The Government, through Water for Victoria has committed to actively monitoring water markets to ensure that they continue to operate effectively.
A key task in this is an annual audit of the water brokers who use the Water Register’s Broker Portal/API (“the portal”).
The audit for the 2015-16 financial year is now complete.
Read more: Annual audit of brokers that use the Broker Portal/API
The Victorian Water Register will be closed while we complete the end of year accounting to roll over from the 2016-17 water year to 2017-18.
On-line services will be suspended from 5pm AEST on Friday 30 June 2017 until 10am AEST on Monday 10 July 2017.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) wants to improve its delivery of water information to puts its users’ needs first.
DELWP is currently undertaking a user needs analysis of water information products.
The Victorian Water Trading Annual Report for 2015-16 is now available.
See the Minister for Water’s media release here.
This report summarises all water trades recorded in the Victorian Water Register for the 2015-16 year. It presents information about the number, volume, price and location of trades for water shares, allocation, and groundwater and surface water take and use licences.
At 10.00am this morning (8 July 2016) we will open the Victorian Water Register including access to 'My Water' and online allocation trading.
We have now completed all necessary end of financial year water accounting tasks. We trust there has been minimal disruption to your business operations and we appreciate your support during this process.
On 17 June 2016, the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) announced that the current restriction on trading water from upstream of the Barmah Choke to buyers downstream of the Choke will continue into the 2016-17 water year.
As explained in the MDBA's media release, the volume that can be traded through the Choke will be reset on 1 July 2016, with an annual adjustment made to take account of water savings transferred to the Snowy scheme. This will result in an opening balance close to 26,000 megalitres available to be traded from above to below the Barmah Choke.
Any further net trade above this balance will only be possible if the same or greater net volume of water has been traded from downstream to upstream of the choke first.
The Victorian Water Register will be closed while we complete the end of year accounting to roll over from the 2015-16 water year to 2016-17.
On-line services will be suspended from 5pm AEST on 30 June 2016 until 10am AEST on 8 July 2016.
If you are planning to trade water, you need to keep an eye on the status of the trade limits that might affect you.
Allocation trade from New South Wales to Victoria is limited to the lesser of a net annual volume of 200 gigalitres (GL) or a volume that keeps the risk of spill in Victoria’s share the Murray system below 50 per cent. The spill risk limit currently allows more than 200 GL of trade, and so the net annual volume of 200 GL applies unless advised otherwise.
A new report on trends in the Victorian water market is now available, providing important insights into current trends in water trade as well as factors impacting the price of allocation water.
Early in the 2015/16 irrigation season, irrigation communities in northern Victoria expressed concerns about high water prices, and asked for information about the impact of environmental water recovery and the role of speculators in influencing water prices.
This report provides an analysis of data in the Victorian Water Register on trends in the water market over the past 10 to 15 years, and trade patterns between different water users in recent seasons.
The annual audit of water brokers who use the Water Register’s Broker Portal/API (referred to as the portal) for making allocation trades online has been completed for the 2014-15 financial year.
The portal allows brokers to lodge allocation trades online on behalf of their customers at a reduced cost for near-instant processing in most cases. In 2014-15 this service facilitated 9,170 allocation trades (65 percent of all trades).
By 2014-15 18 brokers had entered into an agreement with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) to use the portal. The Agreement specifies requirements that the brokers must comply with when using the portal.
Read more: 2015 Audit of brokers that use the Broker Portal/API
The Victorian Water Register will be upgraded on Sunday. During that time the register website will not be available. This includes all My Water services - broker portal, online allocation trading and online BCL applications.
Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
The Victorian Water Trading Annual Report for 2014-15 is now available.
This report provides the definitive point for referencing Victorian water trade information and summarises all water trades recorded in the Victorian Water Register during 2014-15. It presents information about the number, volume, price and location of trades for water shares, allocation, and groundwater and surface water take and use licences.
Summary information about all water entitlements and use recorded in the Victorian Water Register is now available in the report below.
Landholders, drillers and consultants can now apply online for licences to construct water bores (BCLs) for domestic and stock use, investigation and observation.
It is now easier, faster and cheaper to get a licence with same day approvals in most cases.
Applications are automatically processed and licences issued on the spot in most cases.
At 10.00am this morning (6 July 2015) we will open the Victorian Water Register including access to 'My Water' and online allocation trading.
We have now completed all necessary end of financial year water accounting tasks. We trust there has been minimal disruption to your business operations and we appreciate your support during this process.
The Ministerial Guidelines for Groundwater Licensing and the Protection of High Value Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems are now available here.
Applications for new groundwater entitlements or to trade groundwater will now be assessed against these guidelines so that high value groundwater dependent ecosystems are protected.
Read more: Release of Ministerial Guidelines for Protection of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems
The Victorian Water Accounts 2013-14 is now available.
This report is the 11th in the annual series, and summarises Victoria’s water availability, distribution and use for the 2013-14 year. Data in the report is provided by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, water businesses, catchment management authorities, the Essential Services Commission, the Bureau of Meteorology, and major water users.
A copy of this report for the previous 2012-13 year is available here.
On 10 June 2015, the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) announced that trading water from above the Barmah Choke to below the choke will continue to be restricted into the 2015-16 water year.
As explained in the MDBA's media release this will mean that on 1 July 2015 no allocation will be able to be traded from upstream to downstream of the Choke until there has been equivalent trade in the opposite direction.
Trading through the Choke
If you plan to trade water through the Choke, you or your broker need to keep an eye on any trading limits that apply to you.
The Victorian Water Register will be closed while we complete end of financial year accounting.
On-line services will be suspended from 5pm 30 June 2015 for the end of financial year. Interstate allocation trades submitted via the Broker Portal or the Broker API will be processed manually from 19 June until 30 June 2015.
The following on-line services will not be available:
The following reports will also not be available:
All services will be available once again at 10:00am on 6 July 2015.
In relation to trading allocation before end of financial year please note;
Allocation trade out of the Broken system will close for this season on 31 March 2015. Trade applications received after 31 March will not be approved.
This closing date is part of the trading rule introduced on 1 July 2014 which allows allocation trade from the Broken to downstream systems subject to the following limits: