> Water and River Murray > Water projects, plans and security > Water legislation and policies

Landscape South Australia Act

Water resources in South Australia are managed under the:

Landscape South Australia Act 2019.The Act provides a framework for the sustainable and integrated management of the state’s water resources including surface water (such as dams), groundwater (such as bores) and watercourse water. It mandates establishment and maintenance of the Water Register, which is also administered by DEW.
Landscape South Australia (Water Register) Regulations 2020. The Regulations came into effect on 1 July 2022. They refine and clarify the rules that govern the creation of security interests and caveats in relation to water instruments and also prescribed other administrative improvements to the Water Register.

What's in the Act?

Water resources are ‘prescribed’ in areas where there is a high demand for water. Prescribing enables planning for these water resources that considers current and future water needs. It also enables a licensing system of tradeable water licences, which helps to ensure water is used within sustainable limits. Water allocation plans set out transparent rules and limits for each prescribed resource, which are developed in consultation with the community and stakeholders, so that water users have the confidence to make long-term investment decisions.

In areas where there are limited risks to the water resources, there are high-level principles in statutory regional landscape plans and specific principles to guide water affecting activities, which work together to protect the resources and dependent ecosystems.

Water management frameworks are further defined through regional landscape planning including Regional Landscape Plans, water allocation plans for prescribed water resources and water affecting activity control policies.

The department and regional landscape boards are the key bodies that administer water resource management provisions of the Act. Other agencies within South Australia and nationally deliver legislated water management functions too.

Rights to take and use water

All water taken and used from surface water and groundwater resources in South Australia is regulated under the Act. Rights in relation to the ability of a person to take and use water include:

water licences and water access entitlements
stock and domestic rights (in locations where these uses are not prescribed)
Notices of Authorisation under s105 of the Act.

Water licences and water access entitlements

When a water resource is prescribed, the Minister for Environment and Water issues water licences (including to existing users) which provide the holder with an ongoing right to take water.

Once a person has a water licence with a specified volume or an entitlement share, they have a right to be allocated a volume of water. In some areas, a holder of a water access entitlement may also be entitled to carryover their water allocation to a future water use year.

When a water resource is first prescribed, existing users of water have the right to apply for a water licence and be granted a volume of water based on an assessment of their historical or anticipated needs. If the licensing process in your area is complete, there is no unallocated water and you would like to acquire a water licence or allocation, you may look into purchasing these on the water market by engaging in water trade.

The transfer of water licence or allocation from one person to another is subject to rules under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019 and the transfer principles of the relevant Water Allocation Plan that the water right relates to.

Water users who choose to do business with government via mywater are able to see and manage their water entitlement and their annual water allocation online.

The department is responsible for issuing water licences to take water on behalf of the Minister for Environment and Water.

The process for licensing water use may be at different stages for different prescribed water resources and some water resources may have volumes of unallocated water that may be made available for allocation in the future. For specific information about the water licensing process in your region contact your regional Landscape Board.

Unbundling of water rights

In 2009, amendments were made to the Natural Resources Management Act 2004 (now replaced by the Landscape South Australia Act 2019) to meet requirements of the National Water Initiative to separate or ‘unbundle’ water rights and make the transfer of water rights easier.

Water rights relating to the River Murray Prescribed Watercourse, the Southern Basins and Musgrave Prescribed Wells Area and the Far North Prescribed Wells Area have been unbundled.

Transitional arrangements enable the ‘bundled’ licences to continue to operate.

This means that for all other water resources across South Australia, the licence holder’s rights for taking and use of water continue to be ‘bundled’ and are authorised in one licence. Licence holders who have been authorised (via a bundled licence) to take water in a transitional area will now be able to see and manage their water entitlement and their annual water allocation via mywater.

As water allocation plans are reviewed and amended over time, unbundling is considered. The decision around whether to unbundle water rights is made depending on how best to manage the water resource in consultation with local communities.

Stock and domestic rights

Landowners or occupiers who have access to water adjoining or on their land may be permitted to take water for stock and domestic purposes (without a licence). For example, this may include using water from a dam or well to water a domestic garden, for personal household use or for drinking water for stock not subject to intensive farming.

This right is defined under section 100(5) of the Landscape South Australia Act 2019 and a person does not require a licence or other authorisation to take and use water for these purposes. This means that when a water resource is prescribed, water can continue to be taken for stock and domestic purposes without a water licence, in the majority of situations.

However, in some areas, a water licence may be required to take water for stock and domestic purposes. For example, a water licence may be required to take water for stock and domestic purposes in the River Murray Prescribed Watercourse, the Northern Adelaide Plains and to take water from dams greater than 5ML in capacity in the Western Mount Lofty Ranges Prescribed Water Resources Area.

If you want to take water for stock and domestic purposes but do not have a water licence, you can contact your local Water Licensing office or Landscape Board for more information about the rules that apply in your part of South Australia.

