Celebrating 20 years of the Victorian Water Accounts
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DEECA releases the 20th edition of Victorian Water Accounts with the latest report.
We are excited to announce the release of the 2022–23 Victorian Water Accounts.
The Victorian Water Accounts are a trusted data source on water availability and use.
There are now 20 years of this annual report available, covering dry periods such as the Millennium Drought, and also periods of flooding. This long record of trend data is useful for researchers, policy makers and water users in general.
Online and accessible
This year had the highest reported total inflow volume in the Victorian Water Accounts’ history – 217% of the long-term average.
The total volume of water available increased to around 50,000 GL from less than 35,000 GL the year before. This increase was enough to fill approximately 6 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Storage levels also remained high, rising from 84% to 92% full during the water year.
Water use breakdown
Of the water used in 2022–23:
- 57% went to irrigation
- 16% supported the environment
- 20% went towards households, gardens, businesses and sport grounds
- 5% was for rural domestic and stock uses
- 2% was used for power generation.
Stay tuned
All future editions of the Victorian Water Accounts will continue to be released through this portal. Accounts for years before 2021–22 going back to 2003 will remain available as PDFs on the VWA website.
For more reporting resources, please visit Water monitoring and reporting.
Preparation of the 2023-24 Accounts is now underway, for release in 2025. Please contact the water reporting team if you have queries or suggestions, or if you wish to be notified when we release the next Accounts.
October 2024 seasonal trade opportunity disrupted
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We regret to inform you that a disruption to the Victorian Water Register online portals (MyWater and Broker Portal) occurred during the application submission window for the 15 October 2024 trade opportunity. The unforeseen circumstances have caused disruption to the submission and processing of the Goulburn to Murray trade opening.
As a result of this, and as we investigate the cause of the issue, the trade opportunity scheduled for Tuesday 15 October 2024 has been postponed.
We would like to express our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused. We understand the importance of reliable and efficient services, and we are committed to investigating the root cause of the disruption to prevent any future occurrences.
The Victorian Government is committed to ensuring equity in trade opportunities for all market participants. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time and will keep you updated as we work towards resolving the issue.
A new date for the October Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity will be communicated when more information is available.
If you have any questions, please contact us at waterregister.support@delwp.vic.gov.au
Reminder: Victorian Water Register will be offline 10:30 am – 5 pm on Tuesday 15 October 2024
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The Victorian Water Register MyWater and Broker portal will be offline on Tuesday 15 October 2024 between 10:30 am and 5 pm.
This planned outage is required for manual processing of trade applications for the Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity opening.
The following online services will be unavailable during this shutdown time:
- Broker portal and API
- My Water access and online allocation trading and bore construction licence applications
Please note that the the next release of seasonal trade opportunity from the Goulburn to the Murray system opens for submission on Tuesday 15 October 2024 at 10:00 am AEST.
Important information: Volume announced for Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity on 15 October 2024
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The next release of seasonal trade opportunity from the Goulburn to the Murray system opens for submission on Tuesday 15 October 2024 at 10:00 am AEST. Based on current estimates, approximately 45 GL of Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity will be released.
Release of latest Victorian Water Brokers audit report 2022–23
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The Victorian Government is committed to transparency for water market participants and actively overseeing water market operations to ensure their ongoing effectiveness. The release of the 2022–23 annual brokers audit underscores this commitment.
This audit provides oversight of compliance with government rules for using the Victorian Water Register's online Broker Portal and API. The audit also checks the brokers' compliance of their responsibilities to their clients.
The Department of Environment, Energy, and Climate Action engaged independent auditor RSM for the 2022–23 annual audit. RSM audited all 26 intermediary firms that used the Broker Portal or API during 2022–23 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 report 2022–23
Important information – Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity for 15 October 2024
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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 Tuesday 15 October 2024. This follows the previous Goulburn to Murray trade opening on 2 July and is the second of three Goulburn to Murray trade openings for the 2024–25 water year. Estimated volumes will be made public closer to this date.
- The next release of seasonal trade opportunity from the Goulburn to the Murray system will open at 10:00 am AEST Tuesday 15 October 2024.
- The submission window will be open from 10:00 am to 10:30 am AEST and the manual processing of trade applications will occur from 11 am.
Within the submission window, water market participants should submit allocation trade applications through the MyWater and Broker Portals as usual. Each trade application will be queued in the order received by our online interface in the Victorian Water Register.
After the submission window closes, MyWater and Broker Portals will go offline until 5 pm for manual processing of applications. Applicants will receive notifications on the outcomes of trade applications as they are manually processed, by 5 pm on the day submitted. The system will return to its normal operation after 5 pm.
Find out more about how Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity is calculated here.
For any further information or assistance with the above, reach out to the Victorian Water Register team on waterregister.support@deeca.vic.gov.au.
