The 2021–24 Scientific Advisory Panel reports for the lower Goulburn River, Lower Broken Creek and Campaspe River
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The Goulburn to Murray trade review Scientific Advisory Panel (the Panel) has prepared three reports, covering detailed results and analysis of the lower Goulburn River Research and Investigations Program undertaken during 2023–24, and interpretation of the outcomes over the combined three years from the start of the program (2021–24).
The program is designed to assess the environmental performance of the long-term Operating Rules for the lower Goulburn River and to determine whether the rules are working as intended to prevent environmental damage from sustained high flows over summer and autumn.
Climatic and flow conditions throughout 2021–24, including record breaking floods in spring 2022 and summer 2024, saw relatively low demand for inter-valley trade (IVT) deliveries from the Goulburn River to the River Murray during the peak irrigation period (December to April).
This has meant the Panel could not directly assess the potential impacts of the full delivery of summer pulses allowed under the rules, as these did not occur during the 2021-24 research and investigations program.
However, these wetter seasonal conditions did provide an opportunity to consider how the lower Goulburn River responds when there are limited summer and autumn flows, and when prolonged baseflows at or below the maximum specified by the operating rules are delivered throughout the summer-autumn period. The Panel were also able to examine the effects of natural flooding on environmental outcomes. This is invaluable information for understanding how the river may respond over time in future wetter periods under the long-term operating rules.
The results provide some early indications of positive environmental responses in the lower Goulburn River, as summarised below:
Bank condition
Successive years of low summer and autumn baseflows have helped to stabilise the bank and reduce erosion and notching. The report identifies a potential future risk of a cumulative negative impact over time at specific bank elevations if successive pulses are delivered in full, every year (i.e. three pulses across summer and autumn, to the maximum size allowed). However, this negative impact hasn't occurred in the 2021–24 survey period.
Bank vegetation
Successive years of low summer flows have allowed for gradual regeneration of bank vegetation on the lower bank zones. There was a marked increase in the cover of all vegetation, particularly inundation-tolerant plants. This was a result of the low summer flows after the flood in spring 2022, when a greater growth response was observed compared with earlier non-flood years. The summer 2024 flood occurred during the peak growth season and negatively impacted this positive trend. However, bank vegetation quickly recovered following water recession, indicating a level of resilience that was probably fostered by successive years of low summer flows and spring freshes.
Native fish
A decrease in the abundance of some native fish species was observed, likely due to impacts from the widespread flooding in 2022. This decrease in abundance indicates that some fish, especially more mobile species such as Murray cod, might have moved to other reaches in response to the flooding and reduced water quality that followed flood recession.
Macroinvertebrates
More shrimp and prawns were observed over the three years compared to previous years, suggesting a positive response by macroinvertebrates to low summer baseflows that align with environmental flow recommendations. Based on available information, long-term trajectories for macroinvertebrates are likely to be positive as long as the demand for summer IVT flows remains low.
Platypus
Environmental DNA surveys over the past three years have enabled the mapping of platypus distribution in the lower Goulburn River system and established a baseline for monitoring changes in future. Based on the results, platypus continue to be widely distributed along the lower Goulburn River, including within lagoon habitats.
Additional research and investigations were also undertaken in the Lower Broken Creek and Campaspe River to benchmark the environmental condition.
For more information about the 2021-24 research and investigations program, including detailed results and analysis, see the full reports below:
Scientific Advisory Panel Annual Report Number 3-C: Summary report for the 2021–24 lower Goulburn River research and investigations program (PDF, 1.2 MB) Scientific Advisory Panel Annual Report Number 3-A: Detailed results from the 2021–24 lower Goulburn River research and investigations program (PDF, 18.5 MB) Scientific Advisory Panel Annual Report Number 3-B: Detailed results from 2021–24 lower Broken Creek and Campaspe River research and investigations program (11.8 MB) Frequently Asked Questions: The 2021–24 Scientific Advisory Panel Reports (156 KB)
You can read 2021–22 Scientific Advisory Panel Reports on the Victorian Water Register website here, and you can read the 2022–23 reports here.
The Panel will continue the research and investigations program through to 2028 to assess the environmental performance of the long-term operating rules to gather evidence to support any recommendations regarding future refinements and improvements to the rules.
You can read more about the Goulburn to Murray trade review and the Victorian Minister for Water’s decision on long-term trade and operating rules here.
What We Heard – Improving access to trade in southern Murray-Darling Basin – Stage 1
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Earlier this year, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) and WaterNSW developed a draft framework to assess options for improving the efficiency and equity of access to inter-valley trade opportunities. In July–August 2025 we sought feedback on whether the draft framework is appropriate and what options for managing access to trade opportunities should be assessed.
