Water for the Future

Policy and programs

Market prices for Murray-Darling Basin Water Entitlements

A summary of publicly reported prices for water entitlements in the Murray-Darling Basin has been provided by independent consultants, GHD Hassall. This shows the volume weighted average prices paid for water entitlements across the Murray-Darling Basin and draws on information from the state water trade registers of Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia and from Murray Irrigation Limited's water exchange.

This data has been made available to assist irrigators and others to identify the prices that are being paid for various regulated water entitlements across the Basin. This information is updated at the end of each quarter, (March, June, September and December).

When irrigators are reviewing market prices, care is needed when using the information from the trade registers and water exchanges, as they include prices that do not represent commercial transactions. For example, the Murray Irrigation Limited water exchange includes prices of $1,600-$2,100 per megalitre (class C Water entitlements) which represents the cost of on-farm works to generate water efficiency savings funded through the Living Murray program. These prices have been excluded from the summary prices reported by GHD Hassall.

The very limited trade of water entitlements in the far north of NSW and Queensland (Barwon Darling, NSW Border Rivers, Condamine Balonne, Moonie, Warrego and Paroo) means that it is not possible to provide similar summary price reports for these regions. Irrigators looking to sell their water entitlements to the Australian Government from these regions should obtain independent market advice when deciding on the price they are willing to sell their water entitlements for. Inquiries on the rights and obligations of licenses should be directed to the issuing agency or company.

Download the market prices

Restoring the Balance in the MDB Program

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