- Water Market Rules 2009 provide protections for irrigators who want to permanently transform their irrigation right into a statutory entitlement to water
- Irrigation infrastructure operators must process transformations within a specified time period.
What the ACCC does
- We enforce water market rules.
- We publish guidance material for these water rules.
What the ACCC can't do
- We don’t regulate water allocation and entitlement markets.
- We don’t resolve individual disputes.
Water market rules offer some protections for irrigators
Sometimes irrigators want to permanently transform their irrigation right into a new, or onto an existing, statutory water access entitlement.
The power to transform irrigation rights comes from state legislation.
An irrigation right is a person’s right against an irrigation infrastructure operator to receive water.
An irrigation right can usually be transformed into a water access entitlement. This is a perpetual or ongoing entitlement, by or under a law of a state, to exclusive access to a share of the water resources of a water resource plan area.
The ACCC enforces water market rules that provide protections for those irrigators that want to permanently transform their irrigation right.
After irrigation rights are transformed, an irrigator can:
- hold the entitlement in their own name
- trade the entitlement
- be free of any trade restrictions imposed by an irrigation infrastructure operator.
Application of the rules
This guidance has been designed to help irrigation infrastructure operators understand if and how the water market rules apply to them. It is not legal advice.
Guidance on Water Market Rules - Application of the rules ( PDF 164.27 KB )
Transformation processes and transformation application fees
This guidance has been designed to support operators to develop and implement policies related to transformation processes and transformation application fees that comply with the water market rules. It is not legal advice.
Guidance on Water Market Rules - Transformation application processes and transformation application fees ( PDF 187.42 KB )
Security
This guidance has been designed to support irrigation infrastructure operators to develop and implement policies related to security that comply with the water market rules. It is not legal advice.
Guidance on Water Market Rules - Security ( PDF 166.23 KB )
Fixed network losses
This guidance has been designed to help irrigation infrastructure operators develop and implement policies related to fixed network losses that comply with the water market rules. It is not legal advice.
Guidance on Water Market Rules - Fixed network losses ( PDF 215.59 KB )
Dispute resolution
This guidance has been designed to support irrigation infrastructure operators to develop dispute resolution policies that comply with the water market rules. It is not legal advice.
Guidance on Water Market Rules - Dispute resolution ( PDF 184.64 KB )
Operators must process transformations within a specified time period
Irrigation infrastructure operators are obliged to process transformations within the time period specified in Rule 14 of the water market rules.
We have developed guidance to help irrigators and operators understand their rights and obligations under the water market rules. It does not form legal advice.
See How to count the days in the 'relevant period' for processing a transformation under Rule 14 of the water market rules ( PDF 39.8 KB )
Ask us a question on water
Contact us if you need further guidance on the water market rules or have a question about the ACCC regulation of water.