A report, summarising what we heard during the consultation, is available on Engage Victoria.
Based on the feedback received, we will now finalise the assessment framework and use it to analyse potential long-term options to manage access to trade opportunities for the major trading limits – Murrumbidgee, Goulburn and Barmah. We will publish the finalised framework later in 2025, before moving into assessing the options for managing access to trade opportunities.
In early 2026, we will seek feedback on the draft findings of that assessment. That further consultation will inform any decisions on implementing recommendations from this project. WaterNSW and DEECA sincerely thank those who have taken the time to provide their input and look forward to another collaborative consultation period in early 2026.
Important information: Estimated volume announced for Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity on Wednesday 15 October 2025
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The next Goulburn-to-Murray trade opening is scheduled for Wednesday 15 October 2025. Based on current estimates, approximately 31 gigalitres (GL) of Goulburn-to- Murray trade opportunity will be released.
The estimated 31 GL of trade opportunity is an indicative volume based on the best available data to date.
Find out more about how the Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity is calculated.
- Applications for the Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity should be submitted during the submission window, between 7 am and 2 pm on Wednesday 15 October 2025.
- Water market participants are encouraged to lodge applications throughout the submission window, through My Water or the Broker Portal. An application submitted at the start of the window has the same chance of success as one submitted at the end.
- After the submission window closes, DEECA will undertake a randomisation process to determine a processing order of the applications, in the presence of an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) independent observer.
- Manual processing, in the order determined by the randomisation process, will commence on Thursday 16 October 2025.
- The My Water and Broker Portal will be briefly offline once manual processing is complete (approximately half an hour) and normal Register operations will then resume. The timing of this outage, once known, will be announced on the Victorian Water Register news.
Please note the following important application eligibility criteria:
- For any one seller ABA, the total volume submitted (whether singly or via multiple trade applications) for consideration into the randomisation process cannot exceed the volume of tradable allocation available in that ABA at the start of the submission window (7 am, 15 October 2025).
- If an increase in seasonal allocation is announced on 15 October after 7am, this will not increase the total volume eligible for inclusion in the randomisation pool for this trade opening.
- As previously reminded, applications to ‘trade remaining balance’ will be deemed ineligible for the randomisation pool.
For further details about the Goulburn-to-Murray trade opening process, check out this handy guide.
For any further information or assistance with the above, reach out to the Victorian Water Register team on waterregister.support@deeca.vic.gov.au.
Important information: Goulburn-to-Murray trade opening announced for Wednesday 15 October 2025
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The Goulburn-to-Murray Trade Limit—which governs allocation trade from the Goulburn, Broken, Campaspe, and Loddon systems to the Victorian Murray system, New South Wales, and South Australia—will open again on Wednesday 15 October 2025. This is the second of three Goulburn-to-Murray trade openings for the 2025–26 water year. Estimated volumes will be made public closer to this date.
- Applications for the Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity should be submitted during the submission window between 7 am and 2 pm on Wednesday 15 October 2025.
- During the submission window, water market participants should submit trade applications through My Water or the Broker Portal, and all trade applications during this period will be referred for manual processing.
- After the submission window closes, DEECA will undertake a randomisation process to determine a processing order of the applications, in the presence of an ACCC independent observer.
- Manual processing, in the order determined by the randomisation process, will occur on Thursday 16 October 2025.
Post trade summary and report for July 2025 trade openings now available
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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 Post Trade Opportunity Opening Report, July 2025, summarises the outcomes from the July Barmah and Goulburn to Murray trade openings, and provides insights into the number, volume, and order of applications processed.
The Barmah and Goulburn to Murray trade opportunities both opened for a 7-hour submission window between 7:00 am and 2:00 pm on Wednesday 2 July 2025. Both trade openings used a randomisation approach to determine the order of application processing.
Read more: Post trade summary and report for July 2025 trade openings now available
Improving access to trade in southern Murray-Darling Basin
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Help us improve the efficiency and equity of access to inter-valley and inter-zone water allocation trade opportunities in the southern Murray-Darling Basin.
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) and WaterNSW have developed a draft framework to assess options for improving the efficiency and equity of access to inter-valley and inter-zone trade opportunities. We are now seeking community feedback on whether the framework is appropriate for achieving this purpose, as well as your ideas on options for managing access to trade opportunities that should be assessed in the next stage of this project.
You can view the draft framework and submit your feedback to DEECA via a brief questionnaire at EngageVic. Alternatively, you can also submit your feedback to WaterNSW. This joint consultation will be open until 17 August.
Read more: Improving access to trade in southern Murray-Darling Basin
New Broker Code
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From 1 July 2025 there are additional Australian Government obligations on water brokers and exchanges operating in the Murray-Darling Basin, under a new Water Markets Intermediaries Code.
