Victorian Water Trading

2012-13 Annual Report Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, Department of Environment and Primary Industries, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne, November 2013

© The State of Victoria Department of Environment and Primary Industries 2013 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968.

ISSN 2203-1928

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Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report iii > Contents

Summary...... 6

Introduction to Victoria’s Water Trade Framework...... 7 Classification of trade regions in Victoria...... 7 Declared systems...... 7 Trading zones...... 7 Water trade types...... 7 Water share transfers...... 8 Allocation trade...... 8 Take and use licence transfers...... 8

Water Trade in Northern Victoria...... 8 Allocation trade in Northern Victoria...... 9 Environmental and non-environmental allocation trade...... 9 Allocation trades in Northern Victoria...... 9 Allocation trade by trading zone...... 10 Price of allocation trades...... 14 Result of allocation trade applications...... 14 Trade of water shares in Northern Victoria...... 15 Transfer of ownership of water shares ...... 15 Movement of water shares (transfer and variations)...... 18 Limited term transfers of water shares...... 22 Price of water share transfers ...... 22 Result of water share transfer applications ...... 24 Trade of take and use licences in Northern Victoria ...... 24

Water Trade in Southern Victoria...... 25 Allocation trade in Southern Victoria...... 25 Transfer of allocation by trading zone...... 25 Price of allocation trades...... 26 Result of allocation trade applications...... 26 Trade of water shares in Southern Victoria...... 26 Transfer of ownership of water shares ...... 26 Movement of water shares (transfer and variations)...... 27 Limited term transfers of water shares...... 28 Price of water share transfers ...... 29 Result of water share transfer applications ...... 29 Trade of take and use licences in Southern Victoria...... 30 Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report iv >> Contents

Water Trade in Western Victoria...... 31 Trade of take and use licences in Western Victoria...... 31

Processing Applications ...... 32 Processing time for allocation trade applications...... 32 Processing time for applications to transfer water shares...... 32

APPENDICES ...... 33 Appendix 1: Water trading zones for Victorian regulated water systems as at March 2012...... 33

Appendix 2: Comparison of the allocations for high reliability water shares in the Murray system during the 2012/13 and 2011/12 seasons...... 34

Appendix 3: Comparison of the allocations for high reliability water shares in the Goulburn system during the 2012/13 and 2011/12 seasons...... 34 Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report v

List of Tables Table 1: Declared water systems in Northern Victoria...... 7 Table 2: Declared water systems in Southern Victoria...... 7 Table 3: Summary of allocation trades in Northern Victoria for 2012/13...... 9 Table 4: Summary of allocation trades in Northern Victoria for 2012/13 by environmental trade type...... 10 Table 5: Total trade of allocation in Northern Victoria (volume – ML) ...... 11 Table 6: Non-environmental allocation trades in Northern Victoria (volume – ML)...... 12 Table 7: Environmental allocation trades in Northern Victoria (volume – ML)...... 13 Table 8A: Result of allocation trade applications in Northern Victoria – not adjusted for pool...... 14 Table 8B: Result of allocation trade applications in Northern Victoria – adjusted for pool...... 14 Table 9: Transfer of high reliability water shares in Northern Victoria (volume/ML)...... 16 Table 10: Transfer of low reliability water shares in Northern Victoria (volume/ML)...... 17 Table 11: The status of the 4% limit as at 30 June 2013 (ML) ...... 18 Table 12: Transfer and variation of high reliability water shares in Northern Victoria (volume/ML) ...... 20 Table 13: Transfer and variation of spill and low reliability water shares in Northern Victoria (volume/ML) ...... 21 Table 14: Limited term transfers of water shares in Northern Victoria...... 22 Table 15: Result of water share transfer applications in Northern Victoria...... 24 Table 16: Summary of transfers of groundwater take and use licences in Northern Victoria...... 24 Table 17: Summary of transfers of groundwater take and use licences in Northern Victoria...... 24 Table 18: Trade of allocation in Southern Victoria during 2012/13 ...... 25 Table 19: Result of allocation trade applications in Southern Victoria as at 30 June 2013...... 26 Table 20: Transfer of high reliability water shares in Southern Victoria (ML) ...... 26 Table 21: Transfer of low reliability water shares in Southern Victoria (ML) ...... 27 Table 22: Transfer and variation of high reliability water shares in Southern Victoria (ML) ...... 27 Table 23: Transfer and variation of low reliability water shares in Southern Victoria (ML) ...... 28 Table 24: Limited term transfers of water shares in Southern Victoria...... 28 Table 25: The annual median prices for high reliability water shares in 2012/13 and 2011/12 ...... 29 Table 26: The annual median prices for low reliability water shares for 2012/13 and 2011/12...... 29 Table 27: Result of water share transfer applications in Southern Victoria as at 30 June 2013...... 29 Table 28: Summary of transfers of groundwater take and use licences in Southern Victoria...... 30 Table 29: Summary of transfers of surface water take and use licences in Southern Victoria...... 30 Table 30: Summary of transfers of groundwater take and use licences in Western Victoria...... 31 Table 31: Summary of transfers of bundled surface water entitlements in Western Victoria ...... 31 Table 32: Percentage of allocation trades processed within COAG required time frame ...... 32 Table 33: Percentage of water share transfers processed within COAG required time frame...... 32

List of Figures Figure 1: Weekly median allocation price in trading zone 1A – Greater Goulburn...... 14 Figure 2: Weekly median allocation price in trading zone 7 – Victoria Murray (Barmah to SA)...... 14 Figure 3: Volume of active LTT at the end of each financial year (ML)...... 22 Figure 4: Weekly median prices for high-reliability water share transfers in trading zone 1A Greater Goulburn ...... 22 Figure 5: Weekly median prices for high reliability water share transfers in trading zone 7 Victorian Murray (Barmah to SA)...... 23 Figure 6: Monthly median prices for low reliability water share transfers in trading zone 1A Greater Goulburn...... 23 Figure 7: Monthly median prices for low reliability water share transfers in trading zone 7 Victorian Murray (Barmah to SA)...... 23 Figure 8: The volume limited term transfers active on the 30th of June...... 28 Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

