Water Register open for 2015-16
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At 10.00am this morning (6 July 2015) we will open the Victorian Water Register including access to 'My Water' and online allocation trading.
We have now completed all necessary end of financial year water accounting tasks. We trust there has been minimal disruption to your business operations and we appreciate your support during this process.
Release of Ministerial Guidelines for Protection of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems
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The Ministerial Guidelines for Groundwater Licensing and the Protection of High Value Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems are now available here.
Applications for new groundwater entitlements or to trade groundwater will now be assessed against these guidelines so that high value groundwater dependent ecosystems are protected.
Read more: Release of Ministerial Guidelines for Protection of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems
Release of the 2013-14 Victorian Water Accounts
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The Victorian Water Accounts 2013-14 is now available.
This report is the 11th in the annual series, and summarises Victoria’s water availability, distribution and use for the 2013-14 year. Data in the report is provided by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, water businesses, catchment management authorities, the Essential Services Commission, the Bureau of Meteorology, and major water users.
A copy of this report for the previous 2012-13 year is available here.
Barmah Choke trade restrictions to continue
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On 10 June 2015, the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) announced that trading water from above the Barmah Choke to below the choke will continue to be restricted into the 2015-16 water year.
As explained in the MDBA's media release this will mean that on 1 July 2015 no allocation will be able to be traded from upstream to downstream of the Choke until there has been equivalent trade in the opposite direction.
Trading through the Choke
If you plan to trade water through the Choke, you or your broker need to keep an eye on any trading limits that apply to you.
- You can check the available trade opportunity through the Choke by visiting the MDBA’s website.
- For other trading opportunities and limits that may affect your ability to trade you can visit the allocation and trade opportunities page on the Victorian water register website at http://waterregister.vic.gov.au/water-trading/allocation-trading
Key dates for end of 2014/15 financial year
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The Victorian Water Register will be closed while we complete end of financial year accounting.
On-line services will be suspended from 5pm 30 June 2015 for the end of financial year. Interstate allocation trades submitted via the Broker Portal or the Broker API will be processed manually from 19 June until 30 June 2015.
The following on-line services will not be available:
- Broker portal
- ‘My Water’ access and on-line allocation trading
- Copy of Record purchases
The following reports will also not be available:
- Trade opportunities and limits report
- Unused water report
All services will be available once again at 10:00am on 6 July 2015.
In relation to trading allocation before end of financial year please note;
- 19 June 2015 is the last day to submit paper-based allocation trade applications to your water corporation to be sure of having an application processed. Water Corporations will attempt to finalise applications submitted later than that, but cannot guarantee it.
- Allocation trade applications made via the broker portal or API may be submitted until 5pm on Monday 30 June 2015 for instant approval. However, for an interstate application or any application that is referred for manual processing, the manual dates apply - submit by 19 June 2015 to be sure of having an application processed.
Broken trade-out finishing for this season
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Allocation trade out of the Broken system will close for this season on 31 March 2015. Trade applications received after 31 March will not be approved.
This closing date is part of the trading rule introduced on 1 July 2014 which allows allocation trade from the Broken to downstream systems subject to the following limits:
- Undelivered trade-out must not exceed 1,500 ML
- No trade after 31 March and before 1 July in any year
2013-14 water trading report
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The Victorian Annual Water Trading Report for 2013/14 is now available.
Copies of reports from previous years are available here.
2013-14 water use by irrigators, towns & the environment
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The second annual report on water availability for irrigators, town supplies and the environment in northern Victoria, and how it was used, is now available. These reports are based on water available to use or trade under Victorian water shares and bulk and environmental entitlements recorded in the Water Register in the Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe systems in 2013-14.
Read more: 2013-14 water use by irrigators, towns & the environment
MDBA reinstates Barmah Choke trade restriction
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On Tuesday 28 October 2014, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) announced that it was reinstating the trading rule that restricts allocation trade from upstream of the Barmah Choke to downstream.
This is the first time since September 2007 that the trading rule has been reinstated. You can read the MDBA’s media release at http://www.mdba.gov.au.
Trading through the Choke
This means that allocation trade from upstream to downstream of the Choke is now limited. It can occur only if allocation is traded from below to above the Choke after 28 October 2014. This limit applies to trade applications received after 5pm on 28 October 2014.
Online applications for trade out of zone 6 (above Barmah Choke) will be referred to Goulburn Murray Water for manual processing, and will therefore not receive an instant response.
If you plan to trade water through the Choke, you or your broker needs to keep an eye on any trading limits that apply to you.