As a water market participant you are encouraged to familiarise yourself with the Code and the new safeguards that have been put in place to ensure your broker acts in your best interests.
The new Code, and complementary trust accounting obligations, place further responsibilities on water market intermediaries. This is in addition to the rules they must follow under Australian Consumer Law.
The Code is designed to give greater protection to users of water brokers and exchanges, aligning standards with those that exist in other similar markets. Some obligations under the Code commence on 1 July 2025, others on 1 October 2025.
July 2025 Barmah trade opening – summary
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On Wednesday 2 July 2025, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority made 38,767.7 megalitres (ML) of allocation trade opportunity available from above to below the Barmah Narrows. As in previous years, there was more demand than supply.
2025 marked the third year that Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) synchronised the timing of the Barmah trade opportunity.
This year, Victoria and NSW implemented a new joint randomisation protocol for the processing of Barmah trade applications. The new protocol meant that differences in each state’s processing approach and systems did not influence traders’ access to the available Barmah trade opportunity. You can learn more about how the protocol worked here.
Notification: Victorian Water Register, MyWater and Broker Portal offline for end of water year on Monday 30 June 2025
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This is a reminder that this year the Victorian Water Register will close at 12 noon on Monday 30 June 2025 for end-of-year accounting to transition from the 2024–25 to the 2025–26 water year. The Register will reopen at 9 am on 1 July 2025.
The following online services will be unavailable during this shutdown time:
- Broker portal
- 'My Water' access and online allocation trading and bore construction licence applications
- Copy of Record purchases
- Victorian Water Register website.
Reminder: Upcoming allocation trade closing and opening times
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This article is a reminder of important information regarding allocation trade closing and opening times for June and July 2025. For further information or assistance, reach out to the Victorian Water Register team on waterregister.support@delwp.vic.gov.au.
2024–25: Allocation trade closing times
The Victorian Water Register, including MyWater and the Broker Portal, will close for 2024–25 end-of-year (EOY) processing at 12 noon Monday 30 June 2025.
Online applications to trade allocation within Victoria must be submitted by 12 noon on 30 June 2025 for processing in the 2024–25 water year.
Paper-based applications to trade allocation within Victoria must be lodged with the relevant water corporation by 5 pm on 20 June 2025. There is no guarantee that applications submitted after this time will be processed in the 2024–25 water year.
All applications to trade allocation interstate (where Victoria is involved), including those lodged online, will be processed manually from 5 pm on 26 June 2025. Note the final date for guaranteed processing of interstate allocation trades in the 2024-25 water year has passed (this was 5 pm 16 June 2025).
If you are trading allocation before the end of the water year, please be aware of these important closing times. More information on end of 2024–25 water year application processing is available here.
Read more: Reminder: Upcoming allocation trade closing and opening times
Important trade opening information for the start of the 2025–26 water year
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This article contains important information relating to July 2025 trade openings, including relevant dates, processes and estimated volumes. Information about end of water year closing times for the VWR and application deadlines is available here.
Important opening dates:
Tuesday 1 July 2025
- The Broken Trade Out and NSW to Vic trade opportunities open at 10 am AEST on Tuesday 1 July 2025. These openings will proceed with a first in, first served approach, with automated processing of applications.
Wednesday 2 July 2025
- The MDBA Barmah and Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunities will have a 7-hour submission window on Wednesday 2 July 2025, from 7 am to 2 pm AEST. Eligible applications submitted for these opportunities will be randomised to create an order for processing starting Thursday 3 July.
Read more: Important trade opening information for the start of the 2025–26 water year
Important dates – end of 2024–25 water year application processing
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The Victorian Water Register, including My Water and the Broker Portal, will close for end-of-year processing at 12 pm 30 June 2025. Services will re-open at 9 am 1 July 2025.
Important information regarding times and dates for the July 2025 trade openings will be provided soon.
If you are trading allocation or water shares before the end of the water year, please be aware of the important dates and times below.
Read more: Important dates – end of 2024–25 water year application processing
July 2025 Trade Openings update
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The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) would like to provide an update about the upcoming July 2025 trade openings.
In response to consistently high demand during key trade events, in October 2024, the Victorian Water Register (VWR) temporarily moved to a randomisation approach rather than ‘first in, first served’ for the Goulburn to Murray trade openings. The approach reduces load on the VWR during the trade opening and ensures the opportunity is reliably made available to all market participants.
Following a review of these processes, DEECA will continue to use a randomisation approach for all Goulburn to Murray trade openings of 2025. Additionally, in partnership with WaterNSW, a joint randomisation process will be implemented for the 2025 Barmah trade opening.
