Murrumbidgee Irrigation
Murrumbidgee Irrigation is a privately held, shareholder-owned regulated irrigation utility delivering water to over 3,093 landholdings across 378,911 hectares in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area of NSW, Australia, serving over 2,300 shareholder customers in agriculture.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1912
- HeadquartersHanwood, Australia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Murrumbidgee Irrigation does
Murrumbidgee Irrigation Ltd (MI) is a privately held, shareholder-owned irrigation utility and one of the largest private irrigation operators in Australia, delivering water across 378,911 hectares of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) in southern New South Wales to over 3,093 landholdings owned by more than 2,300 shareholder customers. Founded in 1912 and headquartered in Hanwood with secondary offices in Griffith and Leeton, MI operates a regulated regional monopoly whose pricing is determined by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for the period 1 October 2025 to 30 June 2029.
MI's core offering is irrigation water delivery through a network of gravity pipelines, automated regulating structures, channels lined with clay or EPDM rubber, pumped stock and domestic systems, and a SCADA/telemetry environment for remote monitoring. It has progressively replaced Dethridge wheels with electronic flow meters and converted manually operated regulators to automated gates, supported by a 5,000 ML surge reservoir enabling higher peak flow rates. Customers access accounts, place water orders, and manage allocations through the MI Connect portal, with phone support from a 6am–9pm Customer Operations Centre extending to 24 hours during peak watering periods. Adjacent products include the Overdraft Facility for High Security water holders, formal water trading services governed by the Water Act 1912, and a suite of regulated contracts (Water Delivery Contract, Water Entitlements Contract).
MI's business model centres on regulated recurring water delivery charges, supplemented by transactional overdraft fees ($168 application fee, $50/ML overdraft fee), water entitlement contracts, and the pass-through delivery of multi-hundred-million-dollar Australian and NSW Government-funded infrastructure modernisation programs (PIIOP-NSW rounds totalling ~$348 million; $126.48 million Off-farm Efficiency Program; $62.2 million Urban Channel Pipeline Project). Approximately 160 employees serve the operation, and the customer base spans citrus, wine, rice, cotton, grain, nuts, poultry, aquaculture, seed crops, and broadacre farming across the Riverina — Australia's largest citrus and wine-producing region.
Murrumbidgee Irrigation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Murrumbidgee Irrigation
- Legal name
- Murrumbidgee Irrigation Ltd
- Website
- https://mirrigation.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1912
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Murrumbidgee Irrigation is a privately held, shareholder-owned regulated irrigation utility delivering water to over 3,093 landholdings across 378,911 hectares in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area of NSW, Australia, serving over 2,300 shareholder customers in agriculture.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Murrumbidgee Irrigation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Irrigation Water Delivery Services
- NAICS
- Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)
- SIC
- Agricultural Services (700), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Irrigation Automation & Controls Services (SCADA, Sensors, Telemetry) (AFACAFAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Irrigation Control & Automation (Controllers, Valves, Sensors, IoT) (AFAAACAF), Irrigation Design, Installation & Maintenance Services (Engineering, Retrofit, Repair) (AFAAACAL), Monitoring, Metering & Flow Measurement (Meters, Pressure/Flow Gauges, Telemetry) (AFAAACAK), Irrigation & Outdoor Plumbing Products (IMADALAI)
Keywords
Where Murrumbidgee Irrigation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hanwood
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices3 records
Markets served
Murrumbidgee Irrigation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Water Delivery Charges: Annual water delivery charges for irrigation customers, with charges increasing 4.1% for 2026/27 (below CPI of 4.6%). Governed by IPART pricing determination covering 1 October 2025 to 30 June 2029.
- Water Entitlements: Water entitlements contracts governing customer access to water delivery infrastructure. Charges governed by Charges Rules reviewed annually.
- Overdraft Facility Fees: Overdraft facility allowing irrigators to access up to 5% of their DEs (Delivery Entitlements) with $168 application fee and $50 per ML overdraft fee.
- Modernisation Program Delivery: Government-funded infrastructure projects (PIIOP-NSW, Off-farm Efficiency Program, UCP) delivering infrastructure upgrades with total investment approaching $348 million from Australian Government.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | PIIOP-NSW Program |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Overdraft Facility - High Security Water Holders |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Overdraft Eligibility Requirements |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Murrumbidgee Irrigation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Murrumbidgee Irrigation delivers bulk irrigation water to over 3,093 landholdings across 378,911 hectares in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) of NSW, Australia through an integrated gravity channel and pipeline network. The company provides Water Delivery Contracts, Water Entitlement Contracts, and the MI Connect customer portal for account management, water ordering, and allocation tracking. The company also operates water trading services and supplementary offerings such as the Overdraft Facility and Surplus Water Events for its 2,300+ shareholder customers.
