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Water access and trade

Licensing and trading under the Water Management Act 2000

The Water Management Act 2000 governs the issue of new water licences and the trade of water licences and allocations for those water sources (rivers, lakes and groundwater) in NSW where water sharing plans have commenced.

Water access licences under the Water Management Act 2000 differ from licences under the Water Act 1912. They:

  • provide a clearly–defined right to access water, separate from land ownership
  • are issued with a certificate of title
  • can be independently traded, mortgaged and leased
  • are granted in perpetuity meaning they do not have to be renewed
  • entitle the holder to extract a share of the available water
  • are issued separately from the approvals to construct water supply works and the approvals to use the water
  • are listed on the Water Access Licence Register administered by the Department of Lands, which provides an up–to–date record of all licences and any transactions against these licences
  • are tied to the rules in a water sharing plan.

Once a water sharing plan commences, all existing Water Act licences are converted to water access licences and approvals under the Water Management Act. For information about this process read the information sheet Conversion of water licences to water access licences and approvals (PDF 349KB).

For more information go to:

  • application forms and information on applying for new licences, approvals and water dealings.
  • dealings in water more information about water trading and other types of licence changes
  • Licence conversion checker - to check if a licence has been converted to a Water Management Act licence and approval
  • Water Access Licence Register - to search the legal record of a water access licence held by the Department of Lands – a small charge applies
  • register a security interest – for information and forms on registering a mortgage or company charge  over a Water Management Act licence
  • DWE Registers - for lists of all water access licences, works and use approvals and their conditions, water trading statistics and available water determinations (or announced allocations)

Information sheets are available on: