In those water sources (rivers, lakes and groundwater aquifers) in NSW where water sharing plans have not commenced, the Water Act 1912 still governs the issue of new water licences and the trade of water licences and allocations.
To find out whether a river or aquifer is in a water sharing plan go to commenced water sharing plans or phone licensing enquiries on 1800 353 104 or email information@water.nsw.gov.au.
Note that a number of embargo orders apply to water sources outside water sharing plans. For more information on groundwater embargo orders, go to Embargo orders applying to groundwater outside water sharing plan areas.
Applying for a new water licence under the Water Act 1912
Under the Water Act 1912 you must have a water licence or authority to:
- Take water from a stream or river via a pump or other work
- for all purposes other than for basic landholder rights.
- Capture surface water
- from rainfall runoff in a farm dam with a storage capacity greater than the calculated Maximum Harvestable Right Dam Capacity for the property
- from river flow in a dam (any size) located on a river or stream.
- Extract groundwater via any type of bore, well, spearpoint or groundwater interception scheme
- for all purposes except to take water from an aquifer under a basic landholder right.
From 28 February 2011, all landholders across the State wanting to construct a water bore to take water for domestic consumption or stock watering under a domestic and stock right are required to obtain a water supply work approval under the Water Management Act 2000. Former Water Act 1912 licences issued to owners and occupiers of landholdings overlying an aquifer to use water for domestic and stock purposes have been replaced by ‘deemed water supply work approvals’ under the Water Management Act 2000. For more information go to Q&As for water users (PDF 34 KB), or Water Management (Water Bores for Consumption and Stock Watering) Proclamation 2011 (2011-104) on the NSW Legislation website.
In some water sources covered by the Water Act 1912, new water licences may still be granted. However, in other areas there is an embargo in place, particularly on water licences for irrigation and industry. In these areas you can only obtain licences for specific exempt purposes (such as town water, stock and domestic supply, domestic hydro-electric schemes, snow-making or short term permits for road maintenance, hydro-static testing of pipelines, drought relief).
In some areas you may be able to purchase and transfer a licensed entitlement from an existing licence holder. For more information refer to the section below on Trading water under the Water Act 1912.
In general a Water Act licence covers both the right to take a specific volume of water as well as the works to be constructed. Most Water Act licences for commercial purposes need to be renewed every five years.
For more information on groundwater licences go to Groundwater licences under the Water Act 1912 – Frequently asked questions.
Applying for approval of a controlled work under the Water Act 1912
- Application form: Approval of controlled work (PDF 130 KB) (earthwork, embankment or levee) that is likely to affect the flow of water to or from a lake or river, or prevent land from being flooded, or on a designated floodplain (under Part 8 of the Water Act 1912). Where a gazetted floodplain management plan identifies 'controlled works' as needing approval, NSW Office of Water will assess those applications in accordance with requirements of the plan.
For more information on floodplain management plans go to Office of Environment & Heritage.
Note that the above information does not address any legislative requirements which may arise from the Floodplain Harvesting Policy currently under development.
Trading water under the Water Act 1912
There are two types of water trades available under the Water Act 1912:
- permanent transfers – the outright purchase of part or all of the volumetric entitlement attached to a licence
- temporary transfers – the purchase of allocation water from another licence holder on a seasonal basis.
As a general guide:
- groundwater transfers are permitted only where they are consistent with the policy for groundwater transfers in inland NSW outside water sharing plan areas. For more information see the Guidelines to the policy (PDF 85 KB)
- temporary surface water transfers are permitted only where usage is metered.
There are separate guidelines for transfers and concessional conversions in the Barwon-Darling Unregulated River.
Applying for a permanent transfer
An application for permanent transfers of surface or groundwater must be lodged with the NSW Office of Water.
The application forms need to be completed by both the buyer and the seller. For permanent surface water transfers and some ground water transfers the buyer also needs to submit an application form for a new licence which will be created as part of the transfer. For more information go to Guidelines on applying for a water licence under the Water Act 1912 (PDF 188 KB)
The NSW Office of Water will check that the application is consistent with the trading rules. If so, procedures for processing a transfer apply, which include environmental assessment and an advertising and objection process.
If the application for the licence is approved the NSW Office of Water will notify both parties and the contracts can be settled. Once settled the new and replacement licences will be issued to the buyer and seller.
Applying for a temporary transfer
Applications for temporary transfers of surface or groundwater should be lodged with State Water.
An assessment will be undertaken to check if there are any supply constraints which would prohibit the transfer:
- if the transfer would impact on other water users or the environment
- if the seller has sufficient account water for the transfer
- if the transfer would exceed any account limits for the buyer.
Fees under the Water Act 1912
The NSW Office of Water charges fees to cover the assessment and processing costs of applications for licences and water transfers under the Water Act 1912. For a schedule of fees, go to Fees under the Water Act 1912.
Barwon-Darling Unregulated River – water transfer rules
Barwon-Darling Unregulated River water licence holders are able to participate in permanent and temporary transfers in accordance with the rules set out in the Barwon-Darling Unregulated River – water transfer rules (PDF 552 KB). Permanent transfers allow licence holders to buy and sell Murray-Darling Basin Cap shares, while temporary transfers allow licence holders to buy and sell account water.
The water transfer rules provide opportunities on the Barwon-Darling for individuals to access additional water and for new or expanding commercial enterprises to access water via the water market without resulting in overall growth in extractions above the Murray-Darling Basin Cap. Water trading enables water to move to its highest value use and also ensures that NSW continues to meet the objectives of the National Water Initiative to progressively remove barriers to trade and facilitate the broadening and deepening of the water market.
These rules will apply until the Water Sharing Plan for the Barwon-Darling Unregulated and Alluvial Water Sources commences. More information on the draft plan.
Licence holders must apply to the NSW Office of Water to temporarily trade account water, or permanently trade Cap share. Each application will be assessed to determine likely impacts on other water licence holders and the environment. Procedures for permanent transfers involve an advertising and objection process.
For more information go to Frequently asked questions or contact us.
Barwon-Darling Unregulated River – concessional conversion principles
Barwon-Darling Unregulated River water licence holders can now transfer Murray-Darling Basin Cap share from one licence class to another (eg. from C Class to B Class) to reinstate their pre-Cap conversion history of extraction in accordance with the rules set out in the Barwon-Darling Unregulated River – concessional conversion principles (PDF 945 KB).
The concessional conversion rules complement the Barwon-Darling Unregulated River water transfer rules, which on its own would not be sufficient to enable licence holders to reinstate their pre-Cap conversion history of extraction. These rules will have effect until the Water Sharing Plan for the Barwon-Darling Unregulated and Alluvial Water Sources commences. More information on the draft plan.
Concessional conversions will be permitted under the water sharing plan for the first year of the plan. For information on how to apply for a concessional conversion under the Water Management Act 2000, go to Water licensing > Dealings and trade > Change access licence.
Applications for concessional conversions under the Water Act 1912 must be lodged with the NSW Office of Water for assessment.
For more information, go to Barwon-Darling Unregulated Rivers - concessional conversions: Frequently asked questions (PDF 57 KB)