Opening allocation trade opportunities under different trade limits are listed below. If you are concerned about any of the below information, reach out to the Victorian Water Register team on waterregister.support@delwp.vic.gov.au. 

Important opening dates for traders, brokers, and irrigators: 

Saturday 1 July 2023 

The MDBA Barmah Choke trade opportunity opens for submission on Saturday 1 July 2023 from midnight (12:00am) to 8:30am and the manual processing duration will be from 8:30am until 5:00pm.  

Tuesday 4 July 2023 

• The Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity opens for submission on Tuesday 4 July 2023 from 10:00am to 10:30am and the manual processing duration will be from 10:30am until 5:00pm. 
• The Broken Trade Out trade opportunity opens for submission on Tuesday 4 July 2023 from 10:00am to 10:30am and the manual processing duration will be from 10:30am until 5pm. 
• The NSW to Vic trade opportunity opens for submission on Tuesday 4 July 2023 from 10:00am to 10:30am and the manual processing duration will be from 10:30am until 5:00pm. 

Trade application submission and manual processing of applications will occur as follows:  

• Trade opportunity will be released on Saturday 1 July for the Barmah Choke trade opportunity, and Tuesday 4 July for other intervalley trade opportunities. Each opening will be open for a limited submission window, as follows: 

   

  • Midnight to 8:30am on Saturday 1 July for the Barmah Choke trade opportunity 
  • 10am to 10:30am on Tuesday 4 July for all other trade opportunities
• Within each submission window, water market participants should submit all allocation trade applications through the MyWater and Broker Portals as usual. Each trade application will be queued in the order received by our online interface in the Victorian Water Register.  
• After the submission window closes, the MyWater and Broker Portals will be offline until 5:00pm while manual processing of applications takes place.  
• Applicants will receive notification on the outcomes of trade applications as they are manually processed, and no later than 5:00pm on the day of the opening.  
• The system will return to normal operation after 5:00pm.  

Due to these changes, during the submission window the available trade opportunity balance on the 'Where can I trade map' and Water Market Watch App will not change. This is because applications will not be automatically processed. Instead, they will be processed manually in real time. The balance displayed during the submission window will remain at the total opening volume. This should be taken into consideration when you submit your application. 

Once manual processing begins, trade application notification emails will be sent as each application is completed in the order it was received. The remaining trade balance on the 'Where can I trade map' and Water Market Watch App will update accordingly.   

During the processing windows (8:30am to 5pm on Saturday 1 July and 10:30am to 5pm Tuesday 4 July) the following online services on the Victorian Water Register will be unavailable:  

• Broker Portal 
• ‘My water' access and online allocation trading and bore construction licence applications 
• Copy of Record purchases. 

Additionally, the following reports will also be unavailable: 

• Trade opportunities and limits reports (including 'Where can I trade map') 
• Unused water report 
• Available water by owner type. 

Access to these services will be restored upon completion of the above trade periods (5pm on 1 and 4 July).  

Information for Barmah Choke (Saturday 1 July 2023) 

The Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) manages and monitors the Barmah Choke trade limit. The MDBA have advised that the trade opportunity from above to below the Barmah Choke will open at 12.00 am AEST on 1 July 2023. The opening trade balance is expected to be 60.6 gigalitres (GL). Victorian customers will be able to submit applications from midnight on Saturday 1 July 2023.   

The Victorian government and WaterNSW have been working together to ensure equitable access to trade opportunities and a more unified experience for water users for customers from both Victoria and NSW. The two states have committed to collaborating on efforts to enhance operational efficiency and facilitate intervalley trade opportunities. By synchronizing the application processing time to start at 8:30am, customers from both states can compete on a level playing field, which will allow customers to be competitive no matter which state they submit their applications. 

• The MDBA Barmah Choke opening trade opportunity opens for submission on Saturday 1 July 2023 at midnight (12:00am) to 8:30am and the manual processing duration will be from 8:30am until 5pm.  

Information for Goulburn to Murray trade limit (Tuesday 4 July 2023) 

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 on Tuesday 4 July 2023 after allocation for the new water year is posted in Victorian accounts on 3 July 2023. This provides traders with access to their start of season allocation. 

