Notification: Victorian Water Register system will be offline 6 pm to 11 pm on Thursday 27 November 2025
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The Victorian Water Register's My Water and Broker Portal will be offline on Thursday 27 November 2025 between 6 pm to 11 pm.
This planned outage is required for scheduled maintenance.
Between 6 pm to 11 pm, the following services will be unavailable:
- My Water, preventing any allocation trading, bore construction licence applications, bore completion reports and application form uploads
- Broker Portal and Broker API access
- copies of entitlement records
- application form uploads from the water register website.
Outside of this timeframe, both the website (waterregister.vic.gov.au) and My Water should have full functionality.
Important information: Goulburn-to-Murray trade opening announced for Monday 15 December 2025
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The Goulburn-to-Murray Trade Limit – which governs allocation trade from the Goulburn, Broken, Campaspe, and Loddon systems to the Victorian Murray system, New South Wales, and South Australia – will open again on Monday 15 December 2025. This is the third of three Goulburn-to-Murray scheduled trade openings for the 2025–26 water year. Estimated volumes will be made public closer to this date.
- Applications for the Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity should be submitted during the submission window, between 7 am and 2 pm on Monday 15 December 2025.
- During the submission window, water market participants should submit trade applications through My Water or the Broker Portal, and all trade applications during this period will be queued for later processing.
- After the submission window closes, DEECA will undertake a randomisation process to determine a processing order of the applications, in the presence of an ACCC independent observer.
- Processing of applications, in the order determined by the randomisation process, will occur as soon as possible after randomisation.
Customers are encouraged to lodge trade applications throughout the 7-hour submission window. Market participants are not required to submit trade applications as soon as the submission window opens. A customer who submits a trade application at the start of the submission window will have the same chance of having their application succeed as a customer who submits at the end of the window.
Please note the following important application eligibility criteria
- For any one seller ABA, the total volume submitted (whether singly or via multiple trade applications) for consideration into the randomisation process cannot exceed the volume of tradable allocation available in that ABA at the start of the submission window (7 am, 15 December 2025).
- If an increase in seasonal allocation is announced on 15 December after 7am, this will not increase the total volume eligible for inclusion in the randomisation pool for this trade opening.
- As previously communicated for the July and October trade openings, applications to ‘trade remaining balance’ will be deemed ineligible for the randomisation pool.
For further details about the Goulburn-to-Murray trade opening process, check out this handy guide.
Find out more about how the Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity is calculated.
For any further information or assistance with the above, reach out to the Victorian Water Register team on waterregister.support@deeca.vic.gov.au.
Latest Victorian Water Accounts data released
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The 21st edition of the Victorian Water Accounts have been released, with water use and availability data from 2023–24 now available online.
The 2023–24 Victorian Water Accounts have been released, with 21 years of data and information now available online.
The Victorian Water Accounts are a trusted and transparent source of information that provides a comprehensive picture of the availability and use of the state’s water each year.
The reports have been released annually since 2003–04 and contain valuable data gathered during significant dry and wet periods.
2023–24 Accounts
The 2023–24 Accounts tell the story of a slightly drier than average year, reflecting the varying water availability that will continue to be impacted by a warming, drying climate and a growing population.
It followed 2 years of above average rainfall, although in 16 of the last 21 years the total amount of water flowing through our rivers was lower than the long-term average.
Across 2023–24, the rainfall Victoria received ranged from the lowest on record in the state’s south-west to above average in parts of the northern country, central Victoria and around Sale.
Total surface water inflows were slightly lower (93%) than the long-term average at 21,000 gigalitres (GL).
Water storage levels fell during the year to 82%, from 92%.
The total volume of groundwater, surface water, recycled water and desalinated water available decreased by almost 28,000 GL compared to the previous year – the equivalent of around 11.2 million Olympic swimming pools.
Water use breakdown
Total water use was roughly 15% higher than the previous year. Of the water used:
- 57% supported irrigation
- 22% delivered environmental benefits to rivers and wetlands
- 17% supplied our towns and cities
- 3% was used for rural domestic and stock use, and
- 2% was used for power generation.
Trends
The 2023–24 Accounts can be read in context of the recent dry conditions experienced across parts of the state.
The trends seen in 2023–24 have extended into 2025 with much of western and central Victoria being very dry and far eastern parts of the state having above average rainfall.
Inflows have continued to fall across most catchments, for example Geelong’s storages currently sit around 45% full and are at their lowest levels for this time of year since the millennium drought.