PDF: Frequently Asked Questions – October Trade Opening 2024 (192 kb)PDF: VWR MyWater and Broker Portal: Frequently Asked Questions about applying during trade openings (233 kb)
Water Market Reform: New Commonwealth government obligations for data accuracy on trade forms are now in effect
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From 1 July 2024 there are new Commonwealth requirements on people trading water.
All information provided by water markets participants in a trade or transfer application form must be comprehensive and accurate. There is also an obligation to keep certain records for five years. Click here to read about what this means for Victorians.
The Inspector-General of Water Compliance has put together FAQs on these new obligations; you can find these here. To find out more information please visit Water market reform – DCCEEW.
Annual Victorian Water Trading Report 2022–23
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The release of the Annual Trade Report for 2022-23 report continues the Victorian Government’s commitment to ensuring all water participants can easily access water market information.
The Annual Trade Report for 2022-23 highlights that water market prices reflect water availability and water demand where more water available generally means lower prices. Victorian annual rainfall was above average as the La Niña event continued into its third year. With this Victoria experienced high water availability and low water prices.
Release of post-trade opening report – July 2024 trade opportunities
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The first of the 2024–25 water year’s scheduled trade openings have completed.
The MDBA Barmah Choke trade opportunity opened for submissions on Monday 1 July 2024 at 8:30 am with a balance of 56,038.7 megalitres (ML) and was manually processed from 10 am until 6 pm. The Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity opened for submissions on Tuesday 2 July 2024 at 8:30 am with a balance of 84,861.90 ML and was manually processed from 10 am until 6 pm.
The Barmah Choke trade opening received a total of 161 trade applications for total volume of 136,528 ML. Of these applications, 87 were made to Victoria, and 74 were made to New South Wales. The new processing protocol (announced Tuesday 26 March 2024) resulted in 31 approved Victorian applications and 29 approved NSW applications.
The Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity received a total of 99 trade applications for a total volume of 235,254 ML. Of these applications, 23 were approved for a total volume of 84,835 ML.
Read more: Release of post-trade opening report – July 2024 trade opportunities
July 2024 Barmah Choke trade summary
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On Monday 1 July 2024, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority made 56,038.7 megalitres (ML) of allocation trade opportunity available from above to below the Barmah Choke. As in previous years, there was more demand than supply.
2024 marked the second year that Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) synchronised the timing of the Barmah Choke trade opportunity.
This year, Victoria and NSW implemented a new joint protocol for the processing of trade applications through the Barmah Choke. The new protocol meant that differences in each state’s processing approach and systems no longer influenced a trader’s success in accessing the available Barmah Choke trade opportunity. You can learn more about how the protocol worked here.
Submissions for Victorian traders opened from 8:30 am to 9 am AEST, with processing commencing from 10 am.
Changes for Water Market Transparency in Victoria
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The Victorian Government has listened to the community and is making new information about Victorian water markets available to ensure transparency and to continue to build trust in water markets. From 1 July 2024, the Minister for Water can now include names of individuals in public reports in specific circumstances.
The Minister for Water will publish two reports in January 2025 on the Victorian Water Register website. These are:
- Large Water Owners – the names of any business that owns more than two per cent of high reliability water shares in the Goulburn or the Murray systems above and below the Barmah Choke have been reported on since the 2019–20 irrigation season (Large Water Owners - Corporations). From 2025 onwards this report will also include names of individuals. This report will be updated annually.
- 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 the Murray water system during a water year. This report will be updated quarterly.
Read more: Changes for Water Market Transparency in Victoria
The 2022–23 Scientific Advisory Panel Reports for the lower Goulburn River and Lower Broken Creek
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The Goulburn to Murray trade review Scientific Advisory Panel (the Panel) has completed their 2022–23 annual report describing the environmental outcomes from the second year of a three-year environmental monitoring program. The monitoring program is designed to assess the environmental performance of the new long-term Operating Rules for the lower Goulburn River, and to determine whether the rules are working as expected to prevent the kinds of environmental damage seen in previous years due to sustained high flows over summer and autumn.
The wet conditions in 2022–23 resulted in low demand for inter-valley trade (IVT) deliveries. This means regulated flows in the lower Goulburn could be managed within or below the maximum allowed baseflows and pulse limits set by the rules. The largest driver of environmental change during this time period was the major flood event in the Goulburn River in spring 2022.
Reminder: Important information for water register trade activity in June and July 2024
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The July trade opportunity is scheduled for Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 July 2024. See below for essential information regarding the Barmah Choke Application Processing Protocol as well as closing and opening times.
If you require further information about any of the below information, reach out to the Victorian Water Register team on waterregister.support@delwp.vic.gov.au.
Read more: Reminder: Important information for water register trade activity in June and July 2024
Important information for the start of the 2024–25 water year and trade opening times for July 2024
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Opening allocation trade opportunities under different trade limits are listed below. Closing times are available here.
