This report has been prepared as a technical companion to the 2025 Basin Plan Evaluation. It collates and interprets the available evidence on the social and economic condition of the Murray–Darling Basin (the Basin), and the Basin Plan’s contribution to this condition. This report satisfies the requirements of the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) under section 13.09A of the Basin Plan 2012.
This report provides a Basin-scale assessment – we have not estimated the effects of the Basin Plan on individual communities. The Murray–Darling Basin comprises many diverse communities and industries, some of which have been impacted by Basin Plan implementation, others less so. The MDBA acknowledges that this report, while providing a summary of trends and impacts at the Basin scale, does not capture the wide array of individual community and industry experiences under the Basin Plan.