6 >> Summary

The Victorian Water Register is a register of water entitlements and transactions. This document provides information from the Water Register on trades of allocation, water shares and take and use licences in Victoria for 2012/13. In this report, Northern Victoria is defined as the area north The Commonwealth purchased about 31 GL of high of the divide falling under the management of Goulburn reliability water shares in 2012/13, down from 174 GL in Murray Water (G-MW), Lower Murray Water and Coliban 2011/12. Water. Southern Victoria includes areas south of the There was a decrease in water share movement (i.e. divide under the management of Southern Rural Water transfers of ownership and variations) in Northern Victoria and Melbourne Water. Western Victoria is the area under falling from 887 GL in 2011/12 to 603 GL this year. In Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water (GWMW). Southern Victoria, the level of water share movement Total volume of allocation trade involving Northern Victoria increased from about 17 GL of in 2011/12, to 30 GL in amounted to about 2,342 GL in 2012/13 up from 1,604 GL 2012/13. in the previous year. The number of approved trades also The market price of high reliability water shares in Northern increased from 5,189 in 2011/12 to 11,330 in 2012/13. The Victoria was lower in 2012/13 than in 2011/12, with a large increase in trade resulted from a combination of (1) median of $1,500/ML versus $1,800/ML. Low reliability high allocations, (2) increased activity by environmental water shares rose from a median of $143/ML to $150/ML. and institutional water owners transferring water allocation The Commonwealth did not buy any low reliability water between their accounts, and (3) above average maximum shares this year. temperatures and below average rainfalls for most parts of Victoria. Northern Victoria increased its net interstate In Southern Victoria’s Thomson/Macalister system, high exports of allocation from about 232 GL in 2011/12 to reliability water shares fetched about $2,000/ML this year 645 GL of net exports to SA and NSW in 2012/13. The down from $2,100/ML in 2011/12. The median price for low exports in 2012/13 were dominated by about 533 GL of reliability water shares decreased to $100/ML from $149/ environmental allocation trades to SA. ML. There was insufficient price data to estimate water share prices in the Werribee systems this year. In Northern Victoria, the price of allocation increased in 2012/13. Weekly median prices peaked at $60/ML for Victoria met the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) trading zone 1A (Greater Goulburn) and $57/ML for zone service standards for processing allocation trades. They 7 (Vic Murray – Barmah to SA) up from $30/ML and $41/ require 90% of interstate trades to be processed within 10 ML, respectively. The increases in allocation prices in the business days for Victoria-NSW trades (achieved 99%) and northern systems were most likely due to the warmer and 20 business days for Victoria-SA trades (achieved 99%), drier conditions in these systems increasing demand from and 90% of intrastate trades to be processed in 5 business irrigators in Victoria and NSW. days (achieved 98%). In Southern Victoria, allocation trade increased to about Service standards for water share transfers were also fully 24 GL (557 trades) in 2012/13 from about 8 GL (152 trades) met in 2012/13. The standards require that 90% of water in 2011/12. The annual median price in the Thomson/ share transfers be processed by water corporations within Macalister was $137/ML, and for the Werribee and Bacchus 20 business days (99% achieved), and 90 per cent be Marsh areas it was $300/ML; the prices should be used registered within 10 business days (100% achieved). with caution because the number of trades with non-zero For take and use licences in Northern Victoria, there was prices was limited. about 28.1 GL of groundwater trade and 5.6 GL of surface For water shares, the Water Register allows reporting water trade. Southern Victoria had about 23.6 GL of take on both change of location and transfers of ownership and use licence groundwater trade and 16.4 GL of take (which may occur with or without change of location). and use licence surface water trade. In Western Victoria, For high and low reliability entitlements, about 183 there was about 7.6 GL of trade in groundwater take and GL in Northern Victoria and 9 GL in Southern Victoria use licences and 0.9 GL of surface water trade in various transferred ownership in 2012/13; down from 331 GL and unregulated entitlement types (take and use licences, water 10 GL respectively in 2011/12. Water shares that are not allowances and bulk entitlements). associated with land belong to the non-water user (NWU) group. In 2012/13, 53% of high reliability water share transfers were within and into the NWU group. Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

7 >> Introduction to Victoria’s Water Trade Framework Classification of trade regions in Victoria In this report, northern Victoria is defined as the area north of the divide falling under the management of Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW), Lower Murray Water (LMW), and Coliban Water (CW). Southern Victoria includes areas south of the divide under Southern Rural Water (SRW) and Melbourne Water (MW). western Victoria is the area under Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water (GWMW). Declared systems Water entitlements on regulated water systems in northern Victoria were unbundled on 1 July, 2007 when these regulated systems became declared water systems in accordance with section 6A of the Act. Water entitlements on the regulated water systems in Southern Victoria were unbundled on 1 July, 2008 when these systems became declared water systems. There are no declared water systems in western Victoria. The unbundling in northern and Southern Victoria converted prior water rights or take and use licences in declared water systems into three separate entitlements being: >> a water share (right to take) >> a delivery share or extraction share (right to have water delivered); and >> a water-use licence or registration (right to use) Unbundled entitlements are only available in the declared water systems shown in the tables below. Trading zones Trading zones identify areas within which water trade can be done freely and between which there may be hydrological limits. A map showing the trading zones in Victoria is shown in Appendix 1.

Table 1: Declared water systems in Northern Victoria Table 2: Declared water systems in Southern Victoria

Declared water system Declared water system

Broken Bacchus Marsh

Bullarook Macalister/Thomson

Campaspe Werribee

Goulburn

Loddon

Murray

Ovens

Water trade types Trade of water in Victoria is governed by trading rules and polices set by the Minister for Water. The rules and polices aim to facilitate trade wherever possible, while minimising negative impacts on other users and the environment. Water share transfers A water share is a legally recognised, secure share of the water available for use in a declared water system. A water share is specified as a maximum volume of seasonal allocation that may be made against that share. Water shares may be traded separate from land. ‘Trade’ of water shares can mean a transfer of ownership, a change of location, or both. A transfer of ownership is initiated through an application to transfer all or part of a water share. Transfer of ownership data provides information on market activity as each involves a buyer and a seller. The water share location may or may not change as part of the transfer of ownership. In order to analyse movement of water shares under the current system of tagged trading, the direction of trade must be assessed by considering the point of use (i.e. delivery system), rather than the source of the water share which never changes. In this report, change of location is presented as the movement of water shares between delivery systems. Change of location can arise as part of a transfer of ownership (the new owner wishes the water share to be used at a new location) or separately following an application to vary or associate a water share (when an existing owner wishes to shift the water share to another location). Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

8 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria Allocation trade The allocation made against water shares may be traded separate from the water share and from land. Take and use licence transfers In water systems that are outside declared water systems, take and use licences are the most common type of entitlement for unregulated surface water and groundwater. There are three types of transfer for a take and use licence. “Permanent volume transfer” and “Temporary volume transfer” permanently or temporarily transfer part or all of the volume from one licence to another and generally include a change in location. The third type of transfer is “Change of ownership” which changes the ownership of a licence without affecting its volume and location. Take and use licences change of ownership transfers are generally included as part of land transfers. Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

