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DWE Home > Home > Water Management > Water access and trade > Licensing and trading under the Water Act 1912

Department of Water and Energy

Licensing and trading under the Water Act 1912

In those water sources (rivers, lakes and groundwater aquifers) in NSW where water sharing plans have not been gazetted and commenced, the Water Act 1912 still governs the issue of new water licences and the trade of water licences and allocations. In general the Water Act licence is tied to the land as the licence covers both the right to take a specific volume of water as well as the works to be constructed. Most Water Act licences for commercial purposes also have to be renewed every five years. The Water Act also has different licensing procedures and application forms from the Water Management Act 2000.

Go to Where does the Water Management Act apply? to find out whether a water source comes under the Water Management Act or the Water Act in terms of water licences.

Applying for a water licence under the Water Act (PDF 70KB) an information sheet explaining the process.

Water Trading under the Water Act (PDF 66KB) an information sheet covering the buying and selling of water allocations (temporary transfers) and water licences (permanent transfers).

Application fees (PDF 60KB) an information sheet covering the application fees for water licences and water transfers under the Water Act 1912.

Application forms for new licences:

• for a Surface Water Licence (under section 10 of the Water Act 1912) (PDF 154KB)
• for a Joint Water Supply Scheme (under section 20 of the Water Act 1912) (PDF 270KB) – this form is used for those who wish to develop joint works to supply a group of landholders from a surface water source/s.
• for a groundwater licence (under Part 5 of the Water Act 1912) (PDF 240KB).

Application forms for water trading:

• for a permanent transfer of surface water rights (PDF 116KB)
• for temporary surface water transfers – Note: these are administered by State Water and under the Water Act only permitted in the regulated Border Rivers, Peel River, Patterson River, Brogo/Bega River, Iron Pot and Eden Creek - individual application forms for these rivers are available from the State Water website
• Temporary groundwater transfers – are only available in the major inland alluvial aquifers and are subject to local conditions – contact the your local DWE office for the specific application form
• Permanent transfer of groundwater rights – are only available in the major inland alluvial aquifers and are subject to local conditions – contact the your local DWE office for the specific application form.