Victorian Water Register

Victoria maintains a 4% limit on the volume of water shares each year traded out of irrigation districts in northern Victoria, in compliance with the National Water Initiative. An explanation of the 4% limit is available here.

The Government has announced some exemptions to the limit to better align the Commonwealth’s environmental water buybacks with the $2 billion investment in the Northern Victorian Irrigation Renewal Project to modernise Victoria’s irrigation system and to assist other Commonwealth and Victorian irrigation initiatives.

Exemptions to the limit are available for the following categories –

• Trades from areas not identified as a priority for modernisation, and therefore not benefiting from the $2 billion investment in the Northern Victorian Irrigation Renewal Project (NVIRP) to modernise Victoria’s irrigation system. Exempt areas are set on the basis of irrigation suitability, land use change and distance from the backbone. Further information on eligibility for exemptions under this category can be obtained from NVIRP
• Trades associated with the Commonwealth’s previous Small Block Irrigator Exit Grant Package - this program closed on 30 June 2009.
• Trades associated with the Commonwealth’s Exceptional Circumstances Exit Grant - this program closed to new applications from Wednesday 10 August 2011.
• Transfer of water savings arising from the Commonwealth’s On-farm Irrigation Efficiency Program, including transfers to Goulburn Broken CMA as part of an expanded program. Goulburn Broken CMA can provide further information here.
• Specific exemptions for Campaspe Irrigation District and for Living Murray projects – see Trading Rules
• Transfers to the Commonwealth that were refused in the July 2011 ballot due to the 4% limit and other transfers to the Commonwealth arising from tenders it conducted in 2010/11 – see Trading Rules.

The information below is based on approved applications. It shows the volume of trade-out excluding exemptions (this is the volume which is measured against the 4% limit), the trade-out opportunity remaining, and the volume of exemptions granted.