9 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria Allocation trade in Northern Victoria Environmental and non-environmental allocation trade In the Victorian Water Register, parties such as the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office (CEWO) and the Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH) that hold water entitlements or use allocation trades as a mechanism for moving water for environmental purposes have been classified as parties of type environment. Allocation trades between environmental parties are easy to identify for intrastate trades. On the other hand, interstate trades require some assumptions to be made on whether the trades are within environment trades. This is because the Victorian Water Register does not store the information of interstate parties, and therefore we cannot tell whether the interstate party is an environmental party. However, currently most trade involving an environmental party on the Victorian side of the trade has an environmental party on the interstate side. This report will view such interstate allocation trades and intrastate trades between known environmental parties as within environment trades. All other trades are considered as non- environmental trades. Environmental trades are usually done to place water in the best accounts for achieving environmental outcomes. Such allocation trades between the accounts of the same or different environmental parties generally do not have consideration paid, emphasising the non-commercial nature of the transactions. Annual volumes of environmental allocation trade contribute significantly to total annual allocation trade. To remove the large influence of environmental allocation trades from non-environmental trades, this report will separate allocation trades for 2012/13 into environmental and non-environmental allocation trades. For the purposes of continuity, this report will also compare allocation trade in Northern Victoria in 2011/12 and in 2012/13 based on the combined contributions from environmental and non-environmental trades. Allocation trades in Northern Victoria Table 3 presents the number and volume of combined environmental and non-environmental allocation trades by water corporation (authority) and by trade type. Table 4 presents the volume of allocation trades by environmental allocation trade type. These tables show that: > Total volume of allocation traded within Northern Victoria was about 2,342 GL (Table 3). This is higher than the > 1,604 GL traded during 2011/12. As in 2011/12, the large volume arose from a combination of (1) high allocations (see Appendix 2 and Appendix 3), and (2) environmental parties transferring water allocation between their accounts (about 1,008 GL [see Table 4] and 561 GL in 2012/13 and 2011/12, respectively).In addition, below average rainfalls (Appendix 5) and above average maximum temperatures (Appendix 4) for most parts of Victoria contributed this increase in allocation trade volume. > Victoria exported a net of 645 GL in 2012/13, an increase from the previous year when Victoria exported a net > volume of 231 GL. This change was largely due to the environmental allocation trades from Vic to SA (about 533 GL this year [see Table 7] compared to 227 GL in 2011/12). > Trade within authority continued to be an important component of allocation trade in G MW in 2012/13 representing > 62% of G-MW allocation trade (1,163 GL) this year compared to 66% (828 GL) in 2011/12. This component remained less important in LMW where within authority trade contributed 18% (by volume) in 2011/12 and about 20% in 2012/13. Table 3: Summary of allocation trades in Northern Victoria for 2012/13 Notes to table 3: Total Allocation Type G M Water LMW Northern a) *‘Between authority’ trades are counted by each authority involved in the Victoria trade. Hence summing authority values will double count these trades. They Interstate trade Number 135 85 220 are therefore counted on the seller side only when determining the total trade volume. inbound Volume (ML) 52,958 52,238 105,196 Interstate trade Number 440 247 687 b) In a pool exchange, a number of sellers (say 20) sell to a number of buyers outbound Volume (ML) 562,119 188,357 750,476 (say 15) at the pool price. Administratively, this is implemented in the water register as 20 trades to a clearing account and then 15 trades from that Trade within Number 8,500 1,099 9,599 clearing account. To avoid double counting, only the seller side is counted (i.e. authourity Volume (ML) 1,163,110 91,795 1,254,905 counted as 20 trades). Trade between authority Number 594 230 824 buyer Volume (ML) 123,495 108,369 231,864 c) The pool clearing accounts are held in G-MW. In the register, a G-MW to LMW pool exchange will be recorded as a trade from G-MW to the G-MW Trade between authority Number 230 594 824 clearing account and a second trade from the G-MW clearing account to Seller Volume (ML) 108,369 123,495 231,864 LMW. In order to avoid double counting, this trade is only counted on one Number 9,229 1,414 10,643 side, however, depending on which side is chosen it may be classified as Total buyers Volume (ML) 1,339,562 252,402 1,591,964 either a within or between authority trade. To adjust for this it is assumed Number 9,170 1,940 11,110 that all between authority trades are correct, therefore the number and Total sellers volume of within authority purchases and sales is reduced and the number of Volume (ML) 1,833,598 403,646 2,237,244 between authority purchases and sales is increased proportionately. Number 9,305 2,025 11,330 Total trades * Volume (ML) 1,886,556 455,885 2,342,440 d) This table is for approved trades only. Some trades were still in progress at year end and will be finalised in 2012/13. Number 59 -526 -467 Net trade in Volume (ML) -494,036 -151,244 -645,280 Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

10 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria

Table 4: Summary of allocation trades in Northern Victoria for 2012/13 by Notes to table 4: environmental trade type a) “Environment to interstate” represents trades from an Broad Environmental environmental account to an account interstate which this report Environmental trade type Volume (ML) trade type assumes is also held by an environmental party Environment to interstate 539,242 b) “Interstate to environment” represents trades from an interstate account to an account that is recognised in Victoria as being held Interstate to environment 22,280 Environmental allocation trade by an environmental party; this report assumes that the intestate Within environment 436,125 account is also held by an environmental party. Environmental trade - TOTAL 1,008,647 Other 1,317,707 c) “Within environment” represents trades between the accounts Non-environmental allocation Out of environment 7,766 within Victoria that are both held by environmental parties trade Into environment 8,320 Non-environmental trades - TOTAL 1,333,794 d) “Other” represents trades that do not involve an environmental Allocation trades Grand Total 2,342,440 party e) “Out of environment” represents trades from an account held by an environmental party to an non-environmental account f) “Into environment” represents trades from a account held by an environmental party to an environmental account Allocation trade by trading zone Table 5 presents the total volume of allocation traded between each trading zone in Northern Victoria in 2012/13. Table 6 and Table 7 present this data separated into non-environmental and environmental trades respectively. These tables indicate that: > Intrazone trade was again highest in 1A Greater Goulburn (G-MW) with about 404 GL total volume traded, of which > 237 GL was non-environmental allocation trade. > Including environmental trades, only one Victorian trading zone, 1A Greater Goulburn (combined G-MW and LMW), > had a net allocation purchase - buying about a net of 46 GL. Excluding environmental trades only trading zone 1B – Boort was a net buyer of allocation with a net trade in of about 12 GL. > SA was the largest net purchasing area of allocation in 2012/13, with a net of 537 GL. This was dominated by > environmental trade to SA of about 532 GL. > In 2012/13, including environmental allocation trades. Victoria sold a net of 108 GL to NSW up from 51 GL to NSW > in 2011/12. > As in the last 5 years, trade downstream through the Choke was permitted this year. For trades including Victoria, > there was net downstream trade through the Barmah Choke of 94 GL. > In November 2012, the Victorian Government refined its controls on some of Victoria’s allocation trade to protect > ongoing allocations to Victorian water entitlement holders. The controls are necessary to prevent situations where, when a trade occurs, the increased obligation to deliver water to users is not accompanied by storages receiving a matching secure volume of water. If there is no matching volume of water, there is less water available for new allocations. These controls remove the need for ad-hoc suspensions which were necessary in the last two autumns, because of high storage levels and high use of carryover. The details of the new trade limits are that: An application, received after 9 January 2013, for a trade of allocation from NSW to any Victorian trading zone ○○must not be approved if, after approval of the trade, either: the volume of net trade from NSW to Victoria approved in the current water season would exceed 200 --GL; or the risk of spill of Victoria’s share of Hume and Dartmouth Reservoirs during the remainder of the water --season, as determined monthly by the resource manager, would exceed 50%. An application for a trade of allocation from any Victorian trading zone other than trading zone 6, 6B or 7, ○○to trading zone 6, 6B or 7 or to interstate must not be approved if, after approval of the trade, the combined balance of the Goulburn Inter-Valley Trade account and the Upper Goulburn to Lower Broken Creek Inter-Valley Trade account would exceed 200 GL. ○○These new trade limits were not reached in 2012/13. Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

11 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria Table 5: Total trade of allocation in Northern Victoria (volume – ML) Notes to table 5 Buyer Please refer to notes G-MW LMW NSW SA for table 3. NET SOLD TOTAL SOLD TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES NUMBER

Seller Goulburn 1A Greater 1B Boort Casey’s to Nill 2A Broken Goulb to Casey’s 2B Broken Goulburn 3 Lower WWC to 4A Campaspe Eppalock Campaspe 4C Lower LWP to CC/Tull 5A Loddon 5B Bullarook Barmah to Dart 6 VIC Murray Creek Broken 6B Lower SA Barmah to 7 VIC Murray Ovens 9A 9B King 20 Snowy Goulburn 1A Greater 1B Boort SA Barmah to 7 VIC Murray Barmah Choke U/S 10 NSW Murr Barmah Choke D/S 11 NSW Murr 13 Murrumbidgee Darling 14 Lower Murray 12 South Australian

1A Greater Goulburn 404,465 7,964 3,301 121 124 457 23,017 3,699 61,204 33,228 2,036 44,065 10,505 5,005 1,297 737 8,077 609,302 4,496 -38,856

