Interim Goulburn to Murray trade rules introduced from 1 July 2021
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The Acting Minister for Water Richard Wynne has announced that from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 a new two-part trade rule will come into effect for Goulburn to Murray inter-valley trade. Read the Minister’s announcement here.
This new rule is based on the recent public consultation on changes to the trade rule as part of the Goulburn to Murray trade review but includes some important improvements in response to community feedback. The rule will give certainty for the 2021-22 water year, while further testing and analysis of complementary interim operating rules is undertaken over the coming summer.
The new rule will replace the current year-round rolling limit of 200 GL. The new two-part trade rule means that:
- From 1 July, trade will be possible whenever the balance of the Goulburn inter-valley trade account is lower than the new limit of 190 GL; and
- On 15 December, net trade will be capped to enable the inter-valley trade account balance to be drawn down over the rest of the year.
Read more: Interim Goulburn to Murray trade rules introduced from 1 July 2021
Important information for end of 2020-21 financial year
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The Victorian Water Register will be closed while we complete the end of year accounting to roll over from the 2020-21 water year to 2021-22.
This will occur from 5pm AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on Wednesday 30 June 2021 until 10am AEST on Thursday 1 July 2021.
Read more: Important information for end of 2020-21 financial year
The 2019–20 Victorian Water Accounts, Online Water Accounts and Highlights now available
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The Water Resource Strategy Division is excited to announce that the 2019–20 Victorian Water Accounts (VWA) have been released: Victorian water accounts - Water Register.
This is the 17th report in the series, released alongside new iterations of the Highlights (howmuch.water.vic.gov.au) and the Online VWA (accounts.water.vic.gov.au).
The Highlights, pre-released in July 2020 alongside the 2018–19 Accounts, explain Victoria’s water entitlement and management frameworks, provide a high-level summary of water availability and use for the water year and illustrate water trends overtime.
Released for the first time last year, the Online Water Accounts provides detailed information on surface water and distribution systems in an interactive way. Users can follow water from its source through to where it is used by customers. For the first time, the 2019–20 and 2018–19 reports will both be available, along with a summary of groundwater use and availability for 2019–20.
Read more: The 2019–20 Victorian Water Accounts, Online Water Accounts and Highlights now available
Reason from trade data is now available for download from the Victorian Water Register Website
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As part of the Victorian Government's ongoing commitment to continual improvement of water market information, two key elements have been collected since 27 August 2020. They are a Reason for trade and, date that the price for the trade was reached.
This data is now available from the Allocation Trade Data section of the Allocation Trading page. Extra columns have been added, so that when you generate a data set you can see all the deidentified information in one place. Work is underway to provide information on trends associated with this new information reason for trade.
By collecting and making this data publicly available, Victoria is providing more transparency about the types of trade occurring, the prices being paid for different water products and, when agreement was made on each trade.
For more information on reason from trade please view the fact sheet.
Goulburn to Murray trade review submission deadline closing soon
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The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning has reviewed long-term options for Goulburn to Murray operating and trade rules. We are seeking community feedback on the recommended long-term option with submissions now due by 9 May 2021.
Read more: Goulburn to Murray trade review submission deadline closing soon
Goulburn to Murray trade review consultation begins
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In 2019, the Victorian Government announced a review of the Goulburn to Murray inter-valley trade rule to better protect the lower Goulburn River from unseasonal high flows of traded water to downstream users.
The Acting Minister for Water Richard Wynne has today released a regulatory impact statement (RIS) seeking feedback on proposed options for long-term Goulburn to Murray operating, trade and tagging rules. You can read the Minister’s media release here. The RIS consultation paper, along with summary information on proposed operating rules and trade rules and proposed arrangements for the Lower Broken Creek, has been published on the Engage Victoria website here.
Read more: Goulburn to Murray trade review consultation begins
New fact sheet on delivery risks in the River Murray
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A new fact sheet is available to help water users to understand the latest information about delivery risks in the River Murray System. It describes how delivery risks in the River Murray downstream of Barmah are changing and the actions that the Victorian and other River Murray governments are taking to address these risks.
The fact sheet is based on the key findings from the report Managing Delivery Risks in the River Murray System that was released in November 2020 by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority jointly with Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, in collaboration with the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and, where appropriate, New South Wales and South Australia, will be discussing this information at a number of forums with water users in the coming months, including water corporation customer committees and other industry forums.
More information about delivery risks in the River Murray is available here.
More information about the work the River Murray governments are doing to better understand and manage delivery risks is available on the Murray-Darling Basin Authority website.
