Changes to Victorian water trading rules
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Some of Victoria’s water trading rules are changing from 1 July 2014.
The Victorian Parliament has amended Victoria's Water Act 1989 and the Minister for Water has amended the Trading Rules for Declared Systems.
This puts Chapter 12 of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan into action in line with agreements signed in 2013 by the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments.
From 1 July 2014 -
- anyone can buy water allocation
- holders of an allocation account will not change when water shares are linked to the account or removed from it
- anyone can receive a limited term transfer of a water share
- the seller must state the agreed price of the trade
- many application forms are updated
- the 4% limit on water share trade out of an irrigation area is removed.
These changes are happening so that Victoria can meet its obligations under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. They are also part of continuing efforts to make water transactions easier and cheaper for irrigators and entitlement holders.
The changes will apply in northern and southern Victoria from 1 July 2014.
What do these changes mean?
For most people, the changes will not be noticeable, and most of the rules stay as they are. The changes will have no effect unless someone is doing a trade, and even then, most things are not changing.
Freeing up the rules for buying allocation means that
• anyone can buy water allocation without a limit on the amount
• people can easily apply for a new allocation account online or by filling in a form and there is no fee.
Fixed holders of allocation accounts means that
• the holders of an allocation account will be fixed, and not change when water shares are linked to the account or removed from it
• there will be more flexibility to link a water share to an allocation account held by other people
• the fee for an application to link a water share to an allocation account will be $80, which is a reduction on the current fee in some cases.
News items emailed to Subscribers
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New items are now automatically emailed to Victorian Water Register subscribers.
Key end of year dates
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On-line services will be suspended from 5pm 30 June 2014 for the end of financial year.
The Victorian Water Register will be closed while we complete end of financial year accounting and implement changes to Victorian water trading rules arising from the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
Application fees for 2014-15
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Victorian Water Register fees for some applications will increase on Tuesday 1 July 2014. For more information click here.
Changes on the Broken effective 1 July
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Allocation trade and carryover rules on the Broken are changing from 1 July this year.
The Minister for Water has approved changes to the trading rules to allow limited allocation trade out of the Broken system.
The Minister has also approved changes to Broken carryover so that water can be carried over only against high-reliability water shares, and not low-reliability water shares.
Carryover Calculator updated
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The Carryover Calculator has been updated to include the Murray system limit on the volume of water allocation you can carry over into 2014-2015. This limit applies at the end of this season on 30 June.
Click on the icon below to try the updated calculator.
Farmers talk about carryover
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Goulburn system dairy farmers Craig Lister and Don Stewart and Steve and Margot Henty on the Murray talk about how they plan and manage carryover through drought and wetter years on a series of new carryover videos now available.
Click here to watch the new carryover videos.
Understanding Victoria's water budget
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New information is now available explaining how allocations are determined and why there have been no allocations to low-reliability entitlements on the Goulburn and Murray systems this season.
This information on how Victoria's water budget works is provided by the Northern Victorian Resource Manager and the Water & Natural Resources Group of the Department of Environment and Primary Industries.
Download PDF Understanding Victoria's water budget (PDF - 189 Kb)
Welcome to the new website
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Victoria’s Water Register has a new streamlined website.
The website has been redesigned so it’s easier to find what you’re looking for.
User-friendly versions are also available for mobile phones and tablets to get essential water information wherever you are.
Trading improvements cut red tape
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Improvements to the Victorian Water Register have been launched to make important water transactions cheaper, easier and faster for irrigators and other water users.
Download PDF Walsh - Water trading improvements cut irrigator red tape (PDF - 45 Kb)
The changes include:
- Online allocation trading with near instant approval, and application fees cut by nearly 50%
- Simpler processes for customers selling land and water together, reorganising the farm within a family or looking to streamline their water services
2012-13 water trading report
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The Victorian Annual Water Trading Report 2012/13 is now available.
Download PDF Victorian Annual Water Trading Report 2012/13 (version 2 - 9 Dec 2013) (PDF - 1,521 Kb)Copies of reports from previous years are available here.
Updated information for water share buyers
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The document below provides information for water share buyers on the potential impact of carryover recorded against a water share on either:
- allocations available under that water share in the current season, or
- any above entitlement storage charges levied against that water share in the current season.
Water use by irrigators, towns & the environment
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Summary information on water availability for irrigators, town supplies and the environment in northern Victoria during the 2012-13 season, and how it was used, is now available in the report below.
Download PDF 2012-13 Water Entitlements allocations and use summary (PDF - 392 Kb)
Allocation account statements for 2012-13
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Allocation account statements for 2012-13 are now being mailed to Victorian entitlement holders. For more information click here.
Net trade from NSW to Victoria
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Northern Victoria water user trends
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Some new information on water use trends in northern Victoria over the last ten years is now available here.
This includes information on tracking use against Murray-Darling Basin caps, and a map of changes in water use in Goulburn-Murray Water's irrigation districts.
Carryover trade-off decisions
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A discussion paper is now available highlighting some of the trade-offs to consider in making carryover decisions. It uses some simple case studies to illustrate some of the financial costs and benefits of decisions to carry over or trade unused allocation in different scenarios.
Download PDF Understanding the trade-offs associated with carryover decisions (PDF - 307 Kb)
More information on carryover is available in questions and answers here.
Carryover Calculator 2013/14
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A new version of the carryover calculator for 2013/14 is now available. This updated calculator includes the new cap on carryover that applies on the Goulburn and Campaspe this year and on the Murray from June 2014.
Click on the icon below to try the new calculator.
Carryover resources added
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Some videos are now available from a recent presentation to irrigators in northern Victoria on carryover and the changes from the recent review of carryover rules in the Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe systems.
Click here to watch the carryover videos.
Key year end dates
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Key dates for year-end trade applications in northern Victoria are as follows:
Allocation trades:
Submit by 14 June to guarantee processing by 30 June. Trades submitted later will be done as soon as possible, and may be processed by 30 June.
Water share applications:
For processing in the 2012/13 season - Must be received by 14 June.
For processing in the 2013/14 season - Any application received after 14 June that affects the 4% limit will be held in date order for processing in July once the 4% limits reopen. There is no ballot this year.