Across Melbourne and Geelong, the fall in water storages across 2024 and 2025 has seen the need for a 50 billion litre desalinated water order being made to supplement storages and avoid water restrictions for now.
While much of the state has seen less than average rainfall over the last 18 months, parts of east Gippsland have bucked the trend with above average rainfall as the east coast has experienced very wet periods and even flooding further north in New South Wales and Queensland.
Victoria’s comprehensive approach to managing water resources sustainably is underpinned by monitoring and reporting of water availability through the Victorian Water Accounts.
This information is critical for the Victorian Government and water corporations to plan for climate change and its impacts on water availability through Annual Water Outlooks, Urban Water Strategies and Victoria’s Water Security Plan.
Online and accessible
The 2023–24 Victorian Water Accounts are available online, along with all previous accounts going back to 2003.
For more reporting resources, visit Water monitoring and reporting.
Post trade report for October 2025 Goulburn-to-Murray trade opening now available
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The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action has released the Goulburn-to-Murray Post Trade Opening Report (October 2025). This report summarises the outcomes from the October Goulburn-to-Murray trade opening. It consolidates information available via the Victorian Water Register website with some additional data around the number of unique allocation accounts that traded. It provides insights into the number, volumes, and reason for trade for all applications submitted and the order they were processed.
The October Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity opened with a balance of 31,523 ML. A total of 203 eligible trade applications were received, with a total volume of 70,222 ML. Eligible applications were randomised to determine a processing order. Processing resulted in 98 applications being approved.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) participated in the October trade opening as an independent observer. The ACCC observed the randomisation process and will provide a written statement on the way it was carried out. A copy of this written statement will be published on the trade reports page once it becomes available.
The randomisation approach has been adopted as an interim solution since October 2024 for Goulburn-to-Murray trade openings, to reduce pressure on Victorian Water Register systems. Public consultation was recently undertaken on a framework that will be used to assess different options for sharing inter-valley trade opportunities. A report, summarising what was heard during the consultation, is available on Engage Victoria. The framework will be finalised later in 2025, before moving into assessing the options for managing access to trade opportunities.
Goulburn-to-Murray Post Trade Opening Report (October 2025) (1.75 MB)
The 2021–24 Scientific Advisory Panel reports for the lower Goulburn River, Lower Broken Creek and Campaspe River
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The Goulburn to Murray trade review Scientific Advisory Panel (the Panel) has prepared three reports, covering detailed results and analysis of the lower Goulburn River Research and Investigations Program undertaken during 2023–24, and interpretation of the outcomes over the combined three years from the start of the program (2021–24).
The program is designed to assess the environmental performance of the long-term Operating Rules for the lower Goulburn River and to determine whether the rules are working as intended to prevent environmental damage from sustained high flows over summer and autumn.
Climatic and flow conditions throughout 2021–24, including record breaking floods in spring 2022 and summer 2024, saw relatively low demand for inter-valley trade (IVT) deliveries from the Goulburn River to the River Murray during the peak irrigation period (December to April).
What We Heard – Improving access to trade in southern Murray-Darling Basin – Stage 1
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Earlier this year, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) and WaterNSW developed a draft framework to assess options for improving the efficiency and equity of access to inter-valley trade opportunities. In July–August 2025 we sought feedback on whether the draft framework is appropriate and what options for managing access to trade opportunities should be assessed.
A report, summarising what we heard during the consultation, is available on Engage Victoria.
Read more: What We Heard – Improving access to trade in southern Murray-Darling Basin – Stage 1
Important information: Estimated volume announced for Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity on Wednesday 15 October 2025
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The next Goulburn-to-Murray trade opening is scheduled for Wednesday 15 October 2025. Based on current estimates, approximately 31 gigalitres (GL) of Goulburn-to- Murray trade opportunity will be released.
The estimated 31 GL of trade opportunity is an indicative volume based on the best available data to date.
Find out more about how the Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity is calculated.
Important information: Goulburn-to-Murray trade opening announced for Wednesday 15 October 2025
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The Goulburn-to-Murray Trade Limit—which governs allocation trade from the Goulburn, Broken, Campaspe, and Loddon systems to the Victorian Murray system, New South Wales, and South Australia—will open again on Wednesday 15 October 2025. This is the second of three Goulburn-to-Murray trade openings for the 2025–26 water year. Estimated volumes will be made public closer to this date.
- Applications for the Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity should be submitted during the submission window between 7 am and 2 pm on Wednesday 15 October 2025.
- During the submission window, water market participants should submit trade applications through My Water or the Broker Portal, and all trade applications during this period will be referred for manual processing.
