This section explains the carryover rules in Victoria. Carryover allows water entitlement holders to take their unused water allocation in the following season. It provides all water users - irrigators, urban water corporations, and environmental managers – with greater flexibility to manage their own water availability between seasons.
Carryover is possible in the regulated water systems of northern Victoria, except for the Ovens system where storages are too small to support carryover, and in the Werribee water system in the south. Carryover is also allowed in some groundwater systems, and for bulk entitlement holders in the Wimmera.
For information on how carryover is being used in Victoria and insights into market behaviour, click here.
Carryover rules make sure that water carried over cannot unfairly impact on allocations to everyone’s water entitlements. Rules vary between water systems depending on how the volume of water entitlements relates to the size of the dams and how they are managed.
You can use the carryover calculator to help you understand how carryover rules work in northern Victoria.
A review of the carryover rules for the Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe systems was completed in 2012.
Numerous resources are available to help you understand carryover and to answer any queries you may have.
Information about the history of carryover and reforms to the rules since it was first introduced is available here.