Dealings and trade

There are three government bodies involved in water access licence dealings:

• NSW Office of Water
• Land and Property Information (LPI)
• State Water Corporation (State Water)

There are two types of water access licence dealings:

• General water dealings
• Water allocation assignment dealings

General water dealings

General water dealings under the Water Management Act 2000 include the trading of water access licences, as well as any change to water access licences on the Water Access Licence Register (WAL Register).

Water access licences are maintained on the WAL Register by LPI. The details of each water access licence on the WAL Register are publicly available. To undertake an online search go to Land and Property and Water Access Licence Searches.

General water dealings only take effect when registered by LPI on the WAL Register. In most cases, the dealing application form must be accompanied by the water access licence certificate (WAL Certificate) before any transactions or dealings can be undertaken. If you do not already hold your WAL Certificate, you will need to complete and lodge the application form Water access licence Title/Certificate release (PDF 72 KB). Please note this form can only be completed if there are no outstanding security interests.

Some general water dealings, including assignment of share component and change of nominated work, require consent by the NSW Office of Water, before registration with LPI.

Steps for general water dealings
Transfer a WAL Term transfer a WAL Security interests Devolution and Caveats		Assigning share component between WALs Changing a WAL Subdividing a WAL Consolidating WALs Exiting a holding from a WAL
Application		Application
Registration with LPI (Water Access Licence Register)		NSW Office of Water Assessment and determination
		Registration with LPI (Water Access Licence Register)

Applying for a water access licence dealing

You can apply for a water access licence dealing using two options:

• Go to Water Applications Online for an easy to use, interactive option. Applications using the online service can be processed faster and with greater accuracy than those submitted by post. Applicants can also track the progress of their application using a unique log in and password. Once completed, a copy of the application must be printed out, signed by all applicants, and faxed, emailed as a scanned attachment, posted or lodged in person at the NSW Office of Water licensing office indicated in the online application. Application fees can be paid online using a credit card. For more information on online payment go to Applying and paying online – frequently asked questions
  
  Note: Water Applications Online is only available for subdivide and change dealing applications

• Download an application form as a PDF document or obtain a print copy from your local water licensing office. Complete it either in handwriting or onscreen using Adobe Acrobat Reader (Version 8 or above - download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat). The form must be signed by all applicants and submitted either by fax, by email as a scanned attachment, by post or lodged in person at your local water licensing office. When using the print application form, application fees can be paid by phone using a credit card, or by cheque made out to the NSW Office of Water.

Water allocation assignment dealings

A water allocation is a volume of water (in megalitres) credited to a water access licence water allocation account. All or part of the water allocation can be traded.

Water allocation assignment dealings under the Water Management Act 2000 in regulated and major inland groundwater systems must be lodged with State Water.

Water allocation assignment dealings in unregulated rivers and groundwater systems NOT managed by State Water are available in very limited circumstances where extraction is metered. The NSW Office of Water is the consent and registration authority for these dealings.

Process for water allocation assignments dealings

Water allocation assignment dealings on regulated rivers and major inland groundwater systems	Requires consent and registration	State Water
Water allocation assignment dealings on unregulated rivers and other groundwater systems	Requires consent and registration	NSW Office of Water

Go to Assigning water allocations between access licences for more information.

What fees apply to dealing applications?

The current Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) determination identifies fees for water access licence dealings. For more information on fees set by IPART go to Applications and fees.

Once approved, LPI charges a fee to register the licence on the Water Access Licence Register.

More information

Go to Dealings process for information on how to undertake dealings.

Go to Water Management Registers for statistics on:

• water allocation assignments (formerly known as 'temporary trades') and processing times
• the assignment of shares (formerly know as 'permanent trades').