Peatlands hold about 30% of the global soil carbon within 3% of Earth’s terrestrial landscapes. The chemistry of surface water pools in alpine peatlands is related to properties of the surrounding peat and can act as an indicator of peatland condition. We aimed to investigate surface pool water chemistry in Australian mountain peatlands. We sampled pool water on six occasions for two consecutive growing periods (spring, summer, and autumn) from an intact and a degraded peatland and analysed for major ions, dissolved organic matter (carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON)) concentrations and characteristics. Results indicated that the intact peatland exhibits stronger seasonality and nutrient reduction than the degraded peatland, likely due to its high productivity. We found no evidence of difference in DOC concentrations and the Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratios between the two peatlands, likely due to the degraded peatland’s relatively high-water table. The degraded peatland was dominated with old, recalcitrant peat from the remaining highly microbially decomposed catotelm, and so had high concentrations of DON and higher amounts of humified recalcitrant and microbial-derived DOM than the intact peatland. Our study implies that restoration of degraded peatlands by increasing water table levels and Sphagnum recolonisation could minimise aquatic carbon exports and increase nutrient reduction.