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A Significance and Engagement Policy sets out when and how we'll seek input from customers, communities, iwi, hapū, other Māori organisations and stakeholders before making major decisions about drinking water and wastewater.

It covers:

• how we assess the significance of a proposal or decision
• when we will inform, engage with, or formally consult people
• how community feedback will be considered when decisions are made.

The policy helps ensure our engagement is transparent, consistent and proportionate to the importance of the decision being considered.

A Significance and Engagement Policy will help us make better decisions by providing a clear framework for when and how we engage with the communities we serve. It will also ensure our decision-making is transparent, accountable and consistent.

All water service providers require a policy under the Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025.

Significance is how we assess the importance of a proposal or decision and the impact it may have on customers, communities, iwi, hapū, other Māori organisations, stakeholders and Waikato Waters.

When assessing significance, we consider a range of factors, including whether a proposal could affect:

• strategic water assets
• customers and communities
• levels of service
• our financial position
• environmental outcomes
• Māori interests.

We also consider whether a decision will affect our long-term direction, create significant risks, attract strong public interest, or be difficult to reverse in the future.

This means significance is not based on cost alone. A decision can be significant because of its impact on people, communities, water services or the environment.

• Significance is how we assess the importance of a proposal or decision.
• Engagement is how we involve people in that decision.

The two are connected. Once we understand the significance of a proposal, we can determine the most appropriate level of engagement. Generally, the more significant a decision is, the more opportunities people should have to be informed, provide feedback or participate in consultation.

No. There are circumstances where engagement is not required or is not practical. For example, where proposals or decisions are:

• routine or operational
• urgent or required in an emergency
• required to meet legal obligations necessary to protect health, safety or infrastructure
• commercially sensitive
• situations where we already have a clear understanding of community views from recent engagement on the same issue.

In these circumstances, we will act in a manner consistent with our statutory obligations, good governance practices and commercial responsibilities.

We assess each proposal or decision against a set of significance criteria.

Based on that assessment, the proposal is generally classified as having a low, medium or high level of significance. The higher the significance, the greater the level of engagement that is likely to occur.

For example:

• Low significance decisions may involve informing people about the decision.
• Medium significance decisions may involve seeking feedback before a decision is made.
• High significance decisions are likely to involve formal consultation.

The policy will ensure you have appropriate opportunities to be informed about and provide input into our proposals and decisions – in a transparent and consistent manner.

You can read the proposed policy and make a submission during the consultation period which runs from 5 October to 5pm on 30 October.

Feedback can be provided by:

• Completing the online form
• Downloading a form and sending it to: Communications Team, Waikato Waters, PO Box 144, Waikato Mail Centre 3204

Once consultation closes, we'll review all feedback received and consider the key themes and issues raised.

The feedback will help inform any changes to the proposed policy before it is presented to our Shareholder Representatives Forum for consideration.

Once a final decision has been made, we'll publish the outcome and explain any significant changes made because of the consultation process.