Northern Victorian water users are still waiting on a decision by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) about their legal challenge against "unjustified fees" charged by Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) and approved by the Essential Services Commission (ESC).

Porepunkah district resident and group spokesman Cameron Reid, said he and other applicants from across the northern region were not surprised about the long wait.

"We were hoping we'd have the result by now and as soon as we get the decision it will be circulated," Mr Reid said.

"It's quite a complicated matter and VCAT needs to make the appropriate decision and consider the submissions from us and GMW and ESC carefully."

Mr Reid said this is only the second time the ESC has faced a legal challenge from consumers due to its pricing decisions and the first time a challenge has proceeded to a full VCAT hearing.

"The only avenue of appeal against GMW's fees we could take was to challenge ESC, and GMW came on board the case to help ESC respond to our submissions," he said.

The three 'errors of fact' the group argued, were relied upon in setting charges are: a false assumption of annual site inspections, wrongly averaging 'deeming' costs across all users and misrepresentation of access fee cost drivers.

Mr Reid said the group represents the interest of more than 100 of some 2000 small domestic and stock customers across the Goulburn-Murray Water region, (600 in Ovens and Kiewa basins) who rely on unregulated waterways such as creeks and springs, with no GMW-operated dams or infrastructure.

He said their annual water fees had almost doubled between 2015 and 2020 and their licence renewal fees are to rise from $700 (2023-24) to around $1100 in 2027-28.

GMW told the Alpine Observer/Myrtleford Times in November 2025, while the matter is before VCAT it will not be making any further comment.