Services Offline - Friday 18 December 2020
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Dear Customers,
Please be advised that the whole of the Victorian Water Register production environment will need to be offline on Friday 18th DECEMBER 6:00PM to 9:00PM for essential maintenance.
During this time, the Victorian Water Register and associated online services such as water trading and bore application processes will be unavailable.
Managing Delivery Risks in the River Murray System
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The Murray-Darling Basin Authority together with the Victorian, New South Wales and South Australian governments have jointly released a new report on Managing Delivery Risks in the River Murray System.
Murray-Darling Basin Water Ministers have committed to working together on delivery and shortfall risks and discussing these risks and management approach with our communities.
A shortfall is when water that is entitled to be used cannot be delivered when and where it is needed. This new report provides information to water users and communities on the key findings from recent studies to better understand delivery risks in the River Murray System and sets out the actions needed to support governments and water users to manage those risks.
The report analyses the impacts of system changes over the last 20 years in both supply and demand across the southern connected Basin. This includes reduced capacity of Barmah Choke, changing patterns of irrigation and environmental water use and climate change. It notes these factors will continue to pose risks to delivery into the future.
Read more: Managing Delivery Risks in the River Murray System
Large water owners published
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Who were the largest owners of water in Victoria during 2019/20?
As part of Victoria’s ongoing commitment to water market transparency, new information has been made public about ownership of water. The list shows the owners in northern Victoria that meet the 2% threshold in the Goulburn and Murray water systems.
During consultation in 2019, the community asked to know the names of the largest owners of water. The agreed definition of large from this consultation was anyone owning more than 2% of water in a system.
The Commonwealth Government is the largest single owner of water shares in both the Goulburn and Murray systems, holding the water for environmental purposes. The list shows that there are a small number of organisations who own more than 2% of water shares, including 6 companies. Nearly 60% of high reliability water shares are privately owned in shares that are smaller than 360 ML.
https://waterregister.vic.gov.au/water-trading/market-insights/large-water-owners
New analysis on trends and drivers of water market prices for allocation
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A new independent report by Aither has been released today providing new insights into recent trends and drivers of water market prices for allocation in the southern connected Murray-Darling Basin. It also contains modelling of possible future scenarios for water market trends and the potential response of different industries.
The report shows that the primary drivers of water allocation prices in recent history have been annual water availability, water recovery for the environment from the consumptive pool and growing demand for water from higher-value industries like perennial horticulture and cotton.
The analysis has been developed using an updated water market modelling approach and considers a range of factors that can drive water market outcomes, including supply and demand, water recovery for the environment, industry trends and trade constraints.
The report provides valuable insights for water market participants about how water market prices for allocation have changed in recent years and how the southern connected Murray-Darling Basin water market could evolve in coming years under different scenarios – helping people to make informed decisions for the future.
Download PDF Fact Sheet: Southern Murray-Darling Basin Water Market Trends and Drivers 2020 (PDF - 158 Kb)Download PDF Southern Murray-Darling Basin Water Market Trends and Drivers Report 2020 (PDF - 1,080 Kb)Read more: New analysis on trends and drivers of water market prices for allocation
The Online Water Accounts - a new platform to explore Victoria’s water availability and use
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The Victorian Water Accounts (VWA) team have released the Online Water Accounts (accounts.water.vic.gov.au), moving the VWA into the digital space. The Online Water Accounts is the next step in the project to transform the VWA. The platform will be focussed initially on the surface water basin accounts, covering the surface water and distribution systems chapters of the Victorian Water Accounts. People will be able to use the website to find out where water is sourced through to where it is used by customers.
The Online Water Accounts complement the digital Highlights (howmuch.water,vic.gov.au) and the 2018-19 Victorian Water Accounts report released in July this year. The VWA team are excited to now have two digital reporting offerings. The ‘Highlights’ explain Victorian’s Water Entitlement and Management Frameworks and show how water trends are changing over time. The Online Water Accounts provide detailed information at a catchment scale about the availability and use of water in Victoria each year.
Introduction of reason for trade for online allocation trades
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As part of the Victorian Government’s ongoing commitment to continual improvement of water market information, from Thursday 27th August 2020 a reason for trade will be required for all online Victorian allocation trades. The agreed date that the price for the trade was reached will also be required.
This information will be required for all online allocation trades submitted through the Victorian Water Register Broker Portal and the MyWater online allocation trading service.
Read more: Introduction of reason for trade for online allocation trades
Goulburn to Murray trade arrangements for 2020-21
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In May 2019, the Victorian Government announced a review of the Goulburn to Murray inter-valley trade (IVT) rule to better protect the lower Goulburn River from unseasonal high flows of traded water to downstream users.