- After the submission window closes, DEECA will undertake a randomisation process to determine a processing order of the applications, in the presence of an ACCC independent observer.
- Manual processing, in the order determined by the randomisation process, will occur on Thursday 16 October 2025.
Post trade summary and report for July 2025 trade openings now available
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As part of Victoria’s ongoing commitment to water market transparency, post-trade opening reports have been regularly published since October 2023.
The release of the Post Trade Opportunity Opening Report, July 2025, summarises the outcomes from the July Barmah and Goulburn to Murray trade openings, and provides insights into the number, volume, and order of applications processed.
The Barmah and Goulburn to Murray trade opportunities both opened for a 7-hour submission window between 7:00 am and 2:00 pm on Wednesday 2 July 2025. Both trade openings used a randomisation approach to determine the order of application processing.
Read more: Post trade summary and report for July 2025 trade openings now available
Improving access to trade in southern Murray-Darling Basin
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Help us improve the efficiency and equity of access to inter-valley and inter-zone water allocation trade opportunities in the southern Murray-Darling Basin.
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) and WaterNSW have developed a draft framework to assess options for improving the efficiency and equity of access to inter-valley and inter-zone trade opportunities. We are now seeking community feedback on whether the framework is appropriate for achieving this purpose, as well as your ideas on options for managing access to trade opportunities that should be assessed in the next stage of this project.
You can view the draft framework and submit your feedback to DEECA via a brief questionnaire at EngageVic. Alternatively, you can also submit your feedback to WaterNSW. This joint consultation will be open until 17 August.
Read more: Improving access to trade in southern Murray-Darling Basin
New Broker Code
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From 1 July 2025 there are additional Australian Government obligations on water brokers and exchanges operating in the Murray-Darling Basin, under a new Water Markets Intermediaries Code.
As a water market participant you are encouraged to familiarise yourself with the Code and the new safeguards that have been put in place to ensure your broker acts in your best interests.
The new Code, and complementary trust accounting obligations, place further responsibilities on water market intermediaries. This is in addition to the rules they must follow under Australian Consumer Law.
The Code is designed to give greater protection to users of water brokers and exchanges, aligning standards with those that exist in other similar markets. Some obligations under the Code commence on 1 July 2025, others on 1 October 2025.
July 2025 Barmah trade opening – summary
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On Wednesday 2 July 2025, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority made 38,767.7 megalitres (ML) of allocation trade opportunity available from above to below the Barmah Narrows. As in previous years, there was more demand than supply.
2025 marked the third year that Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) synchronised the timing of the Barmah trade opportunity.
This year, Victoria and NSW implemented a new joint randomisation protocol for the processing of Barmah trade applications. The new protocol meant that differences in each state’s processing approach and systems did not influence traders’ access to the available Barmah trade opportunity. You can learn more about how the protocol worked here.
Notification: Victorian Water Register, MyWater and Broker Portal offline for end of water year on Monday 30 June 2025
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This is a reminder that this year the Victorian Water Register will close at 12 noon on Monday 30 June 2025 for end-of-year accounting to transition from the 2024–25 to the 2025–26 water year. The Register will reopen at 9 am on 1 July 2025.
The following online services will be unavailable during this shutdown time:
- Broker portal
- 'My Water' access and online allocation trading and bore construction licence applications
- Copy of Record purchases
- Victorian Water Register website.
Reminder: Upcoming allocation trade closing and opening times
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This article is a reminder of important information regarding allocation trade closing and opening times for June and July 2025. For further information or assistance, reach out to the Victorian Water Register team on waterregister.support@delwp.vic.gov.au.
2024–25: Allocation trade closing times
The Victorian Water Register, including MyWater and the Broker Portal, will close for 2024–25 end-of-year (EOY) processing at 12 noon Monday 30 June 2025.
Online applications to trade allocation within Victoria must be submitted by 12 noon on 30 June 2025 for processing in the 2024–25 water year.
Paper-based applications to trade allocation within Victoria must be lodged with the relevant water corporation by 5 pm on 20 June 2025. There is no guarantee that applications submitted after this time will be processed in the 2024–25 water year.
All applications to trade allocation interstate (where Victoria is involved), including those lodged online, will be processed manually from 5 pm on 26 June 2025. Note the final date for guaranteed processing of interstate allocation trades in the 2024-25 water year has passed (this was 5 pm 16 June 2025).
If you are trading allocation before the end of the water year, please be aware of these important closing times. More information on end of 2024–25 water year application processing is available here.