Other smaller trade openings, including the Broken trade out limit (made available in July each year), will continue to operate without change. This is because the impact on reliable service delivery from the VWR isn’t as large as Barmah and Goulburn to Murray trade openings.
DEECA thanks users who provided feedback on the randomisation approach. A summary of feedback provided will be included in our next information update.
2025 Barmah trade opening and seeking feedback on randomisation approach
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In October 2024, DEECA implemented a new randomisation processing approach for the October and December Goulburn to Murray trade openings. The approach was designed to provide market participants with reliable access to those trade openings as soon as possible.
DEECA is now reviewing how those openings went and seeking feedback from market participants on the trade application process and the randomisation approach. Market participants wanting to provide feedback to DEECA on the new approach can do so using this feedback form.
DEECA is now also working with its WaterNSW counterparts to deliver a reliable Barmah trade opening in July 2025. We are currently considering using a combined ‘single queue’ and randomisation process for applications for the 1 July Barmah trade opportunity. This would leverage the approach that Victoria used in the Goulburn to Murray trade openings last year and extend this so that it applies to applications received by both WaterNSW and the Victorian Water Register.
Both DEECA and WaterNSW are committed to working together to ensure reliable access to this year’s opening Barmah trade opportunity and a unified experience for customers from both Victoria and NSW.
Read more: 2025 Barmah trade opening and seeking feedback on randomisation approach
Users sought to have their say in new Victorian Water Register Focus Group
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The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) is working to deliver improved Victorian Water Register (VWR) services. To ensure changes are designed and implemented with users in mind, a focus group is being established to inform the process and assist community engagement.
The VWR is a vital platform for Victoria’s water users and water market participants. It allows access to a range of online services.
The focus group will play an important part in the evolution of VWR services. Members will be a key point of contact for DEECA staff to receive direct feedback when considering changes to VWR services, systems and processes. Feedback will help ensure VWR changes are designed and implemented with consideration of end user needs and the impact of changes are understood and accounted for.
Read more: Users sought to have their say in new Victorian Water Register Focus Group
New trade transparency data released for frequent traders and large water owners
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Frequent Trader and Large Water Owner information published on 15 January 2025.
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) has published two water trade information reports on the Victorian Water Register website. These are:
- Large Water Owners – the names of individuals and companies that own more than 2% of high-reliability water shares in the Goulburn or the Murray systems above and below the Barmah Choke, as of 1 July 2024.
- Frequent Traders – the names of individuals and companies that have made more than 20 priced allocation trades (bought or sold) within, from or to the Goulburn water system and/or the Murray water system during the 2024–25 water year (as of 31 December 2024).
Read more: New trade transparency data released for frequent traders and large water owners
Release of Goulburn to Murray Post Trade Opportunity Opening Report – December 2024
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The release of the Goulburn to Murray Post Trade Opportunity Opening Report, December 2024, summarises the outcomes from this trade opening and consolidates information available via the Victorian Water Register website with some additional data around the number of unique allocation accounts that traded. It provides insights into the number, volumes and reason for trade for all applications submitted.
Read more: Release of Goulburn to Murray Post Trade Opportunity Opening Report – December 2024
Important information: Estimated volume announced for Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity on 16 December
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The next release of seasonal trade opportunity from the Goulburn to the Murray system opens on Monday 16 December. Based on current estimates, approximately 9 GL of Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity will be released.
The randomisation approach implemented for the rescheduled October opening will be used again in December.
Important information – Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity for 16 December 2024
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Important information – Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity for 16 December 2024
The Goulburn to Murray Trade Limit—which governs allocation trade from the Goulburn, Broken, Campaspe and Loddon systems to the Victorian Murray system, New South Wales and South Australia—will open again on Monday 16 December 2024. Estimated volumes will be made public closer to this date.
The randomisation approach implemented for the rescheduled October opening will be used again in December.
Read more: Important information – Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity for 16 December 2024
Release of post-trade opening report – Goulburn to Murray October opening
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The release of the October 2024 post-trade report summarises the findings from October Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity and consolidates information available via the Victorian Water Register website with some additional data around the number of unique allocation accounts that traded. It provides insights into the number, volumes and reason for trade for all applications submitted.
The rescheduled Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity opened on Thursday 14 November 2025 at 7 am with an opening limit of around 45 gigalitres. The Victorian Water Register received around 400 applications from market participants. Trade applications were received during a 5-hour submission window on 14 November. Eligible applications were then randomised to determine a processing order. Goulburn Murray Water and Lower Murray Water began processing the applications in that processing order from 7 am Friday 15 November.
Read more: Release of post-trade opening report – Goulburn to Murray October opening