Notice of Authorisation under s105 of Act

The Minister for Environment and Water may specifically authorise the taking and use of water from a prescribed water resource for a particular purpose via a notice of authorisation issued under section 105 of the Act (formerly s128 of the Natural Resources Management Act 2004). For example, general statewide authorisations apply for firefighting, road making and cultural water purposes while others apply specifically in respect of taking roof runoff or operating managed aquifer recharge schemes.

These rights are subject to the conditions of the notice of authorisation and may be ongoing or expire at a specified date.

Property status of water rights

Importantly, nobody owns water in South Australia. Rather, the Landscape South Australia Act 2019 provides rights in relation to the ability of a person to access, take and use water.

Riparian or common law rights to take water (e.g. water rights based on land ownership or possession) that may once have existed have been extinguished by the legislation.

Under the Act, water licences (including volumetric licences and water access entitlements) and water allocations are personal property that can be transferred independently of land.

These water rights may have a monetary value on the water market and some can be traded. Because they are a form of personal property right, some water rights created in accordance with the Act may be leased, bequeathed and used as collateral for commercial finance.

Land and water rights

In South Australia, all water licences have been separated from land (real property). While a person may choose to transfer a water licence in parallel with an agreement to transfer land, there are separate transfer processes and approvals required to affect the transfer of the water licence.

Transfers of land rights are executed through the land title system. More information can be found here.

Transfers of water rights are executed through the Water Register, which is administered by the Department for Environment and Water in accordance with the Landscape South Australia Act 2019.

Importantly, in order to use water at a particular location in a particular manner a person may also need to have appropriate approvals (either in the form of a water resource works approval and/or site use approval in unbundled areas, or as conditions on a bundled water licence).

In regions where water rights have been unbundled, other approvals relating to the use of water (water resource works approval and/or site use approval) are attached to land. Where there is a change in landholder, a change in approval holder needs to be sought to reflect this.

In regions where water rights have not been unbundled (transitional areas), conditions to use water are attached to water licences. These approvals thus, transfer automatically as a part of a relevant licence transfer application in transitional areas.

Approvals may also be required to undertake certain activities that impact on water resources called water affecting activities.

Water trading rules

The Act and water allocation plans for prescribed water resources provide the legislative framework for managing South Australia’s water resources, including trading rules.

Part 8 of the Act contains general provisions relating to the transfer of water rights, while water allocation plans provide specific transfer criteria that generally aims to ensure that transfers occur in a manner that is sustainable in the context of the water resource, that the quality and quantity of water resources are maintained and that impacts of taking and use on the environment, and other water users are appropriately managed.

River Murray water trading rules

There are a range of rules operating together to govern water trade in the River Murray and the broader southern-connected Murray-Darling Basin, including the following:

rules in the overarching Commonwealth Basin Plan, which all Basin States must comply with
rules in state water planning or water sharing instruments such as water allocation plans in South Australia and water sharing plans in New South Wales. The state rules are tailored according to the specific circumstances of each water resource; the legislation that governs those water resources and the rights to take and use water that are made available in each water resource.

The Basin Plan water trading rules commenced on 1 July 2014 and aim to:

reduce restrictions on trade
improve transparency and access to information
improve market confidence through a more effective water market.

The trading rules for the water resources in the South Australian portion of the Murray-Darling Basin region are contained in water allocation plans (listed below) and are consistent with the Basin Plan trading rules:

To see water allocations plans for prescribed water resources in your local region, visit the 'Water' section of your Landscape Board.

The trading rules for the South Australian River Murray are contained in Chapter 7 (Transfers of water access entitlements and water allocations) of the Water Allocation Plan for the River Murray Prescribed Watercourse.

These are consistent with the Basin Plan water trading rules and the department has implemented a range of initiatives to meet the Basin Plan’s objectives including in relation to:

making amendments to rules in the Water Allocation Plan for the River Murray Prescribed Watercourse to lift restrictions on trade or clarify trading rules
adopting internal policies to ensure water announcements are timely and sensitive water market information is appropriately managed
requiring trade applicants to supply price information on transfer form and improving price data provision
publishing information about the Minister’s trading of water for the environment for transparency.

For more information about the River Murray water market trading rules and arrangements please contact the Water Licensing team in Berri on (08) 8595 2053.

ACCC Murray-Darling Basin Water Market Inquiry

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was directed on 7 August 2019 to conduct an inquiry into markets for tradeable water rights in the Murray-Darling Basin, the Murray-Darling Basin water markets inquiry.

This inquiry is now completed with the ACCC publishing its final report at 26 March 2021.

The ACCC made 29 recommendations grouped in the themes of:

market integrity and conduct
trade processing and water market information
market architecture
governance of the Basin water markets.

We are reviewing the findings in conjunction with other Basin governments and will develop a joint response and implementation strategy with due consideration to financial and water management implications, as well as existing reforms already underway in South Australia.