- You can check the available trade opportunity through the Choke by visiting MDBA’s website, at http://www.mdba.gov.au/managing-water/water-markets-trade/interstate-water-trade/barmah-choke-trade-balance
- For other trading opportunities and limits that may affect your ability to trade you can visit the allocation and trade opportunities page on the Victorian water register website at http://waterregister.vic.gov.au/water-trading/allocation-trading
Note that currently this page uses only Victorian limits and ignores the MDBA Barmah Choke limit. It may therefore show an opportunity where it does not really exist. - The same limitation applies to the feasibility check for online trades.
Why has this trading rule been reinstated?
The Barmah Choke is a narrow section of the Murray River between Tocumwal and Barmah that has a limited capacity and constrains the volume of water that can be passed to downstream users.
When this capacity is reached, delivery of water allocation that has been traded from upstream to downstream cannot be guaranteed. Under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement, MDBA can reinstate the trading limit if it feels that there are potential delivery problems.
First annual audit of water brokers complete
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The first annual audit of water brokers who use the Water Register’s Broker Portal to lodge allocation trades online has been completed with positive results.
The Broker Portal was established in November 2013. Since then, more than 15 brokers have entered into an agreement with the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) to use the portal.
The portal allows brokers to lodge allocation trades online on behalf of their customers at a reduced cost, with near-instant results in most cases. More than 50% of all allocation trades completed in Victoria are now lodged through the portal with over 6,000 trades submitted successfully since it was launched.
Understanding the Goulburn to Murray trade limit
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If you are planning to trade water, you need to keep an eye on the status of the trade limits that might affect you.
Trade is not allowed from the Goulburn, Campaspe, Broken and Loddon to the Victorian Murray, or to New South Wales and South Australia, if more than 200 gigalitres (GL) of water is owed to the Murray.
Changes on the Ovens from 1 July
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Trade from the King to the lower Ovens is possible from 1 July this year.
The Minister for Water has approved changes to the trading rules to allow trade of water shares and high-reliability allocation from the King system to the lower Ovens system downstream of the confluence of the King and Ovens Rivers, under certain conditions.
Water Register open for 2014-15
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The Victorian Water Register is now open including access to 'My Water' and online allocation trading.
We have now completed all necessary end of financial year water accounting tasks. We trust there has been minimal disruption to your business operations and we appreciate your support during this process.
Changes to Victorian water trading rules
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Some of Victoria’s water trading rules are changing from 1 July 2014.
The Victorian Parliament has amended Victoria's Water Act 1989 and the Minister for Water has amended the Trading Rules for Declared Systems.
This puts Chapter 12 of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan into action in line with agreements signed in 2013 by the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments.
From 1 July 2014 -
- anyone can buy water allocation
- holders of an allocation account will not change when water shares are linked to the account or removed from it
- anyone can receive a limited term transfer of a water share
- the seller must state the agreed price of the trade
- many application forms are updated
- the 4% limit on water share trade out of an irrigation area is removed.
These changes are happening so that Victoria can meet its obligations under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. They are also part of continuing efforts to make water transactions easier and cheaper for irrigators and entitlement holders.
The changes will apply in northern and southern Victoria from 1 July 2014.
What do these changes mean?
For most people, the changes will not be noticeable, and most of the rules stay as they are. The changes will have no effect unless someone is doing a trade, and even then, most things are not changing.
Freeing up the rules for buying allocation means that
• anyone can buy water allocation without a limit on the amount
• people can easily apply for a new allocation account online or by filling in a form and there is no fee.
Fixed holders of allocation accounts means that
• the holders of an allocation account will be fixed, and not change when water shares are linked to the account or removed from it
• there will be more flexibility to link a water share to an allocation account held by other people
• the fee for an application to link a water share to an allocation account will be $80, which is a reduction on the current fee in some cases.
News items emailed to Subscribers
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New items are now automatically emailed to Victorian Water Register subscribers.
Key end of year dates
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On-line services will be suspended from 5pm 30 June 2014 for the end of financial year.
The Victorian Water Register will be closed while we complete end of financial year accounting and implement changes to Victorian water trading rules arising from the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
Application fees for 2014-15
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Victorian Water Register fees for some applications will increase on Tuesday 1 July 2014. For more information click here.
Changes on the Broken effective 1 July
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Allocation trade and carryover rules on the Broken are changing from 1 July this year.
The Minister for Water has approved changes to the trading rules to allow limited allocation trade out of the Broken system.
The Minister has also approved changes to Broken carryover so that water can be carried over only against high-reliability water shares, and not low-reliability water shares.
Carryover Calculator updated
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The Carryover Calculator has been updated to include the Murray system limit on the volume of water allocation you can carry over into 2014-2015. This limit applies at the end of this season on 30 June.
Click on the icon below to try the updated calculator.
Farmers talk about carryover
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Goulburn system dairy farmers Craig Lister and Don Stewart and Steve and Margot Henty on the Murray talk about how they plan and manage carryover through drought and wetter years on a series of new carryover videos now available.
Click here to watch the new carryover videos.