead plaintiff.
He explained that irrigators are arguing the MDBA breached its “duty of care” by mismanaging the operation of the Basin.
Specifically, the plaintiffs, led by Bantam Group, claim the MDBA “caused or permitted ‘overbank transfers’ through the Barmah-Millewa Forest” during two key periods: October 3, 2017, to January 20, 2018, and August 31, 2018, to January 7, 2019.
“This use of water was directly related to our farmers not being able to produce crops,” Mr. Brooks said.
He said this alleged mismanagement resulted in NSW Murray Regulated River general security water entitlement holders and Victorian Murray high reliability water shareholders receiving less water than they should have.
This, in turn, led to a reduction in the market value of their water, increased costs on the temporary market, and significant business losses.
The ongoing impact of these alleged decisions is still being felt, according to Mr. Brooks.
“The Murray-Darling Basin Authority is still denying our claims, but now we have a chance to let the judge decide,” he said.
He pointed to the current irrigation season’s opening allocations, which started at a meagre one per cent of general security on July 1 and haven’t budged since.
“People think things have been fine for the last few years because we’ve been lucky enough to get a bit of rain since 2019, but the first slightly dry year (this year) and we’re back on one per cent,” Mr. Brooks lamented.
“You can’t do much planting with one per cent of an allocation, especially with the cost of water and delivery charges right now.”
The MDBA was contacted for comment, but they declined, stating, “The hearing for this matter is scheduled to commence on 11 August 2025.
The Murray–Darling Basin Authority has further no comment, respecting that this matter is before the Court.”
This legal challenge gained significant momentum in 2021 when current lead claimant John Doyle secured a crucial victory.
In April of that year, the NSW Supreme Court ruled in ‘Doyle’s Farm Produce Pty Ltd as trustee for Claredale Family Trust v Murray-Darling Basin Authority‘ that the MDBA could, in fact, be found liable for negligence.
The decision struck down the MDBA’s previous attempts to claim immunity from civil prosecution, meaning they will now have to prove they were not negligent, just like any other defendant.
The irrigators in the class action secured a litigation funder in late 2019, operating on a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement.
This means the funder will receive a predetermined percentage of the claim only if the irrigators are successful.
This article appeared in The Riverine Grazier, 30 July 2025.
