The next Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity will be made available in the Victorian Water Register on Friday 16 October 2026. This is the second of three Goulburn-to-Murray trade openings for the 2026-27 water year. Estimated volumes will be made public closer to the date.

The volume available for trade will be calculated and announced on 15 October 2026, with the trade opportunity becoming available on the following day, 16 October 2026.

Applications should be submitted during the submission window, between 7 am and 2 pm on Friday 16 October 2026.

• During the submission window, water market participants should submit trade applications through My Water or the Broker Portal. All trade applications during this period will be queued for later 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.

• Processing of applications, in the order determined by the randomisation process, will occur as soon as possible after randomisation.

Eligibility requirements for trade opening applications, together with information about the application, randomisation and processing arrangements, are available on the Trade Opening Processes page.

Customers are encouraged to lodge trade applications throughout the 7-hour submission window. A customer who submits a trade application at the start of the submission window will have the same chance of having their application succeed as a customer who submits at the end of the window.

Improving access to trade

In response to feedback received from customers and industry representatives, including through consultation undertaken as part of the Improving Access to Trade Project, from October 2026, the application submission window for each Goulburn-to-Murray trade opening will occur on the first business day following the 1 July, 15 October and 15 December seasonal determination announcements.

This updated approach ensures that any allocation increase announced through a seasonal determination will be available for trade when the application submission window opens. It affects the timing of the trade opening only and does not affect how the available trade volume is determined.

Further information

The volume available for trade will continue to be determined in accordance with the Trading Rules for Declared Water Systems.

Following each 1 July, 15 October and 15 December seasonal determination announcement, DEECA will calculate and publish the volume available for trade. The trade opportunity reflecting that calculated volume will then become available in the Victorian Water Register on the following business day, when applications can be submitted during the published submission window.

Applications received during the submission window will be managed in accordance with the published Trade Application Procedure, made under Rule 34 of the Trading Rules for Declared Water Systems.

Learn more about how the Goulburn-to-Murray trade opportunity is calculated.

If you require further information or assistance, please contact the Victorian Water Register team at waterregister.support@deeca.vic.gov.au