The Victorian Water Register will open for trades at 12 noon AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on Monday 1 July 2019.

Further information is provided below on certain trade limits and factors that will affect opening trade opportunities.

Barmah Choke trade limit to remain in effect

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has announced that the Barmah Choke trade limit will remain in effect on 1 July 2019, with the opening trade opportunity expected to be just above 25 gigalitres (GL).

For more information refer to the MDBA's media release available here.

Goulburn to Murray trade limit 

Under the Goulburn to Murray trade limit, trade out is possible if the water owed to the Murray system is less than 200 GL. The amount owed is measured by an inter-valley trade (IVT) account.

As at 27 June, the current balance of the IVT account is approximately 95 GL, providing a trade opportunity of about 105 GL. This may change with trade activity this week, and the final balance will carry forward to 1 July.

The opening balance of the IVT will also be influenced by several other factors that will reduce the trade opportunity with regard to the Goulburn to Murray Limit. These include:

  • On 30 June 2019, an adjustment of approximately 37 GL to the Goulburn IVT balance will be made for Snowy Water Recovery transfers.
  • A further end of year adjustment of approximately 15 GL to the IVT balance will also be made to manage the balance of the GMID (modernisation) offset account and preserve the reliability of entitlements in the Murray system. This is the first time that an IVT adjustment associated with the offset accounts has been necessary.
  • On 1 July 2019, the Goulburn IVT will also be credited for any allocations made to entitlements historically traded out as exchange-rate trade. This will increase the balance of the IVT by approximately 1 GL for each 1% of announced Goulburn seasonal determinations.

Broken trade out limit 

As at 27 June, the current Broken IVT balance is approximately 1,200 ML (1.2 GL). This may change with trade activity this week, and the final balance will carry forward to 1 July.

 Trade out of the Broken system will re-open on 1 July, and in line with the Broken trade out rule, trade will remain possible when the balance of the Broken IVT is less than 1,500 ML (1.5 GL).

Finding current trade opportunities

You can find live trade opportunities available here or using the new ‘Where can I trade?’ tool.