Important opening dates for traders, brokers, and irrigators:
Monday 1 July 2024
- The MDBA Barmah Choke trade opportunity opens for submission on Monday 1 July 2024 from 8:30 am to 9 am AEST and the manual processing duration will be from 10 am until 6 pm.
Tuesday 2 July 2024
- The Goulburn to Murray / Broken Trade Out and NSW to Vic trade opportunity opens for submission on Tuesday 2 July 2024 from 8:30 am to 9 am and the manual processing duration will be from 10 am until 6 pm.
Within each submission window, water market participants should submit all allocation trade applications through the MyWater and Broker Portals as usual. Each trade application will be queued in the order received by our online interface in the Victorian Water Register.
After the submission window closes, MyWater and Broker Portals will go offline until 6 pm for manual processing of applications. Applicants will receive notifications on the outcomes of trade applications as they are manually processed, by 6 pm on the day submitted. The system will return to its normal operation after 6 pm.
Information for application processing for the end of the 2023–24 water year
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The Victorian Water Register, including MyWater and the broker portal will close for EOY processing at 5 pm 28 June 2024 and will re-open at 8:30 am 1 July 2024.
Important information regarding times and dates for the 2024–25 trade opportunity openings will be provided in late May.
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: Information for application processing for the end of the 2023–24 water year
New Commonwealth requirements for Murray-Darling Basin water trades
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The Australian Government has announced new requirements for water trades within the Murray-Darling Basin, which will come into effect from 1 July 2024. These obligations will mean that all traders will face the same record keeping rules, regardless of which Basin state they trade in.
While Victoria already requires water traders to accurately provide the price and reason for trades on applicable trade forms, after 1 July 2024, Commonwealth legislation will mandate that water traders across the Basin record the price and reason for applicable trades and keep comprehensive records for a minimum of five years.
These changes are part of the Commonwealth’s actions in line with the Water Market Reform Roadmap, addressing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s inquiry into Murray-Darling Basin water markets. They are also part of a broader suite of water market reform measures outlined in the Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Act 2023 (Cth).
The new rules affect both buyers and sellers of ‘eligible tradeable water rights’, as well as water market intermediaries.
Examples of eligible tradeable water rights in Victoria include water shares, allocations, take and use licence, and place of take approvals.
The Commonwealth’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) have prepared a fact sheet that can be found here (scroll to 'download'). DCCEEW are the lead policy agency for the reforms and any queries can be directed to their Water Markets Team inbox at Water.Markets@dcceew.gov.au.
Read more: New Commonwealth requirements for Murray-Darling Basin water trades
Updated water trade information for Victoria
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July 2024 – Barmah Choke trade opportunity
The next Barmah Choke trade opportunity will occur on Monday 1 July 2024.
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) and WaterNSW have been working together to ensure better equity of access to trade opportunities and a more unified experience for customers from both Victoria and NSW. As part of these efforts, the two states will be implementing a new joint protocol for processing trade applications through the Barmah Choke on 1 July 2024.
Removal of the ‘grandfathered’ status exemption for tagged water entitlements
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From 1 July 2024, the take of all water under tagged water entitlements previously considered ‘grandfathered’ under section 12.23(2) of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan Water Trading Rules will be subject to allocation trade restrictions, consistent with all other tagged arrangements.
The removal of this exemption will occur from 1 July 2024 as amendments come into effect under Federal legislation through the commencement of the Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Act 2023.
Read more: Removal of the ‘grandfathered’ status exemption for tagged water entitlements
New interactive Victorian Water Accounts website launches with latest report
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DEECA is excited to announce the release of the new Victorian Water Accounts (VWA) website, with the 2021-22 accounts.
The user-friendly website allows the water sector and all water users to understand how much water is available in Victoria’s 29 river basins and 20 groundwater catchments using interactive graphs, maps, tables, and descriptions.
The VWA report is a trusted and reliable source of public data that provides accountability and transparency on water use and management in Victoria.
The VWA helps water policy and decision-makers make informed decisions about surface water, groundwater and water supply system information at local and state-wide scales.
It’s also a helpful tool for households, irrigators, and large industrial users to learn how Victoria sustainably manages water.
Read more: New interactive Victorian Water Accounts website launches with latest report
Release of post-trade opening report – Goulburn to Murray December 2023
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The December Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity is now completed. This was the third and final opening for the 2023–24 water year.
Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity opened on Friday 15 December 2023 at 12:00 PM–12:30 PM with an opening limit of about 12.2 GL, and applications were manually processed from 1:00 PM until 6:00 PM. 48 trade applications with a total of 61.3 GL were submitted by 12:30 PM on 15 December.
As part of Victoria’s ongoing commitment to water market transparency, new information about the outcomes of the Goulburn to Murray trade opportunity openings is now public through the post-trade opening report linked below.
Read more: Release of post-trade opening report – Goulburn to Murray December 2023