On 15 October 2024, the scheduled Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity was postponed after a technical disruption during the submission window. No applications were approved during this time, and application fees paid were refunded.

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) apologises for the inconvenience and thanks market participants for their patience following this announcement.

We acknowledge that there have been several disruptions to trade opportunities in recent years. Given this most recent incident, DEECA is considering options to modify the submission approach to ensure a more reliable trading experience. This change will be in place while we continue our work to upgrade the Victorian Water Register, as well as our work with NSW and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) to develop a framework for assessing intervalley trade opening options, as part of implementing the Commonwealth’s Water Market Reform Roadmap.

We recognise the impact delaying this trade opening has on market participants. Our priority is to provide reliable access to the trade opportunity as quickly as possible. We need several weeks to design, test and communicate the new approach to water market participants. We will communicate a rescheduled date later this week.

We will provide guidance on the new approach and host an interactive webinar to inform market participants in the coming weeks.

You can stay informed about timing by monitoring our regular communication channels – the VWR website news page and the MyWater portal.