The amount of trade made available on Tuesday 4 July will be around 85 GL.  

When trade opens for the year the amount of trade made available is 240 GL minus the reserves that have been set aside. These reserves include: 

• ~100 GL is reserved to meet legacy trade commitment. 
• ~40 GL is reserved for meet water recovery commitments for the Snowy River. 
• ~15 GL is reserved to meet use from tagged accounts that are ‘Grandfathered’ under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. 

The remaining ~85 GL is released as trade opportunity (240 GL minus 155 GL) at the start of the water year.   

Find out more about how Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity is calculated here.  

• The Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity opens for submission on Tuesday 4 July 2023 at 10:00am to 10:30am and the manual processing duration will be from 10:30am until 5pm. 

Information for Broken Trade Out Limit (Tuesday 4 July 2023) 

Trade from the Broken system re-opens at the start of each water year. Trade is allowed when the Broken system’s Inter Valley Trade (IVT) account owes less than 1,500 ML to the Goulburn system. 1,500 ML of trade opportunity will be available on 4 July 2022. 

• The Broken Trade Out opportunity opens for submission on Tuesday 4 July 2023 at 10:00am to 10:30am and the manual processing duration will be from 10:30am until 5pm. 

Information for the NSW to VIC trade Limit (Tuesday 4 July 2023) 

Trade from New South Wales into Victoria may open on 4 July 2023, in line with the Northern Victoria Resource Manager risk of spill announcement. Allocation trade from New South Wales to Victoria is limited to the lesser of a net annual volume of 200 GL or a volume that keeps the risk of spill from Victoria’s share of Hume and Dartmouth reservoirs at below 50 per cent.  

More information on risk of spill and seasonal determinations can be found at the Northern Victoria Resource Manager website.   

• The NSW to Vic Trade opportunity opens for submission on Tuesday 4 July 2023 at 10:00am to 10:30am and the manual processing duration will be from 10:30am until 5pm. 

Trade opportunities from 1 July–4 July 2023 summary table 

Important closing dates for allocation trade applications: 

If you are trading allocation before the end of the financial year, please be aware of the important dates and times below. 

For interstate trade applications that require the approval of both states: 

• For Victoria, after 5.00 pm AEST on 16 June 2023 there is no guarantee interstate trades submitted online via the Broker Portal or the Broker API will be completed in the 2022–23 water year. 
• All interstate allocation trades involving Victoria which are submitted online via the Broker Portal or the Broker API will be processed manually from 9.00 pm AEST on 29 June 2023. 
• South Australia has advised that if your water application form is lodged after 2.00pm (South Australian time) on Friday, 16 June 2023, there is no guarantee the application will be processed in the 2022–23 water year.  

Further information from South Australia is available here. 

For trades within Victoria: 

• 5.00 pm AEST on 23 June 2023 is the last day to submit paper-based allocation trade applications to your water corporation to be sure of having them processed in the 2022-23 water year. There are no guarantee applications submitted after this time will be processed in the 2022–23 water year. 
• Online applications to trade allocation within Victoria, including applications made via the Broker Portal or the Broker API, may be submitted until 12.00 pm (midday) AEST on 30 June 2023 for instant processing. 

Important closing dates for water share transfer applications: 

Applications for water share transfers must be lodged with the water corporation by 5.00 pm AEST on 17 June 2023 to ensure the water corporation can process the transfer by midday (12.00 pm AEST) 30 June 2023. 

Please keep in mind the water corporation’s role is stage one of the water share transfer transaction process. To complete the entire water share transfer transaction by midday (12.00 pm AEST) 30 June 2023, allow ample time to lodge the recording application with the Water Registrar after you have received the initial response from the water corporation. 

The Water Registrar aims to record all water share transfers that are submitted in recordable form as-soon-as-possible. You are reminded that when a water share transfer is recorded, the seller's allocation account will no longer be linked to that water share. Unused water allocation can only be carried over to the next financial year if the allocation account is linked to an appropriate water share.

Download Frequent Asked Questions - July 2023 Trade Opening 179.07 KB