Australian Government Water Share Transfers
Updated 19/06/2025
In 2023, changes to Water Act (2007) (Cth) granted the Australian Government greater powers to purchase water. Since this time, the Australian Government has made water purchases in Northern Victoria.
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) has developed this page to provide greater transparency on the Commonwealth’s actions and to keep Victorian communities informed about these purchases, to better inform their decision making and understanding.
This page shows the volume of water shares purchased by the Australian Government by trading zone and reliability since 1 July 2024.
This report includes only water share transfers that have been recorded in the Victorian Water Register (i.e. once ownership has changed hands), not transfers that are in the process of being negotiated or yet to be approved or recorded in the Victorian Water Register. Water share transfers may take 30-90 days to be finalised.
The Victorian Basin Communities’ Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) was announced by the Victorian Premier and Minister for Water to enable a whole-of-Victorian-Government response to the Australian Government's water purchases for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. For more information about the IDC, visit the Committee's webpage.
Additional information about water trading is available here.