Product overview
Murrumbidgee Irrigation operates as a single-segment water utility providing irrigation water delivery services across the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. The company's core product is its water delivery infrastructure and services, centered around the MI Connect customer portal for account management. Key products include Water Delivery Services (serving over 3,093 landholdings across 378,911 hectares), Water Entitlements and Delivery Contracts, Water Trading Services, and the Overdraft Facility (for High Security water holders). Infrastructure offerings include the Urban Channel Pipeline Project and the Off-farm Efficiency Program for network modernization. The company also provides supplementary services including Surplus Water Events, a Pricing Calculator, and access to water quality monitoring data. All products and services are delivered through the MIA region in NSW, Australia.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Water Delivery Services Bulk irrigation water delivery to over 3,093 landholdings across 378,911 hectares in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, delivered through an integrated gravity channel, pipeline, and stock/domestic network under regulated Water Delivery Contracts.
- MI Connect Online Portal
- Water Delivery Contract
- Water Entitlements Contract
- Overdraft Facility
- Water Trading Services
- Surplus Water Events
- Pricing Calculator
- Channel Modernisation and Automation
- Urban Channel Pipeline Project
Quantifiable outcome
- 6.3 GL/year water savings for environment and 1.1 GL/year for water users from Off-farm Efficiency Program
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Murrumbidgee Irrigation
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Murrumbidgee Irrigation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature5 records
Murrumbidgee Irrigation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Murrumbidgee Irrigation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Rubicon Water: Australian irrigation technology company (now part of Toro) specializing in automated channel control, flow meters and SCADA — the same automation stack MI has invested in via PIIOP-NSW. Comparable as the technology layer that modern Australian irrigation infrastructure is being built on.
Direct peers
- Coleambally Irrigation Cooperative: Member-owned irrigation cooperative adjacent to MI in the Murrumbidgee valley (NSW). Comparable cooperative/private structure delivering irrigation water via open channels and pipelines to farming customers on similar scale.
- Murray Irrigation Limited: Australia's largest private irrigation company operating in southern NSW (Murray/Riverina regions). Directly comparable as a privately-held, shareholder-owned operator of irrigation channels delivering water to farm customers under similar regulatory oversight (IPART).
- Lower Murray Water: Victorian urban and rural water corporation delivering irrigation water to farms in the Sunraysia/southern Murray region. Comparable as a regulated irrigation and drainage water delivery utility in Australia with overlapping customer profiles (citrus, table grapes, wine).
- Goulburn-Murray Water: Victorian state-owned irrigation water provider (the largest in Australia) operating gravity-channel and pipeline networks for irrigated agriculture. Comparable regulated irrigation business model; differs as a government-owned entity but mirrors the water delivery utility structure.
- Central Irrigation Trust: South Australian irrigation trust operating the Murray Bridge and Loxton irrigation districts. Comparable grower-funded, member-based irrigation operator delivering water via channels to fruit/vine/crop farmers.
- Sunwater: Queensland state-owned water infrastructure operator managing dams, weirs and irrigation channel networks delivering water to agricultural customers. Comparable regulated bulk and irrigation water delivery business with similar capital intensity and SCADA operations.
Broad incumbents
- Essential Utilities: Large US regulated water and natural gas utility. Useful broader comparable illustrating how regulated water delivery businesses are valued as recurring-revenue infrastructure utilities with rate-base growth, similar to MI's IPART-determined model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Murrumbidgee Irrigation social profiles
Digital presenceMurrumbidgee Irrigation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Murrumbidgee Irrigation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Murrumbidgee Irrigation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Murrumbidgee Irrigation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Murrumbidgee Irrigation
What does Murrumbidgee Irrigation do?
Murrumbidgee Irrigation delivers bulk irrigation water to over 3,093 landholdings across 378,911 hectares in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) of NSW, Australia through an integrated gravity channel and pipeline network. The company provides Water Delivery Contracts, Water Entitlement Contracts, and the MI Connect customer portal for account management, water ordering, and allocation tracking. The company also operates water trading services and supplementary offerings such as the Overdraft Facility and Surplus Water Events for its 2,300+ shareholder customers.
Is Murrumbidgee Irrigation a public or private company?
Murrumbidgee Irrigation is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Murrumbidgee Irrigation founded?
Murrumbidgee Irrigation was founded in 1912. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Murrumbidgee Irrigation based?
Murrumbidgee Irrigation is headquartered in Hanwood, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Murrumbidgee Irrigation make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Water Delivery Charges are the primary driver. The others are water Entitlements, overdraft Facility Fees and modernisation Program Delivery.
Who are Murrumbidgee Irrigation's main competitors?
Rubicon Water is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Coleambally Irrigation Cooperative, Murray Irrigation Limited, Lower Murray Water, Goulburn-Murray Water, Central Irrigation Trust and Sunwater. Essential Utilities is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Murrumbidgee Irrigation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Murrumbidgee Irrigation.
What industry is Murrumbidgee Irrigation in?
Murrumbidgee Irrigation's product category is Irrigation Water Delivery Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFACAFAI, Irrigation Automation & Controls Services (SCADA, Sensors, Telemetry), with a secondary code of AFAAACAF, Irrigation Control & Automation (Controllers, Valves, Sensors, IoT). Its NAICS code is 22131 and its SIC code is 700.