The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) has confirmed dates for the 2026 July inter-valley trade openings. Estimated volumes will be announced closer to the events.

Important opening dates for traders, brokers, and irrigators

Wednesday 1 July 2026

• The Broken Trade Out and NSW to Vic trade opportunities are scheduled for Wednesday 1 July 2026. These openings will proceed with a first in, first served approach.  

Thursday 2 July 2026

• The MDBA Barmah and Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunities are scheduled for Thursday 2 July 2026. Applications received in these openings will be processed using a randomisation approach.

Confirmation of processing procedures

For the Barmah trade opening, all eligible applications, irrespective of their state of origin, will be processed from a single, unified queue. Processing will follow the order established by the joint randomisation process to be undertaken by DEECA and WaterNSW as overseen by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, this is consistent with the approach used last year.

DEECA and WaterNSW consider this approach the most appropriate arrangement until the conclusion of the joint review into longer-term options to improve access to trade, as recommended in the Water Market Reform: Final Roadmap Report. Consultation on the findings of an options assessment will commence later in May, including a proposed public webinar at 11:30 am on Thursday 21 May 2026. Details of the webinar will be made available shortly on the Victorian Water Register website news. 

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is expected to announce the Barmah trade opportunity in the coming weeks.

Trade Application Procedure (Victoria) (PDF, 169 kb)

Joint Protocol for Trade Application Submissions, Assessment and Processing (Victoria and NSW) (PDF, 541 kb)

If you have any questions, contact us on waterregister.support@deeca.vic.gov.au.