Paul Wyrwoll

Dr Paul Wyrwoll was appointed as an Associate Commissioner with the Productivity Commission in March 2026 to work on the National Water Reform 2026 inquiry.

Paul is a Fellow at the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy and Institute for Water Futures. He is Director of the ANU Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy at the Crawford School.

Paul is an environmental and resource economist whose applied research examines the governance of water infrastructure systems under risks and uncertainty. His current research focuses on the economics of hydropower dam regulation, financing urban waterway restoration, water security in the Murray–Darling Basin, and the benefits of improved household water access.

He has published in leading academic journals on water pricing design, water infrastructure regulation, and drinking water quality governance. Paul was seconded in 2025 from ANU to the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water as Specialist Economic Advisor to the Snowy and Upper Murrumbidgee Section.

Previously, Paul was Research Fellow at the ANU Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, General Manager of the Food Energy Environment Water Network, and Managing Editor of the Global Water Forum. He has also worked as a consultant on environmental management in the Lower Mekong Basin and as a groundwater technician in the West Australian mining industry.