WaterAid Australia launches Walk for Water 2025

WaterAid Australia has joined industry leaders, supporters and changemakers at the Ozwater’25 conference, in a shared mission to achieve sustainable and equitable access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) across the globe.

A key OzWater moment for WaterAid each year is the annual breakfast, which drew 160 guests from over 80 organisations. The morning event, hosted by WaterAid Australia Chief Executive Tom Muller, included keynote insights from WaterAid’s Regional Systems Strengthening Technical Lead Fraser Goff, who shared progress on nature-based WASH solutions in Timor-Leste.

The breakfast also saw WaterAid Australia Chair Karlene Maywald officially launch Walk for Water 2025, alongside the announcement of 17 inspiring Water Leaders, who will champion the cause and help raise funds and awareness.

Ozwater also saw the launch of Wanda the Water Warrior, a children’s book by Zoe Walsh, Director of Marketing, Communications and Engagement at Sequana. Walsh donated 200 copies of her book, with 100% of proceeds going to WaterAid Australia.

Fundraising was a strong focus at Ozwater’25:

• SA Water supported WaterAid through the sale of branded Ozwater drink bottles.
• Xylem raised over $2000 during the conference.
• A separate industry fundraiser, led and supported by 12 digital metering companies — NPS, SUEZ, Itron, ETS, EDMI, Sagemcom, Blue Current, Diehl, PlusES, Nucleus 3, Taggle and Intellihub — raised $31,750 for WaterAid Australia.
   

Jason Ampt, Head of Corporate Partnerships at WaterAid Australia, said, “We’re incredibly grateful for the generosity and leadership shown by our partners at Ozwater’25. These collective efforts not only raised essential funds, but also demonstrated how united action across the water sector can drive real change for communities around the world.

“Ozwater is a fantastic moment each year for our WaterAid team to connect with our loyal and passionate supporters across the water sector, and we are excited to continue building these relationships to expand safe water access globally.”

Walk for Water 2025 will take place from 6–10 October, and registrations are now open.

Image credit: iStock.com/Jorge Alcazar Narvaez