Colton Consulting
Cultivating resilient water futures
Independent water policy adviser supporting government and water sector organisations to navigate complex reform with confidence.
You're managing water policy reform in challenging times
Climate variability, tight Basin deadlines, rising demand, and reduced government capacity make water policy reform harder than ever. You’re expected to deliver defensible outcomes with fewer resources and limited time.
I help you cut through complexity with evidence-based advice, clear frameworks, and practical pathways forward — grounded in real-world experience and independent insight.
What I do
I’m Yvette Colton, an independent water policy adviser with over 15 years’ experience working within government and as an adviser to government departments, water utilities, regulators, and industry bodies across Australia and internationally.
I help you diagnose policy challenges, design implementable solutions, and build the capacity to navigate complex reform with confidence. My work bridges technical complexity to policy clarity, translates research into user-friendly outputs, and shifts adversarial stakeholder dynamics toward genuine co-design.
You get evidence-based, defensible advice from someone who has been in your shoes and understands your constraints.
Services
Water policy development and analysis
Diagnosing issues and designing solutions for sustainable water management through rigorous evidence-based analysis of policy options and drivers.
Legislative design and review
Ensuring water legislation and rules are fit for purpose, from drafting instructions and Cabinet briefings to user-friendly instruments that support implementation in practice.
Strategy development and implementation planning
From strategic vision to practical implementation. Developing reform programmes and implementation plans that ensure policy objectives are actually met.
Governance and institutional design
Designing decision-making structures and institutional arrangements that support defined water management outcomes with clear accountability.
Stakeholder engagement and consultation
Building trust through genuine co-design. Facilitating inclusive engagement where affected communities and stakeholders shape solutions, not just comment on predetermined answers.
Policy-ready technical outputs
Bridging technical complexity to policy clarity. Translating complex modelling, scientific findings, and technical analysis into outputs that inform decisions and drive change.
How I work
My approach is grounded in four principles: Consider, Create, Connect, Care.
I listen first, taking time to understand the systems we’re working with before moving to solutions. I bring creativity to complex policy challenges, drawing on diverse thinking to unlock innovative answers. I build genuine connection with clients and stakeholders, helping shift us-and-them dynamics toward collaboration. And I care deeply about the outcomes my work influences and the people they affect.
I work as an independent adviser, which brings objectivity, stakeholder credibility, and fresh perspective to your reform efforts. But I don’t create dependency. I work alongside your team, building internal capability so you can sustain and adapt reforms after my engagement ends.
The process: I help you define clear objectives, identify what measures are needed, determine how implementation will actually work, and navigate challenges with the four capacities required for success: clarity, connection, commitment, and courage.
Why work with me?
Independent adviser delivering advice you can trust. My objectivity allows measured truth-telling about what’s needed, even when it’s not politically comfortable.
Water policy, governance, and strategy specialist. Deep expertise in Basin Plan reforms, water markets, legislative design, and cross-sectoral challenges.
Collaborative partner co-designing practical solutions. I work with you and your stakeholders to develop frameworks that build genuine buy-in and work in practice.
Direct delivery from an experienced professional. 15+ years working within government and advising government, utilities, regulators, and industry bodies.
Proven methods that create clarity. Structured approaches to diagnosis, options analysis, stakeholder engagement, and implementation planning.
About Yvette
I’ve always been drawn to water and natural resource management. Water touches every part of our lives—from turning on a tap to navigating the complex economic, environmental and social challenges that shape our communities.
I care deeply about this work because water itself is voiceless. Without clear, fair and effective frameworks to share and manage it, communities, industries and ecosystems bear the cost. I’ve always felt compelled to help create the rules and systems that prevent crises rather than simply react to them.
I bring legal training, policy expertise and experience in government—but also creativity, empathy and genuine care for the people and places affected by water decisions. I don’t promise perfect solutions. I help you shape practical, workable pathways forward in a world where complexity is the norm.
Recent work
- Led a policy White Paper on water banking in the Murray-Darling Basin with One Basin CRC and Flinders University
- Led review of interstate water trade under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement (Schedule D)
- Advised on policy directions for the Basin Plan Review
- Supported Vietnam’s water law reform through international collaboration
- Led engagement with water corporations and drafted licensing guidelines for Victoria
- Advised on governance models for a potential National Water Commission
- Led water register and Landscape SA Act reform and water trade policy for South Australia
Recognition
- Australian Water Association Organisational Excellence Award Finalist
- Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust Fellow (2023)
Ready to discuss your water challenge?
Whether you’re working through water reform, market and governance complexity, legislative updates, or cross-sector challenges that require strategic and technical depth, I’m here to help you move forward with clarity and confidence.
Yvette Colton
Colton Consulting
yvette@coltonconsulting.com.au
+61 411 302 977