Water for the Future

Policy and programs

Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin


Water entitlement purchasing in the Murray-Darling Basin

The health of the Murray-Darling Basin is in decline. Available water is currently over-allocated, and this problem is likely to become worse as water availability declines due to climate change.

The Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin Program is an important component of the Water for the Future initiative. The Australian Government has committed $3.1 billion to the Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin program to purchase water for the environment.

2011-12 Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin water purchasing program

The targeted water purchasing initiative was developed to provide an opportunity for eligible irrigators who wish to sell their water entitlements to the Australian Government with the chance to do so, whilst minimising the effect of water trade to the environment on shared irrigation delivery networks.

The targeted water purchasing initiative in the southern connected Murray-Darling Basin closed on Friday 27 April 2012. Assessment of applications received under this initiative has been finalised and letters advising applicants of the outcome of their sell offer have been dispatched.

This initiative received strong interest from sellers, with 782 conforming bids submitted to the select tender.

The initiative had an allocated budget of up to $140 million and was fully subscribed.

As a result of this initiative, the Australian Government will pursue the purchase of more than 117 GL of permanent water entitlements. However, these purchases are subject to legal due diligence checks before a water sale contract will be issued. Hence, the volume purchased is subject to change. Full information on the volume of entitlements purchased will be added to the department's website once they are secured by legally binding contracts..

The total volume of water entitlements pursued from water purchase tenders in 2011-12 was 121 GL. This is approximately 47 per cent of the volume of purchases pursued in the preceding financial year.

Information on average prices paid in this initiative is available via the 'Average Prices' link below.

All enquiries should be directed to Freecall 1800 218 478 or emailed to waterpurchasing@environment.gov.au.

Please monitor regional media and this website for news of any future water purchasing initiatives.

Future Tenders

2012-13 Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin water purchasing program

Details of the 2012-13 Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin water purchasing program have not yet been announced.

Please monitor regional media and this website for news of any future water purchasing tenders under the program.

All enquiries should be directed to Freecall 1800 218 478 or emailed to waterpurchasing@environment.gov.au

Average prices of offers pursued from recent water purchase tenders

At the conclusion of each water purchase tender, the Department uploads price information to this program website. These prices have been publicly released to provide greater transparency to the tender process and to assist irrigators who may be considering placing a sell offer into future tenders in understanding recent market prices.

The most recent price information on water purchases is as follows:

Progress of Water Recovery through the Restoring the Balance program

Study on the impacts of water purchasing

In June 2008, the Department commissioned the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) to examine the future impacts of the Australian Government's water purchase program on water markets, regional economies and communities in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Memorandum of Understanding with NSW on water trade

On 24 September 2009 the Australian and NSW governments announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) allowing NSW farmers to sell their water entitlements to the Federal Government. The MOU provides a clear plan for future water purchase in NSW until 2012-13, and will aid the completion of trades in NSW under the Australian Government's 2008-09 water purchase tenders.

Obtaining approval for water purchases in Victoria

One issue that may delay approval is the four per cent limit on net trade out of irrigation regions in Victoria. Sellers need to resolve for themselves whether this issue affects them.

Sellers do not need a certificate exempting them from the four per cent limit to lodge an application under the Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin program. However, if they believe the completion of their trade is likely to be affected by the four per cent trade limit, it would be in their interests to contact the Northern Victorian Irrigation Renewal Project (NVIRP) to determine whether their entitlement is eligible for an exemption from the four per cent limit. Information on the process by which Exemption Evidence Notices will be issued can be obtained from NVIRP via their website (www.nvirp.com.au ) or by calling 1300 068 477. Further information on this issue can be found in the Guidelines and Information Package for the Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin program.

Water purchasing by catchment in the Murray-Darling Basin+*

MDB
Catchments in the Murray-Darling Basin Darling Paroo Warrego Macquarie-Bogan Castlereagh Namoi Gwydir Border Rivers Moonie Lachlan Murrumbidgee NSW Murray Vic Murray Kiewa Ovens Broken Goulburn Campaspe Loddon Avoca Wimmera - Mallee South Australia Murray Condamine-Balonne

Irrigation catchments

  1. Avoca
  2. Border Rivers
  3. Broken
  4. Campaspe
  5. Castlereagh
  6. Condamine-Balonne
  7. Darling (Barwon-Darling)
  8. Goulburn
  9. Gwydir
  10. Kiewa
  11. Lachlan
  12. Loddon
  13. Macquarie-Bogan
  14. Moonie
  15. Murrumbidgee
  16. Namoi
  17. NSW Murray
  18. *Ovens
  19. Paroo
  20. SA Murray
  21. *Vic Murray
  22. Warrego
  23. Wimmera-Mallee

+ The water purchasing catchments on this map are based on the Murray-Darling Basin River catchments with modifications to catchments along the Murray River to accommodate trading practicalities.

* To protect the privacy and confidentiality of individual sellers, purchasing information in catchments with less than five offers being pursued have been combined with information from nearby catchments with similar characteristics.

Related information

More information

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