1B Boort 30,716 8,513 127 475 20 475 7,155 1,852 1,271 869 12,380 847 64,700 221 8,578

2A Broken Nill to Casey’s 88 88 1 0

2B Broken Casey’s to Goulb 123 123 7 0

3 Lower Goulburn 11,821 100 1,640 550 762 120 2,266 3,025 435 1,602 500 1,539 24,359 140 17,206

4A Campaspe Eppalock to WWC 11,023 2,306 900 18,543 730 3,603 5,525 650 120 1,638 45,038 181 24,771

4C Lower Campaspe 403 540 9 21 973 14 840

G-MW 5A Loddon CC/Tull to LWP 1,548 306 5,807 250 48 1,714 470 125 50 10,318 93 3,089

5B Bullarook 354 354 19 0

6 VIC Murray Dart to Barmah 64,563 2,209 120 83,070 1,589 41,589 32,514 39 14,778 9,324 1,710 2,788 3,046 59,448 316,787 1,512 146,463

6B Lower Broken Creek 6,242 180 8,464 1,994 3,348 81 55 552 1,472 890 3,587 26,864 232 18,155

7 VIC Murray Barmah to SA 57,797 17,999 1,065 38 746 37,959 1,260 133,678 9,728 1,888 37,727 11,917 15,385 22,896 3,875 379,841 733,796 2,235 396,155

9A Ovens 321 321 8 0

9B King 576 576 11 0

1A Greater Goulburn 1,481 712 2,193 6 -7,042

LMW 7 VIC Murray Barmah to SA 48,153 9,759 5,973 56,663 1,467 4,217 250 86,616 21,722 17,507 6,085 7,213 135,829 401,454 1,934 158,536

10 NSW Murr U/S Barmah Choke 120 4,015 880 320 5,335 13 -52,201

11 NSW Murr D/S Barmah Choke 600 1,247 200 3,760 8,016 17,207 31,030 44 -10,618

NSW 13 Murrumbidgee 659 200 1,806 9,084 11,749 20 -33,816

14 Lower Darling 200 1,500 100 1,455 3,255 8 -11,617

SA 12 South Australian Murray 8,368 3,838 1,850 15,600 1,000 23,172 53,828 135 -537,028

TOTAL PURCHASED 648,157 56,122 88 123 7,153 20,267 133 7,229 354 170,325 8,709 337,641 321 576 82,365 9,234 250 242,918 57,536 41,648 45,565 14,872 590,856 2,342,440

NUMBER OF TRADES 4,839 289 1 7 64 51 5 54 19 1,237 120 2,511 8 11 13 28 1 1,385 182 184 57 49 215 11,330 Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

12 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria

Table 6: Non-environmental allocation trades in Northern Victoria (volume – ML) Notes to table 6 Buyer G-MW LMW NSW SA Please refer to notes for table 3. NET SOLD TOTAL SOLD TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES NUMBER

Seller Goulburn 1A Greater 1B Boort Casey’s to Nill 2A Broken Goulb to Casey’s 2B Broken Goulburn 3 Lower WWC to 4A Campaspe Eppalock Campaspe 4C Lower LWP to CC/Tull 5A Loddon 5B Bullarook Barmah to Dart 6 VIC Murray Creek Broken 6B Lower SA Barmah to 7 VIC Murray Ovens 9A 9B King 20 Snowy Goulburn 1A Greater 1B Boort SA Barmah to 7 VIC Murray Barmah Choke U/S 10 NSW Murr Barmah Choke D/S 11 NSW Murr 13 Murrumbidgee Darling 14 Lower Murray 12 South Australian

1A Greater Goulburn 236,656 7,964 3,301 121 124 457 21,246 3,699 56,976 2,036 38,654 10,505 5,005 1,297 737 8,077 396,855 4,479 12,831 -38,856

1B Boort 11,556 8,513 127 475 20 475 7,155 1,271 869 12,380 847 43,687 216 -12,435 8,578

2A Broken Nill to Casey’s 88 88 1 0 0

2B Broken Casey’s to Goulb 123 123 7 0 0

3 Lower Goulburn 9,387 100 1,640 550 762 120 2,266 435 1,602 500 1,539 18,899 135 11,747 17,206

4A Campaspe Eppalock to WWC 11,023 2,306 900 12,263 730 3,603 5,525 650 120 1,638 38,757 176 25,311 24,771

4C Lower Campaspe 403 9 21 433 12 300 840

G-MW 5A Loddon CC/Tull to LWP 1,548 306 3,062 250 48 1,714 125 50 7,102 90 2,619 3,089

5B Bullarook 354 354 19 0 0

6 VIC Murray Dart to Barmah 35,763 2,209 120 65,748 1,589 33,359 39 13,730 9,324 1,710 2,788 3,046 12,484 181,910 1,484 69,340 146,463

6B Lower Broken Creek 6,242 180 7,255 1,994 3,348 55 552 1,472 890 965 22,952 229 14,243 18,155

7 VIC Murray Barmah to SA 47,797 17,999 1,065 38 746 12,179 1,260 128,622 1,888 34,207 11,917 15,385 22,896 3,875 14,270 314,142 2,206 1,259 396,155

9A Ovens 321 321 8 0 0

9B King 576 576 11 0 0

1A Greater Goulburn 712 712 3 -8,522 -7,042

LMW 7 VIC Murray Barmah to SA 13,703 9,759 1,797 54,419 4,217 250 86,551 16,422 17,407 5,085 7,213 18,144 234,966 1,914 22,876 158,536

10 NSW Murr U/S Barmah Choke 120 278 880 320 1,598 12 -50,638 -52,201

11 NSW Murr D/S Barmah Choke 600 1,247 200 3,016 3,340 8,403 41 -33,145 -10,618

NSW 13 Murrumbidgee 659 200 1,806 2,168 4,833 18 -39,732 -33,816

14 Lower Darling 200 1,500 100 1,455 3,255 8 -11,617 -11,617

SA 12 South Australian Murray 8,368 3,838 1,850 15,600 1,000 23,172 53,828 135 -4,186 -537,028

TOTAL PURCHASED 384,024 56,122 88 123 7,153 13,446 133 4,484 354 112,569 8,709 312,883 321 576 9,234 250 212,091 52,236 41,548 44,565 14,872 58,014 1,333,794

NUMBER OF TRADES 4,802 289 1 7 64 44 5 52 19 1,222 120 2,503 8 11 4,802 11,204 Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

13 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria Table 7: Environmental allocation trades in Northern Victoria (volume – ML) Notes to table 7 Buyer Please refer to notes G-MW LMW NSW SA for table 3. NET SOLD TOTAL SOLD TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES NUMBER

Seller Goulburn 1A Greater WWC to 4A Campaspe Eppalock LWP to CC/Tull 5A Loddon Barmah to Dart 6 VIC Murray SA Barmah to 7 VIC Murray 20 Snowy SA Barmah to 7 VIC Murray Barmah Choke U/S 10 NSW Murr Barmah Choke D/S 11 NSW Murr 13 Murrumbidgee Murray 12 South Australian

1A Greater Goulburn 167,808 1,771 4,229 33,228 5,411 212,447 17 -51,687

1B Boort 19,160 1,852 21,013 5 21,013

3 Lower Goulburn 2,434 3,025 5,459 5 5,459

4A Campaspe Eppalock to WWC 6,281 6,281 5 -540

4C Lower Campaspe 540 540 2 540 G-MW 5A Loddon CC/Tull to LWP 2,746 470 3,216 3 470

