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 Goulburn-to-Murray and Barmah Narrows Post Trade Opening Report – July 2026 summarises the outcomes from these trade openings, and provides insights into the number, volume, and order of applications processed.

The Barmah Narrows and Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunities both opened for a 7-hour submission window between 7 am and 2 pm on Thursday 2 July 2026. Both trade openings used a randomisation approach to determine the order of application processing.

The Barmah opportunity opened with a balance of 24,121.3 megalitres (ML). A total of 214 eligible trade applications were received, with a total volume of 67,445.2 ML. Of these applications, 136 were made to Victoria, and 78 were made to New South Wales (NSW). Processing resulted in 33 approved Victorian applications for a volume of 8,884.2 ML, and 29 approved NSW applications for a volume of 15,218.2 ML.

The Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity opened with a balance of 112,827.9 ML. A total of 286 eligible trade applications were received, with a total volume of 119,285.3 ML. Processing resulted in 282 approved applications.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) participated in both trade openings as an independent observer. The ACCC observed the execution of the randomisation processes and will provide a written statement on the way they were carried out. A copy of this written statement will be published on the trade reports page once it becomes available.

 Goulburn-to-Murray and Barmah Narrows Post Trade Opening Report – July 2026 (2.2 MB)

For any further information or assistance with the above, reach out to the Victorian Water Register team on waterregister.support@deeca.vic.gov.au.