The Victorian Government is dedicated to providing transparency for water market participants and actively overseeing water market operations to ensure ongoing effectiveness. 

The yearly audit of allocation trades submitted by water brokers via the Victorian Water Register's online Broker Portal and API plays a vital role in acknowledging water brokers who adhere to government standards and auditing criteria. 

This audit serves to help guarantee that brokers fulfil their obligations of transparency in allocation trades and accurate disclosure of prices to all involved parties. Additionally, the audit assesses the security of confidential information and investigates brokers' compliance to their responsibilities for their clients.

The Department of Environment, Energy, and Climate Action (DEECA) engaged independent auditor RSM for the 2021–22 annual audit. RSM audited all 25 water broker firms that submitted trades via the Broker Portal or API during 2021–22 to determine how they complied with the Victorian Water Register online Broker Portal use agreement and rules.  

The independent audit shows that there has been a trend of overall improvement in broker compliance this year compared to results of prior audits. Based on the final outcomes, DEECA has:

• issued warning notifications to five broker firms
• terminated Broker Portal access for one broker firm on request of the broker
• sent letters to 19 water broker firms to formally close the audits, and where relevant included advice on improvements that could be implemented.

The 2021–22 audit summary report is available below and presents the key findings of each audit.

Victorian Water Broker Audit Report 2021–22 — Public Summary