6 VIC Murray Dart to Barmah 28,800 17,322 8,230 32,514 1,048 46,964 134,878 28 77,122

6B Lower Broken Creek 1,210 81 2,622 3,912 3 3,912

7 VIC Murray Barmah to SA 10,000 25,780 5,056 9,728 3,520 365,571 419,654 29 394,896

1A Greater Goulburn 1,481 1,481 3 -262,653

LMW 7 VIC Murray Barmah to SA 34,450 4,175 2,244 1,467 66 5,300 100 1,000 117,686 166,487 20 141,729

10 NSW Murr U/S Barmah Choke 3,737 3,737 1 -1,563

11 NSW Murr D/S Barmah Choke 3,760 5,000 13,867 22,627 3 22,527 NSW

13 Murrumbidgee 6,916 6,916 2 5,916

TOTAL PURCHASED 264,133 6,821 2,746 57,755 24,758 82,365 30,827 5,300 100 1,000 532,842 1,008,647

NUMBER OF TRADES 37 7 2 15 8 13 14 2 1 1 26 126 Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

14 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria Price of allocation trades The prices of allocation in Northern Victoria in 2012/13 increased from the low prices in 2011/12. Trading zone 1A (Greater Goulburn) and trading zone 7 (Victorian Murray- Barmah Choke to SA) have the greatest trade volumes and are presented in a summary of the weekly median allocation prices in Northern Victoria (see Figure 1 and Figure 2). Weekly median prices peaked in 2012/13 at $60/ML in zone 1A and $57/ML in zone 7, both of which are higher than the peak prices of about $30/ ML and $41/ML for the respective zones in 2011/12. The demand for water in NSW made NSW a net importer of 135 GL of non-environmental allocation from Victoria.

$70 $70 2012-13 2012-13 $65 2011-12 $65 2011-12 $60 $60 $55 $55 $50 $50 $45 $45 $40 $40 $35 $35 $30 $30 $25 $25 $20 $20 $15 $15 Weekely Median price ($/ML) Weekely Median price ($/ML) $10 $10 $5 $5 $0 $0 Jul Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Figure 1: Weekly median allocation price in trading Figure 2: Weekly median allocation price in trading zone 1A – Greater Goulburn zone 7 – Victoria Murray (Barmah to SA)

Result of allocation trade applications Notes to Figure 1 and Figure 2 a) The plots show the median weekly buying price in the Victorian Applications to trade allocation are subject to the approval of the Water Register for trades within and into the given trading zone, relevant water corporation. The tables below present a summary excluding trades out of the G-MW pool. of the outcomes of all applications to trade allocation in Northern b) Some transactions do not involve change of allocation ownership Victoria which were handled during 2012/13. Table 8A shows all or are otherwise non-monetary these zero priced trades have been applications processed during 2012/13 including the applications excluded from the calculation of the median price. Pricing data is to trade into and out of the pool. Table 8B excludes applications to based on data supplied by applicants on their trade applications trade out of the pool (and within pool) [see footnotes to Table 3 for and is only as good as the data supplied. The accuracy of pricing data is therefore not guaranteed by the Department. an explanation of pooled trades]. Table 8A shows that Northern Victorian water corporations received 12,685 allocation trade applications in 2012/13. This is an increase from 6,466 applications in 2011/12, showing greater reliance and confidence in the water allocation market. The increased volume of allocation trade also reflects the impact of lower than average rainfalls (Appendix 4) and higher than average maximum temperatures (Appendix 5) in Victoria. In spite of the larger number of applications processed, the percentage of applications approved, refused and in-progress remained about the same. Results from the data excluding the out of pool and within pool trades (Table 8B) showed similar results to the results from the full data set (Table 8A).

Table 8A: Result of allocation trade applications in Table 8B: Result of allocation trade applications in Northern Victoria – not adjusted for pool Northern Victoria – adjusted for pool

% of total % of total Application Number of Application Number of number of Volume (ML) number of Volume (ML) outcome applications outcome applications applications applications

Approved 11,920 94.0% 2,405,635 Approved 11,330 93.8% 2,344,397

Refused 762 6.0% 109,223 Refused 747 6.2% 107,429

In progress 3 0.0% 70 In progress 3 0.0% 70

Total 12,685 2,514,928 Total 12,080 2,451,896

Reasons for refusal of allocation trade application included a) Incorrect completion of application forms; d) Incorrect signatories; and b) Insufficient water in the seller’s account; e) Trading rule breaches. c) Buyer exceeding holding limit; Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

15 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria Trade of water shares in Northern Victoria Information on the trade of water shares during 2012/13 is based on data in the Water Register on applications to transfer all or part of a water share, and applications to vary or associate a water share. Transfer of ownership of water shares Table 9 and Table 10 present transfers of ownership of high and low reliability water shares in Northern Victoria during 2012/13. These transfers may or may not be associated with a change in location of water shares. These tables show that during 2012/13: > About 136 GL of high and 47 GL of low reliability water shares transferred ownership in 2012/13, down from 267 GL > and 64 GL, respectively in 2011/12. > There was a decrease in the combined volume of high and low reliability water shares from 331 GL in 2011/12 to 183 > GL in 2012/13. The decrease in water share transfers was mainly explained by the reduced activity of the Commonwealth in the market. The Commonwealth purchased about 31 GL of high reliability water shares in 2012/13, down from 174 GL in 2011/12. The Commonwealth did not buy any low reliability water shares this year. Despite this fall in its purchases, the Commonwealth continued to be a big player in the Victorian water share market. Water shares that are not attached to land go to the Non-Water User (NWU) group. This is what happens to waters purchased by the Commonwealth (and other parties that cannot or choose not to associate their water share with land). As in 2011/12, the predominant destination of high reliability water share transfers was the NWU group. This year 53% of high reliability water share transfers by volume (representing about 72 GL) was within (26 GL), or moved into (about 46 GL), the NWU group compared to 80% (155 GL) in 2011/12. Only about 3 GL moved out of the NWU. Of the low reliability water share transfers in 2012/13, only 22% (about 11 GL) were within, or moved into, the NWU, versus 60 % (38 GL) of the transfers in 2011/12. Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

16 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria Table 9: Transfer of high reliability water shares in Northern Victoria (volume/ML) Notes to Table 9 and Table 10 Destination a) These tables summarise all G-MW LMW recorded water entitlement transfer (and divide and transfer) applications for high and low reliability and spill water shares. Some other trades were still in progress at year end and will be finalised TOTAL TRADES (ML) TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES NUMBER in 2012/13. b) Transfer applications result in a change of ownership.

Source River Broken Bullarook Area Campaspe Irrigation Campaspe River Area Irr. Goulburn Central NWU GMW River Goulburn River Loddon Area Irrigation Valley Loddon River Murray Area Irrigation Valley Murray and Woorinen Tresco Nyah, River Ovens Area Irrigation Rochester Area Irrigation Shepparton Area Irrigation Torrumbarry NWU LMW River Murray FMID Cliffs, Merbein, Red Robinvale, In some cases, the change Broken River 230 94 324 15 of ownership occurs with a transfer of land. Transfers Bullarook of ownership that are part of a water/land sale are not Campaspe Irrigation Area 20 141 161 3 separated out. Campaspe River 249 26 275 15 c) Small delivery systems are grouped to improve table Central Goulburn Irr. Area 9,087 4,087 5 213 285 7 44 30 404 100 14,260 349 clarity. GMW NWU 338 24,608 36 46 567 52 50 386 50 585 1,254 716 28,685 176 d) Spill reliability (only existing in the Ovens) is included with Goulburn River 1,840 236 120 197 2,393 54 low reliability transfers in Loddon River 14 451 50 515 14 Table 9.

