Water opportunities for Aboriginal peoples in NSW–Registration of Interest

Introduction

Plant icon The NSW Government is offering free water access licences to eligible Aboriginal peoples. You can register your interest in some of this water. 
About this Registration of Interest process 

In NSW, the right to take and access water is often provided through water access licences (WALs) which are granted under the Water Management Act 2000 (WM Act). A WAL gives its holder the right to a share in the available water in a specific water source (this is known as a share component).


If a WAL holder wants to change the share of available water in that WAL, or to buy or sell a WAL, they will usually do that by water trading on the open market.


The NSW Government is committed to Closing the Gap, including developing a bespoke jurisdictional target for water. Priority 2 of the NSW Water Strategy 2021 is to ‘Recognise Aboriginal peoples’ water rights and values, and increase access to, and ownership of water for cultural, social, educational, and economic purposes’. Priority 1 in the NSW Aboriginal Water Strategy is to ‘Increase Aboriginal peoples’ access to and ownership of water to support cultural, social, economic and intergenerational outcomes’.


The Minister for Water is currently holding a number of WALs that have been surrendered. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (the department) is conducting this Registration of Interest (ROI) process for surrendered WALs to help increase Aboriginal ownership of water.


The department proposes to offer the shares on these WALs to eligible Aboriginal legal entities (as defined in the eligibility criteria below), either by granting them new WALs containing some or all of the available shares or by transferring some or all of the available shares to their existing WALs.


Completing this form will register your nominated legal entity's interest to receive some of the WALs or some of the available shares in those WALs, but participating in the ROI process and registering an interest doesn’t guarantee that the legal entity will receive a WAL or any shares, or the number of shares in which the entity registered interest.


If you are an Aboriginal legal entity and would like to participate in this ROI process and register your interest to receive one of these WALs or some of the available shares associated with those WALs, you will need to carefully review and complete this form. 


We refer to the legal entity that participates in this ROI process as "you" or the "participant".


This form will ask you to:

  • prove your eligibility to be granted a WAL or a water share under this ROI process
  • specify your interest in specific water sources
  • provide some warranties and declarations about your participation in the ROI process.

Specific purpose access licences

This ROI process does not deal with specific purpose access licences (SPALs), which are a kind of WAL created for a specific purpose and are sometimes granted to Aboriginal peoples or entities. If you would like more information on SPALs, including information about how to apply, please refer to the department’s website.

Need help?


If you have any questions about this Registration of Interest (ROI) process, or about water management in NSW more generally, we encourage you to check the key messages and list of ‘frequently asked questions’ on the ROI webpage. If you cannot find the answer you are looking for, or would like to talk to someone, please get in touch with us. We’re here to help, with the information and support you need.


You can book a  virtual meeting with DCCEEW Water staff to discuss any specific questions about your situation.


You can contact us in the way that works best for you, whether it’s during business hours (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm), or via voicemail message or email outside these times. We will work to respond to you within 5 business days and appreciate your patience while you wait.

Section A – Declaration and acknowledgment 


This means that if I receive a WAL(s) or water shares as a result of this ROI, I will become responsible to pay any further fees and charges associated with that WAL(s) or any water shares and any dealings with it.











Section B – Application details and eligibility 



(State what type of legal entity the participant is, for example, corporation, incorporated association. Please note that this ROI process is not open to individuals or sole traders.)




If unsure what this means select yes to see options.

Unfortunately, you are not eligible to register interest. 


If you answered “Yes” to any of the above you will need to upload the relevant evidence below that you are an Aboriginal-controlled entity and satisfy the criteria that you have selected above. The type of evidence that you need to provide to us depends on what type of entity you are. It may include, where applicable, evidence of the following: 

  • the organisation’s ACCO status including evidence of registration with a NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW, National Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisation, Supply Nation or the NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce
  • Certificate of Incorporation, or is an Aboriginal Land Council in NSW
  • Registration with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) 
  • Establishment as a Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC) under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) 
  • the organisation’s ASIC Company Extract, Constitution, Articles or Memorandum of the Aboriginal board of governance (demonstrating at least 51% Aboriginal control). 



Unfortunately, you are not eligible to register interest. 



Unfortunately, you are not eligible to register interest. 









Section C – Interest in water

Your ROI must include which water source/s you are nominating for.


There is an interactive map on the ROI webpage which includes information on the water sources with shares available.

You can nominate the water sources, and the number of water shares in each water source, in the downloads below. You must nominate one or more water shares in one or more water sources to complete this form.

Usually, the maximum amount of water that can be allocated per water share, per year is one megalitre or one million litres. However, as indicated earlier in this form, the amount of water provided in any given year varies according to availability and the applicable available water determination.

The following information about fees and charges is for information only. As noted earlier in this form, if you are successful in this ROI process, you will not need to pay any costs to obtain the WALs(s) and/or shares from the Minister for Water, but you will be responsible for any other costs associated with those WALs or water shares or any water under those WALs or water shares. You should consider this information in deciding how many water shares and which water sources you will nominate.

The minimum annual charge for the 2025-2026 water year (1 October 2025 – 30 June 2026) is $295.66. This means that if the total annual water management charges for the water shares are less than this amount, the licence holder will still need to pay $295.66 in the 2025-2026 water year, if the transfer dealing is completed and the water made available to you before 30 June 2026. 


The water management charges apply each year and are adjusted annually. Charges and fees are exempt from GST.

Surface water – regulated river water sources


In regulated river systems, water shares are categorised as ‘high security’, ‘general security’ and ‘supplementary water’. Please refer to the department’s website to learn more about the difference between these types of water shares.


The cost of supplementary water depends on the actual amount of water taken. Because of this, the prices for supplementary water are shown in the table as a maximum amount that would be charged if the licence holder used the maximum amount of water, which is 1 megalitre per water share.


Supplementary water share holders only pay for their usage, but holders of high and general security water shares pay the water share price PLUS a price for their usage. For example, a water share holder of a general security water share in the Hunter Regulated River pays $24.03 PLUS max. $27.20 (when 1 megalitre is used) for the 2025-2026 water year.


Download and complete the:

then, upload below.



Surface water – unregulated river water sources

Unregulated river access licences are the only category available in unregulated river water sources.

For these water sources, the licence holder can choose whether the annual licence charges are paid as a 1-part or 2-part tariff. The difference between them is explained on the WaterNSW website. If a 2-part tariff is chosen, a minimum cost will be charged, and the additional costs will depend on the actual amount of water taken. Because of this, the prices for 2-part tariffs in the table show both the minimum and maximum amounts.

Download and complete the:

Groundwater

Like unregulated surface water systems, groundwater licence holders can choose whether the annual licence charges are paid as a 1-part or 2-part tariff. If a 2-part tariff is chosen, a minimum cost will be charged and the additional costs will depend on the actual amount of water taken. Because of this, the prices for 2-part tariffs in the table show both the minimum and maximum amounts.

Download and complete the: 
then upload below.

NSW DCCEEW - Water Group