Read more: Reminder: Upcoming allocation trade closing and opening times
Important trade opening information for the start of the 2025–26 water year
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This article contains important information relating to July 2025 trade openings, including relevant dates, processes and estimated volumes. Information about end of water year closing times for the VWR and application deadlines is available here.
Important opening dates:
Tuesday 1 July 2025
- The Broken Trade Out and NSW to Vic trade opportunities open at 10 am AEST on Tuesday 1 July 2025. These openings will proceed with a first in, first served approach, with automated processing of applications.
Wednesday 2 July 2025
- The MDBA Barmah and Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunities will have a 7-hour submission window on Wednesday 2 July 2025, from 7 am to 2 pm AEST. Eligible applications submitted for these opportunities will be randomised to create an order for processing starting Thursday 3 July.
Read more: Important trade opening information for the start of the 2025–26 water year
Important dates – end of 2024–25 water year application processing
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The Victorian Water Register, including My Water and the Broker Portal, will close for end-of-year processing at 12 pm 30 June 2025. Services will re-open at 9 am 1 July 2025.
Important information regarding times and dates for the July 2025 trade openings will be provided soon.
If you are trading allocation or water shares before the end of the water year, please be aware of the important dates and times below.
Read more: Important dates – end of 2024–25 water year application processing
July 2025 Trade Openings update
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The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) would like to provide an update about the upcoming July 2025 trade openings.
In response to consistently high demand during key trade events, in October 2024, the Victorian Water Register (VWR) temporarily moved to a randomisation approach rather than ‘first in, first served’ for the Goulburn to Murray trade openings. The approach reduces load on the VWR during the trade opening and ensures the opportunity is reliably made available to all market participants.
Following a review of these processes, DEECA will continue to use a randomisation approach for all Goulburn to Murray trade openings of 2025. Additionally, in partnership with WaterNSW, a joint randomisation process will be implemented for the 2025 Barmah trade opening.
Other smaller trade openings, including the Broken trade out limit (made available in July each year), will continue to operate without change. This is because the impact on reliable service delivery from the VWR isn’t as large as Barmah and Goulburn to Murray trade openings.
DEECA thanks users who provided feedback on the randomisation approach. A summary of feedback provided will be included in our next information update.
2025 Barmah trade opening and seeking feedback on randomisation approach
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In October 2024, DEECA implemented a new randomisation processing approach for the October and December Goulburn to Murray trade openings. The approach was designed to provide market participants with reliable access to those trade openings as soon as possible.
DEECA is now reviewing how those openings went and seeking feedback from market participants on the trade application process and the randomisation approach. Market participants wanting to provide feedback to DEECA on the new approach can do so using this feedback form.
DEECA is now also working with its WaterNSW counterparts to deliver a reliable Barmah trade opening in July 2025. We are currently considering using a combined ‘single queue’ and randomisation process for applications for the 1 July Barmah trade opportunity. This would leverage the approach that Victoria used in the Goulburn to Murray trade openings last year and extend this so that it applies to applications received by both WaterNSW and the Victorian Water Register.
Both DEECA and WaterNSW are committed to working together to ensure reliable access to this year’s opening Barmah trade opportunity and a unified experience for customers from both Victoria and NSW.
Read more: 2025 Barmah trade opening and seeking feedback on randomisation approach
Users sought to have their say in new Victorian Water Register Focus Group
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The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) is working to deliver improved Victorian Water Register (VWR) services. To ensure changes are designed and implemented with users in mind, a focus group is being established to inform the process and assist community engagement.
The VWR is a vital platform for Victoria’s water users and water market participants. It allows access to a range of online services.
The focus group will play an important part in the evolution of VWR services. Members will be a key point of contact for DEECA staff to receive direct feedback when considering changes to VWR services, systems and processes. Feedback will help ensure VWR changes are designed and implemented with consideration of end user needs and the impact of changes are understood and accounted for.
Read more: Users sought to have their say in new Victorian Water Register Focus Group
New trade transparency data released for frequent traders and large water owners
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Frequent Trader and Large Water Owner information published on 15 January 2025.
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) has published two water trade information reports on the Victorian Water Register website. These are:
- Large Water Owners – the names of individuals and companies that own more than 2% of high-reliability water shares in the Goulburn or the Murray systems above and below the Barmah Choke, as of 1 July 2024.
- Frequent Traders – the names of individuals and companies that have made more than 20 priced allocation trades (bought or sold) within, from or to the Goulburn water system and/or the Murray water system during the 2024–25 water year (as of 31 December 2024).
Read more: New trade transparency data released for frequent traders and large water owners