G-MW Loddon Valley Irrigation Area 5,385 3,451 16 25 265 1 9,143 115 e) The numbers presented in this report contain additional Murray River 2 1,063 3,360 383 2 4,810 56 data that was not included in the annual reports of the Murray Valley Irrigation Area 8,027 5,411 13,437 203 water corporations and are therefore different . Nyah, Tresco and Woorinen 174 1,027 162 130 25 1,518 35

Ovens River 50 468 518 23

Rochester Irrigation Area 78 3,752 1,757 62 80 93 5,820 131

Shepparton Irrigation Area 388 2,396 186 4 307 3,410 174 6,864 162

Torrumbarry Irrigation Area 8,885 2 10 6,578 559 1,589 17,622 276

LMW NWU 27 3 183 556 108 271 1,148 36

Murray River 225 6,786 14,545 24 21,580 105 LMW

Robinvale, Red Cliffs, Merbein, FMID 84 17 1,932 348 4,349 6,730 282

Total Trades (ML) 230 269 9,893 60,568 276 451 3,895 3,650 6,371 1,172 518 2,629 3,577 8,655 11,674 17,331 4,644 135,802

NUMBER OF TRADES 13 15 267 596 40 11 66 40 119 23 23 103 112 165 127 97 233 2,050 Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

17 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria

Table 10: Transfer of low reliability water shares in Northern Victoria (volume/ML) Destination G-MW LMW Total Trades (ML) Trades Total NUMBER OF TRADES NUMBER

Source River Broken Bullarook Area Campaspe Irrigation Campaspe River Area Irr. Goulburn Central NWU GMW River Goulburn River Loddon Area Irrigation Valley Loddon River Murray Area Irrigation Valley Murray and Woorinen Tresco Nyah, River Ovens Area Irrigation Rochester Area Irrigation Shepparton Area Irrigation Torrumbarry NWU LMW River Murray FMID Cliffs, Merbein, Red Robinvale, Broken River 22 19 41 5

Bullarook

Campaspe Irrigation Area 11 22 34 2

Campaspe River 71 24 95 3

Central Goulburn Irr. Area 5,562 881 595 213 40 691 746 243 58 9,028 185

GMW NWU 473 2,264 139 1,022 19 25 22 491 1,240 906 6,601 48

Goulburn River 35 114 133 32 314 15

Loddon River 49 172 39 260 7

G-MW Loddon Valley Irrigation Area 320 1,182 1,316 439 180 91 3,527 45

Murray River 400 749 232 1 1,381 26

Murray Valley Irrigation Area 1,948 52 3,945 5,945 89

Nyah, Tresco and Woorinen 356 12 10 377 6

Ovens River 25 249 274 14

Rochester Irrigation Area 13 360 106 1,135 175 1,788 41

Shepparton Irrigation Area 260 409 130 146 4,163 79 101 5,289 96

Torrumbarry Irrigation Area 3,164 7,032 8 2,052 12,256 148

LMW NWU

Murray River 182 182 2 LMW Robinvale, Red Cliffs, Merbein, FMID

TOTAL TRADES (ML) 22 13 82 7,058 10,558 133 172 2,270 962 5,239 375 274 2,027 5,400 9,208 20 3,490 91 47,393

NUMBER OF TRADES 4 1 3 159 126 9 5 45 15 80 5 14 43 89 100 2 31 1 732 Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

18 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria Movement of water shares (transfer and variations) The 4% limit There is a 4% limit on the volume of Table 11: The status of the 4% limit as at 30 June 2013 (ML) water shares that can be traded out 4% trade out Net trade out Net trade out Exemption of an irrigation district in Northern 4% tradeout Limit including Irrigation area excluding approvals Limit (ML) remaining exemptions Victoria. An audited ballot was held exemptions granted (ML) (ML) (ML) at the beginning of the 2012/13 water year to determine the order High reliability in which to process 363 applications Campaspe Irrigation Area 19.2 18.0 1.2 141.3 159.3 (representing about 41 GL) for Central Goulburn Irr. Area 10,451.5 10,291.8 159.7 2,479.8 12,771.6 transferring water shares out of the Loddon Valley Irrigation Area 5,502.2 5,017.3 484.9 1,618.5 6,635.8 irrigation areas. The annual 4% limit Murray Valley Irrigation Area 7,888.4 7,865.9 22.5 4,697.6 12,043.6 for high-reliability water shares was Nyah, Tresco and Woorinen 1,132.1 665.2 466.9 0.0 665.2 not reached during the ballot for Robinvale, Red Cliffs, Merbein, FMID 5,300.2 5,141.8 158.4 0.0 5,141.8 Rochester Irrigation Area 5,377.8 2,228.4 3,149.4 2,431.4 4,659.8 any of the Irrigation Areas except Shepparton Irrigation Area 5,353.2 4,154.9 1,198.3 1,087.6 5,226.5 for the Central Goulburn Irrigation Torrumbarry Irrigation Area 9,514.6 2,145.8 7,368.8 6,289.6 8,203.4 Area. Refunds were issued for ballot TOTAL 50,539.2 37,529.1 13,010.1 18,745.8 55,507.0 applications that were refused due to the 4% limit. Low reliability Campaspe Irrigation Area 23.4 1.3 24.7 22.4 21.1 In 2012/13, exemptions to the 4% Central Goulburn Irr. Area 5,967.7 1,875.7 4,092 0.0 1,875.7 limit were granted as part of an Loddon Valley Irrigation Area 3,474.4 1,478.6 1,995.8 123 1,601.6 ongoing programme to better align Murray Valley Irrigation Area 4,210.6 890.7 3,319.9 21.6 912.3 the Commonwealth’s environmental Nyah, Tresco and Woorinen 213.5 2.3 211.2 0.0 2.3 water buybacks with investment in Robinvale, Red Cliffs, Merbein, FMID 392.6 0.0 392.6 0.0 0.0 the Goulburn-Murray Connections Rochester Irrigation Area 2,863.3 4.0 2,867.3 0.0 4.0 Project to modernise Northern Shepparton Irrigation Area 2,851.1 9.6 2,860.7 0.0 9.6 Victoria’s irrigation system and to assist Torrumbarry Irrigation Area 5,514.4 1,612.7 3,901.7 1,011.2 2,623.9 other Commonwealth and Victorian TOTAL 25,511 5,845.1 19,665.9 1,178.2 7,023.3 irrigation initiatives. Exemptions to the Notes to Table 11 limit were available for the following This table shows the status of the 4% trade out limit at the end of 2012/13. This limit is applied categories: at the approval stage, however the volumes reported in Table 11 and Table 12 against the 4% > Trades from areas not identified as a priority for modernisation, and limit are based on recorded transfers, hence the > therefore not benefiting from the $2 billion investment in NVIRP. Exempt volumes are different to the volumes in this table. areas are set on the basis of irrigation suitability, land use change and distance from the backbone. > Transfer of water savings arising from the Commonwealth’s On-farm > Irrigation Efficiency Program Table 11 shows that, excluding exemptions, approximately 38 GL of high reliability water shares were traded out of the irrigation areas. In addition, Table 11 shows that approximately 19 GL of exemptions for transfers of high reliability water shares were granted in 2012/13. This resulted in a net trade out of about 56 GL of high reliability water shares from irrigation districts being approved during 2012/13. Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

