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DWE Home > Home > Water Management > Water access and trade > steps in water dealings

Water access and trading

Steps in water dealings

Changes to water licensing in water sharing plan areas improve the processes for buying, selling, transferring or amending your water licence. These general water dealings provide greater opportunities to maximise the commercial benefits of your water access licence.

What is involved in water dealing?

Water dealings under the Water Management Act 2000 are similar to land transactions with contracts between buyers and sellers, a public register of holders, and involvement from financial institutions where appropriate. There are three authorities involved in water dealings:

• the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) which administers water access licences in NSW;
• State Water which provides water to licence holders on regulated rivers, manages all water allocation accounts and charges for water used; and
• the Department of Lands which registers all water access licences and any changes to these licences on the Water Access Licence Register.

Each of the water dealings requires application, assessment and registration, with the exception of the transfer of licence holder and the term transfer of a licence (which only requires registration by Lands).

What are the steps?

The following section briefly outlines the processes you may need to go through in undertaking water dealings. The details of specific water dealings are outlined in individual information sheets, which explain fees, application forms and the registration process.

Pre-application contact

Before applying for a water dealing we suggest you contact your local DNR office to discuss your proposal. The department will:

• advise on the right types of dealing for your requirements;
• advise whether the dealing is consistent with the dealing principles and the rules in the water sharing plan;
• explain the processes and fees required to process the application;
• outline the likely conditions; and
• provide you with the appropriate forms and explanatory material.

Consents

For all dealings:

• the consent of all holders of the licence must be obtained or in the case of a transfer of a holding, all co-holders in “that holding”; and
• the consent of all holders of a registered security in the licence (eg financial institutions with a mortgage over the licence) must be provided to Lands to register the dealing.

Searches

When purchasing a water access licence it is important that you check:

• the current holders, entitlements and encumbrances of the licence and any notifications on the Water Access Licence Register held by Lands;
• water supply conditions with DNR; and
• water accounts and charges with State Water, including any outstanding charges.

It is important to note that the new holder of a water access licence is liable for any outstanding water charges that may be owed and this should be taken into account in the settlement.

Department of Lands, DNR, and State Water may charge fees for this information.

Contracts of sale and purchase

Contracts are recommended when there is a transfer of a licence, sale of the share component or term transfer. Contracts are also advisable for assignment of water allocation unless you are using a broker.

Once you are sure of the process, have consent from everyone and have contracts drawn up (where necessary) you should then fill in the appropriate form for the water dealing.

Assessment

You do not need to apply to the department to transfer the holder or for term transfer of a water access licence. These dealings only require registration by Lands once the sale or term transfer has gone through. For all other water dealings, your application will be assessed to ensure that it is consistent with the State's access licence dealing principles and the dealing rules specified in your water sharing plan or plans. In some cases this will require assessment of the local impacts.

The water sharing plans and access licence dealings principles are available on this website.

Settlement and Registration

After obtaining consent for the dealing, you will need to settle the contract. Settlement may involve signing transfer documents and exchange of the water access licence certificate. Where there are security interests (eg mortgages) over the licence, the security interest may either be discharged at settlement or the consent of the security interest holder given to the dealing.

After settlement, the transfer, security interest discharge or consent, access licence certificate/s and the notice of DNR consent (where required) must all be taken to Lands for registration. A dealing is legally effective only when it is registered on the Water Access Licence Register. The exceptions are water allocation assignments which are effective from the time the water allocation accounts of the buyer and seller are adjusted.

Once a dealing is registered, Lands will notify the changes to the Valuer-General's Office, Office of State Revenue and to DNR. Lands will issue a new water access licence certificate (in the case of subdivisions, consolidations and change in category) or the next edition of the certificate in the same way as land transactions. Lands charges fees for registering dealings and issuing the new or updated water access certificate.

Type of Dealing	Form	Information Sheet
I want to buy a water access licence	W-OIT TRANSFER Water Management Act 2000 -from Lands	Transferring a water access licence
I am about to buy or term transfer a water access licence and I want to move it to another location	— WOIT TRANSFER Water Management Act 2000 or W-OTTT Term Transfer - from Lands —Application to change a water access licence (under sections 71 O, 71 R, 71 S and 71 W of the Water Management Act 2000) – from DNR	Changing the location where a water access licence can be used
I want to re-distribute my water access licence between my properties	Application to change a water access licence (under sections 71 O, 71 R, 71 S and 71 W of the Water Management Act 2000) – from DNR	Changing the location where a water access licence can be used
I want to sell or buy allocation water within NSW	Allocation assignment forms - from State Water for the regulated rivers or from DNR for groundwater	Assigning water allocation
I want to sell or buy allocation water interstate	Allocation assignment forms - from State Water	Assigning water allocation
I want to divide my water access licence into two or more licences	Application to subdivide and change a water access licence (under section 71 O, 71 P(1a), 71 R, 71 S and 71 W of the Water Management Act 2000) – from DNR	Subdividing a water access licence
I want to subdivide my water access licence and move the new licence/s to another location	Application to subdivide and change a water access licence (under section 71 O, 71 P(1a), 71 R, 71 S and 71 W of the Water Management Act 2000) – from DNR	Subdividing a water access licence
I want to amalgamate two or more of my licences into one	Application to consolidate water access licences (under section 71 P (1b) of the Water Management Act 2000) (Word file) (PDF file)	Consolidating water access licences
I want to change the category on my licence	Application to change a water access licence (under section 71 O, 71 S, 71 R and 71 W of the Water Management Act 2000) – from DNR	Changing the category on a water access licence
I want to sell or buy a water licence interstate	Contact a DNR licensing officer in the Murray-Murrumbidgee regions.
I want to sell or buy only the share component (all or part) of a water access licence	Application to assign share component between access licences (under section 71 Q of the Water Management Act 2000) (Word file) (PDF file)	Assigning share component
I want to rent my water access licence to someone else for a period of time	W-OTTT Term Transfer (Section 71N Water Management Act 2000) - from Lands	Term transfer of a water access licence

Where do I get more information?

Department of Natural Resources
Contact the licensing officer at your local Department of Natural Resources office
the Water Dealings Officer on 1800 353 104 or
e-mail: wma.info@dnr.nsw.gov.au
Refer to the individual information sheets on each type of dealing available on this website or from regional offices.

Department of Lands
1 Prince Albert Road
Queens Square
GPO Box 15
Sydney NSW 2001
Telephone: 9228 6713
Facsimilie: 9233 4357
Email: feedback@lands.nsw.gov.au
website: www.lands.nsw.gov.au

State Water
For general enquiries contact your State Water Customer Service Officer, or
State Water
PO Box 1018 Dubbo
NSW 2830
Telephone: 02 6841 2000
Facsimile: 02 6884 2603
email: statewater@statewater.com.au
website: www.statewater.com.au

Note: This information does not constitute formal legal advice.