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Licensing under the Water Management Act 2000

Dealings in Water

Water dealings can involve buying or selling your water access licence or part of it, buying or selling allocation water, changing the location where a licence can be used and even subdividing and consolidating licences. These general water dealings provide opportunities to maximise the commercial benefits of your water licence.

There are also administrative–type dealings, such as the registration of security interests, caveats, and devolution aspects. These are carried out by the Department of Lands and the appropriate forms and a manual for these can be found on Land's website.

As a starting point, Steps in water dealings explains the various general water dealings available under the Water Management Act 2000. Individual information sheets are also available and listed below. All of these general water dealings, except transfers and term transfers, have to be approved by DNR and require submission of an application form.

Some basics about water dealings

  • Every water access licence is associated with a water source, for example, the regulated section of the Murrumbidgee River.
  • To take water under the licence, the licence has to nominate an extraction point and you also need a current works and use approval.
  • A transfer involves a change in the holder of a licence.  A transfer and change allows not only a change in the holder, but for the licence to be moved to another location.
  • There may be zones which, because of supply constraints, restrict the distance that licence can be moved.
  • Each licence has its own water account into which water is credited each year and debited when any water is taken at the extraction point.

Transfers

A water access licence can be sold or transferred as part of a property settlement or as an independent asset. For transfers within NSW, this does not require an application to DNR, the sale just has to be registered by the Department of Landsonce the transaction is complete.

However, to move the licence to another location, see the see the next section on Changing location.

Changing location

A water access licence specifies the works (eg pump, bore) used to extract water and, in some cases, a zone within the water sharing plan. To move the extraction point for a licence you hold one you have recently purchased to another location or to re–distribute a licence amongst your properties, you will need to change the works and possibly the zone nominated on the licence. If this is associated with the sale of a water licence, the change once approved by DNR can be registered at the same time as the holder transfer.

Interstate Transfers

Interstate transfers take place via a mechanism known as tagging. This means that the actual licence remains registered in and is subject to the licence conditions of the state of origin, even though the licence is tagged to an extraction point in another state. However, you will need to hold a current right to take water issued by the governing body in the state where the water is to be taken.

For inter-state transfers into NSW you will need to hold a current NSW water supply work approval or combined work and use approval. To discuss the procedures for undertaking an inter-state trade, contact a DWE licensing officer in the Murrumbidgee or Murray Valleys. More information on inter-state trades and the tagging process is available from the website of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission.

Please contact the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation in South Australia for relevant South Australian forms.

Term Transfers

A water access licence or holding in that licence can be transferred to some one for a period of time, at least 6 months, via a term transfer. This is similar to a rental agreement. This does not require an application to DNR, the term transfer just has to be registered by Lands once the agreement is complete.

Assigning share component

The whole or part of the share component of a licence can be sold.

Assigning water allocations

Water allocation is the volume of water credited to your water account. All, or part, of the water allocation available under a licence can be traded. Water allocation assignments are currently only available on regulated rivers and the major inland alluvial groundwater systems. Interstate allocation assignments are possible to and from NSW, Victoria and South Australia for the Murrumbidgee, Murray and Lower Darling Rivers.

  • Assign water allocations between water access licences (under section 71T of the Water Management Act 2000)
    Please use State Water forms to undertake this dealing in regulated rivers and contact DNR for groundwater allocation assignments. The forms can be downloaded from the State Water website.
  • Assigning water allocation

Changing licence category

A water access licence category can be changed, for example, from a general security to a high security licence on a regulated river. This is the same application form as the change in location.

Subdivision

A water access licence can be subdivided to create two or more new water access licences. You may want to just subdivide your licence or subdivide and, at the same time, move one of the resulting licences to another location.

For both options the same application form is used.

Consolidation

A new water access licence can be created by joining two or more licences together. To do this, however, the licences need to be in the same zone or water source and have the same nominated works. If the works are not the same, you will also need to apply to change these (see Changing location).

Has your water access licence certificate been issued?

Once converted from the Water Act 1912 licences, water access licences are registered by the Department of Lands on the Water Access Licence Register and the water access licence certificates issued. If this process has not yet been completed and you wish to undertake a water dealing where you require the water access licence certificate, you will need to submit a licence holder verification form to DNR.

You only need to do this if you want to undertake a water dealing and no water access licence has as yet been issued (note: this is not required for water allocation assignments). If there is a mortgage over the licence, the mortgagee will hold the licence certificate and they should produce this as part of the settlement procedure. If a certificate has been issued, the Water Access Licence Register will note who holds it.

In the case of water access licences which replaced joint water authorities, the access licence certificate is generally not being issued, but dealings may be registered. To protect against fraud, lodged dealings are held for 28 days before registration, and affected parties are notified in writing.

The following provides information about the impacts of licence conversion on the sale of licences, water access licences and certificates, and the register of water access licences:

Land & Property Information

Details of water access licences are kept on the Water Access Licence Register, which is a computerised database maintained by the Department of Lands. The Register is publicly available and searchable over the Internet. The forms required for dealings and other actions such as caveats which involve LPI are available and downloadable from the Lands website.