19 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria Trends in movement of water shares In order to analyse movement of water shares under a system of tagged trading, the direction of trade must be assessed by considering the point of use (delivery system), rather than the source of the water share as this never changes. Table 12 and Table 13 present the transfer and variations of high and low reliability water shares recorded in northern Victoria during 2012/13 by grouped delivery systems. Whilst not all transfers involved a change of location (i.e. water share purchases within a delivery system), the movement of water shares between delivery systems that did occur in 2012/13 can be observed in these tables. Note that movement of water shares for use interstate cannot be identified in these tables as such water shares are held in the NWU group. Table 12 and Table 13 show that during 2012/13 through transfers of ownership or variations: > About 101 GL of high reliability water shares moved between delivery system groups; this included 80 GL of water > share dissociation from land to the NWU group. > About 27 GL of low reliability water shares moved between delivery system groups. This included 10 GL of water > share dissociation from land to the NWU group. As in 2011/12, a major explanation for the trend to disassociate in 2012/13 was the volume of Commonwealth purchases which occurred 1. These purchases were a continuation of the Commonwealth purchase of water under its Water for the Future program that came into full swing in Victoria in 2009/10. As part of that initiative, $3.1 billion is being invested in the Murray-Darling Basin to purchase water entitlements from irrigators looking to sell. As the Commonwealth is not a land holder in Victoria, water purchased by them is held in the NWU group. Exemptions to the 4% limit enabled the Commonwealth to dissociate a larger volume of water than allowed under the 4% limit. About 9 GL of the 22 GL of recorded purchases that were granted an exemption to the 4% in 2012/13 were for sales to the Commonwealth. In addition, the Commonwealth purchased about 5 GL of water shares into the NWU without needing an exemption.

1 Table 11 and Table 12 are based on changes recorded in the water register in 2012/13. In many cases the sale had been contracted much earlier and the tables show the result of the finalisation of the purchase. Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

20 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria

Table 12: Transfer and variation of high reliability water shares in Northern Victoria (volume/ML) Destination G-MW LMW JULY 2012 JULY NET OUT (ML) Total Trades (ML) Trades Total NUMBER OF TRADES NUMBER (irrigation district only) (irrigation VOLULME OF WATER SHARES AT 1 SHARES AT OF WATER VOLULME NET OUT AS % OF WATER SHARES NET OUT AS % OF WATER

Source River Broken Bullarook Area Campaspe Irrigation Campaspe River Area Irr. Goulburn Central NWU GMW River Goulburn River Loddon Area Irrigation Valley Loddon River Murray Area Irrigation Valley Murray and Woorinen Tresco Nyah, River Ovens Area Irrigation Rochester Area Irrigation Shepparton Area Irrigation Torrumbarry NWU LMW River Murray Cliffs, Merbein, Red Robinvale, FMID Broken River 344 94 438 20 94

Bullarook 2 2 1

Campaspe Irrigation Area 20 141 100 261 4 161

Campaspe River 915 26 941 29 -200

Central Goulburn Irr. Area 29,140 14,142 5 213 285 7 44 30 404 100 358 44,726 655 13,833 261,287 5%

GMW NWU 100 206 1,174 47,992 36 1,658 299 1,168 52 50 2,044 72 5,619 1,450 739 62,658 290 -164,045

Goulburn River 2 1,840 1,827 120 197 3,986 75 2,119

Loddon River 14 1,042 50 1,106 21 64

G-MW Loddon Valley Irrigation Area 9,200 12,766 16 25 70 265 89 22,430 232 7,589 137,555 6%

Murray River 2 1,118 4,938 383 2 6,443 78 575

Murray Valley Irrigation Area 14,238 237 23,788 38,263 382 12,912 197,209 7%

Nyah, Tresco and Woorinen 494 2,189 162 130 25 2,999 58 665 28,302 2%

Ovens River 50 522 572 27 137,555 0%

Rochester Irrigation Area 152 7,151 22,783 239 80 93 30,497 296 5,084 134,445 4%

Shepparton Irrigation Area 423 5,058 186 4 307 8,287 174 14,438 253 5,777 133,830 4%

Torrumbarry Irrigation Area 12,650 20 108 10 36,613 559 1,589 10 51,557 524 7,763 237,864 3%

LMW NWU 112,494 3 183 677 648 444 114,449 65 99,027

Murray River 8 225 7,167 37,334 24 44,758 284 3,421 LMW Robinvale, Red Cliffs, Merbein, FMID 84 17 4,982 556 11,243 16,882 521 5,161 132,504 4%

TOTAL TRADES (ML) 344 2 100 1,141 30,892 226,702 1,867 1,042 14,842 5,868 25,350 2,334 572 25,413 8,662 43,795 15,423 41,337 11,721 457,407

NUMBER OF TRADES 18 1 1 31 519 877 60 18 169 66 261 45 27 258 187 387 200 283 407 3,815

Notes to Table 12 and 13 c) A variation application occurs without a change in ownership. a) These tables present all recorded water entitlement transfer, divide and transfer and variation applications for high and low d) Small delivery systems are grouped to improve table clarity. reliability and spill water shares. Some other trades were still in progress at year end and will be finalised in 2012/13. e) Spill reliability (only existing in the Ovens) is included with low reliability transfers in Table 12. b) Transfer applications result in a change of ownership. In some cases, the change of ownership occurs with a transfer of land. Transfers of ownership that are part of a water/land sale are not separated out. f) The numbers presented in this report contain additional data that was not included in the annual reports of the water corporations and are therefore different . Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

21 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria

Table 13: Transfer and variation of spill and low reliability water shares in Northern Victoria (volume/ML) Destination G-MW LMW NET OUT (ML) Total Trades (ML) Trades Total NUMBER OF TRADES NUMBER

Source River Broken Bullarook Area Campaspe Irrigation Campaspe River Area Irr. Goulburn Central NWU GMW River Goulburn River Loddon Area Irrigation Valley Loddon River Murray Area Irrigation Valley Murray and Woorinen Tresco Nyah, River Ovens Area Irrigation Rochester Area Irrigation Shepparton Net NWU LMW River Murray Cliffs, Merbein, Red Robinvale, FMID Broken River 66 19 85 7 19

Bullarook

Campaspe Irrigation Area 11 22 34 2 21

Campaspe River 234 24 258 8 -43

Central Goulburn Irr. Area 17,711 937 595 213 40 724 746 243 436 21,645 366 1,788

GMW NWU 56 1,122 5,115 214 262 1,870 19 25 28 572 2,534 2 906 12,724 94 -2,616

Goulburn River 35 114 592 32 773 23 181

Loddon River 49 209 39 297 9 88

G-MW Loddon Valley Irrigation Area 320 1,448 21,951 526 620 91 24,955 159 1,778

Murray River 400 1,848 232 1 2,480 40 153

Murray Valley Irrigation Area 3,079 52 15,468 18,599 233 989

Nyah, Tresco and Woorinen 462 12 10 484 10 2

Ovens River 25 274 299 16

Rochester Irrigation Area 13 360 115 187 10,688 81 175 11,619 132 1

Shepparton Irrigation Area 260 538 130 146 7,158 79 101 8,412 155 -144

Torrumbarry Irrigation Area 3,504 10 5 36,716 8 2,052 151 42,445 345 2,172

LMW NWU -22

Murray River 607 607 8 -4,277 LMW Robinvale, Red Cliffs, Merbein, FMID 151 154 304 2 -91