The Minister for Water has today announced that timelines for this review are being extended to give businesses more time to plan for new trade arrangements and to provide more opportunity for consultation on options later this year. You can read the Minister’s media release here.
To provide certainty for water users this irrigation season, the 2019 interim trade measures designed to ensure a level playing field for irrigators will be extended, including seeking to extend the interim regulations for tagged accounts so that all trades are treated the same when limits are applied.
In response to feedback from communities during the first round of consultation on changes to Goulburn to Murray trade arrangements, new rules are now scheduled to come into effect on 1 July 2021.
Read more: Goulburn to Murray trade arrangements for 2020-21
Release of latest Victorian water brokers audit reports
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The Government is committed to increasing water market transparency and actively monitoring water markets to ensure that they continue to operate effectively.
The annual audit of allocation trades submitted by water brokers through the Victorian Water Register’s online Broker Portal is a key component of recognising water brokers that meet government standards and auditing requirements. The audit helps to ensure that brokers meet their obligations to provide transparency of allocation trades and accurate price disclosure to all parties. The audit also evaluates the security of sensitive information and investigates brokers’ knowledge of their responsibilities to their clients.
DELWP engaged consultants from RSM for both the 2017-18 and 2018-19 annual audits. RSM audited all 22 water broker firms that submitted trades during 2017-18 and 21 brokers in 2018-19 to determine how they complied with the Victorian Water Register online Broker Portal use agreement and rules.
Read more: Release of latest Victorian water brokers audit reports
Domestic & Stock Bore Fee Relief Ends 31 July 2020
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Victorians in eligible drought and bushfire impacted parts of the State can have the application fee to construct a domestic and stock bore waived up until Friday, 31 July 2020.
In line with the planned duration of this assistance and after consideration of current factors, from 1 August 2020, the $235 fee for applications to construct a domestic and stock bore will apply.
Read more: Domestic & Stock Bore Fee Relief Ends 31 July 2020
Victorian Water Accounts 2018-19 now available
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This report is the 16th in the annual series and summarises Victoria’s water availability, distribution and use for the 2018-19 year. In a time of more extreme weather events and extended periods of water scarcity, regular and comprehensive public water reporting has never been more important. Victoria continues to lead the way in such reporting.
For the first year – the VWA team will now have two digital reporting offerings. The ‘Highlights’ explain Victorian’s Water Entitlement and Management Frameworks and shows how water trends are changing over time. Our soon to be released VWA Online will move the VWA into the digital space – it will provide detailed information at a catchment scale about the availability and use of water in Victoria each year.
We have enhanced and updated the Highlights (https://howmuch.water.vic.gov.au/) released last year with 2018-19 data. This digital resource complements the written and online report, providing a contemporary way to engage with water data and learn more about how water resources are managed in Victoria.
Updated estimate of water supply and horticulture demand in the southern Basin
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A new independent report by Aither has been released today, updating previous analysis and providing greater confidence in the estimated current and future horticultural demands in the southern Murray-Darling Basin, and the lower Murray region.
The updated report has been developed with increased collaboration with the Victorian, New South Wales and South Australian governments, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and industry experts to provide an up-to-date understanding of how horticultural water demands are changing.
The revised report gives a greatly increased level of confidence to previous findings – that there will be increasing challenges for horticultural plantings to meet their water needs in dry years – particularly in the lower Murray region.
Download PDF Fact Sheet: Water supply and demand in the southern Murray Darling Basin 2020 (PDF - 441 Kb)Download PDF Water supply and demand in the southern Murray-Darling Basin (2020 update) (PDF - 2,140 Kb)Read more: Updated estimate of water supply and horticulture demand in the southern Basin
Trade opening information for 2 July 2020
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The Victorian Water Register will open for trades at 12 noon AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on Thursday 2 July 2020.
Further information is provided below on certain trade limits and factors that will affect opening trade opportunities.
Understanding seasonal outlooks and spill risks with return to wetter conditions
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After three years of very dry conditions, dam levels are rising due to recent rainfall and the end of the irrigation season. The risk of spills is greater now than it has been for this time of year over the past few seasons. Entitlement holders should consider this when making decisions about how to hold any unused water and plan for the new water year.
The Northern Victorian Resource Manager has released information on seasonal outlooks and spill risks for 2020-21.
On 15 May the Northern Victorian Resource Manager updated the outlook for 2020-21 seasonal determinations, with wetter than average conditions forecast for winter. More information on seasonal determinations for northern Victoria is available at https://nvrm.net.au/outlooks/current-outlook.
Read more: Understanding seasonal outlooks and spill risks with return to wetter conditions