TOTAL TRADES (ML) 66 13 301 19,857 15,340 592 209 23,177 2,327 17,610 482 299 11,618 8,556 40,272 22 4,883 396 146,017

NUMBER OF TRADES 6 1 10 345 162 17 7 153 33 219 9 16 132 148 301 3 44 3 1,609 Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

22 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria Limited term transfers of water shares Water shares can be leased to others under a limited term transfer. Table 14: Limited term transfers of water shares in Northern Victoria Table 14 shows that there was an increase in the volume of limited Water share Number of Year Volume ML term transfers from about 10 GL in 2011/12 to about 16 GL in 2012/13. reliability Applications Generally, irrigators do not use limited term transfers because they High 22 9,007 are not well informed about the product, or because the irrigators can achieve similar results through the faster and simpler allocation trade 2012-13 Low 18 6,557 application process. High + Low 40 15,564

Looking at the total volume of limited term transfers that exist, Figure High 17 2,643 3 shows a slight recovery in the volume of limited term transfers at 30 June 2013. This demonstrates a recovery after a large volume of limited 2011-12 Low 19 7,674 term transfers expired in 2011/12. High + Low 36 10,318

50000 Price of water share transfers High Continuing the declines reported in 2011/12, the market price of water 45000 Low + Spill Total shares in Northern Victoria in 2012/13 was generally lower than in 2011/12. The annual median price for high reliability water shares in Northern 40000 Victoria fell from $1,800/ML in 2011/12 to $1,500/ML in 2012/13. This 35000 partly reflects the reduced activity of the Commonwealth in the market. 30000 Figure 4 and Figure 5 below, show the weekly median market prices of high reliability water share transfers in zone 1A (Greater Goulburn) and zone 7 25000 (Victorian Murray – Barmah to South Australia). In 2012/13 the median 20000 prices were lower with $1,400/ML in Zone 1A and $1,500/ML in Zone 7 versus a median of $1,845/ML in Zone 1A and $1,800/ML in Zone 7 in 15000 2011/12. 10000

There was growth in the demand for low reliability water shares in Northern 5000 Victoria as indicated by the increase in price from a median of $143/ML in 2011/12 to about $150/ML in 2012/13. This increased demand was 0 Volume of active LTT at the end of each financial year (ML) at LTT of active Volume probably due to entitlement holders recognising and seeking the additional carryover capacity against water shares to reduce the amount of their 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 carryover that ends up in spillable water accounts. The increase was greater in Figure 3: Volume of active LTT at the end of each financial year (ML) zone 7 (from $150/ML to $180/ML) where the rule limiting carryover volume to entitlement volume came into effect on 30 June 2013. Compared to zone 7 in 2012/13, the price for low reliability water shares was lower in zone 1A ($150/ML), where the rule came into place in 2011/12. However, this was still higher than the price in zone 1A in 2011/12 ($140/ML). The quality of the price data is restricted by the number of water share transfer applications without reasonable pricing information. Applicants are required to nominate consideration on each transfer application form, but many applications show either zero or an unrealistically low price. About 71% of the water share transfers in Northern Victoria were recorded with a non-zero price value; this is lower than the 80% price reporting rate of 2011/12. While some zero prices probably accurately reflect the transaction, further efforts are needed to persuade applicants of the value of supplying accurate non- zero data. The Murray Darling Basin Plan trading rules will require applicants to report accurate prices from July 2014.

2200 2012-13 2011-12 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400

Monthly median price ($/ML) Monthly 200 0 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Figure 4: Weekly median prices for high-reliability water share transfers in trading zone 1A Greater Goulburn Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

23 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria 2200 2012-13 2011-12 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400

Monthly median price ($/ML) Monthly 200 0 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Figure 5: Weekly median prices for high reliability water share transfers in trading zone 7 Victorian Murray (Barmah to SA)

$200 2012-13 $180 2011-12

$160

$140

$120

$100

$80

$60

$40

Monthly median price ($/ML) Monthly $20

$0 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Figure 6: Monthly median prices for low reliability water share transfers in trading zone 1A Greater Goulburn $220 2012-13 $200 2011-12 $180 $160 $140 $120 $100 $80 $60 $40

Monthly median price ($/ML) Monthly $20 $0 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Figure 7: Monthly median prices for low reliability water share transfers in trading zone 7 Victorian Murray (Barmah to SA)

Notes to Figure 4, Figure 5, Figure 6 and Figure 7 a) The plots show the median price in the Victorian Water Register. Some transactions do not involve change of water share ownership or are otherwise non-monetary these zero priced trades have been excluded from the calculation of the median price. Pricing data is based on data supplied by applicants on their trade applications and is only as good as the data supplied. b) In Figure 6 and Figure 7, monthly, rather than weekly prices, are used due to the low number of low reliability water share transfers Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

24 >> Water Trade in Northern Victoria Result of water share transfer applications Applications for transfer of ownership of water shares are Table 15: Result of water share transfer applications in Northern Victoria subject to the approval of the relevant water authorities. % of total Number of As per land dealings which also require registration, the Application outcome number of Volume (ML) applications approved application is then submitted to the Victorian applications Water Registrar for recording. A summary of the outcome of Approved by water all applications to transfer water shares (both high and low authority and eligible for 240 7% 15,208 reliability) in Northern Victoria as at 30 June 2013 is shown recording in Table 15. There was a significant reduction in refusals, from Recorded 2,782 84% 183,195 10% in 2011/12 to 3% in 2012/13. There was a large drop in Refused by water 70 2% 4,912 the number of transfers processed from 4,543 in 2011/12 to authority 2,655 in 2012/13. Rejected by Registrar 121 4% 7,454

Trade of take and use licences in With applicant 48 1% 3,363

Northern Victoria With water authority 38 1% 4,549

Table 16 shows that in 2012/13, trades of groundwater take Total 3,299 218,681 and use licences was mostly represented by trades as part Reasons for refusal or rejection of allocation transfer application included of land transfers (take and use licence ‘change of ownership’) with 129 trades amounting to about 17 GL. Temporary and a) Incorrect completion of application forms; permanent entitlement volume trades had 22 transfers (about b) Incorrect execution; 2 GL) and 98 transfers (about 9 GL), respectively. c) Exceedence of the 4% limit without an exemption; As the comparison between Table 16 and Table 17 shows, trade d) Breach of trading rules; and in surface water take and use licences is much lower than the e) Expiry of the 60 day maximum duration between approval and recording. trade in groundwater take and use licences.

Table 16: Summary of transfers of groundwater take and use licences in Northern Victoria Note to Table 16 Trade as part of GMU Permanent trade Temporary trade land transfer This table shows the number and volume (ML) of trades of groundwater take and use licences. Volume Volume Volume Number Number Number Temporary and permanent volume trades indicate (ML) (ML) (ML) the trade of water across different locations, as Alexandra (GMU) 1 5 distinct from ownership changes that are part of land transfers. Katunga (GMU) 2 20 26 1,419 18 2,111 Kinglake (GMU) 1 10 4 111 Loddon Highlands (GMU) 5 525 24 1,890.8 3 339 Lower Campaspe Valley (GMU) 4 1,457 25 4,171.2 3 897.4 Lower Ovens (GMU) 7 92.5 12 494.7 11 1,679.3 Mid Goulburn (GMU) 2 126 1 76 Mid Loddon (GMU) 3 300 3 609 4 509 Mullindolingong (GMU) 1 60 Shepparton Irrigation (GMU) 54 10,068.5 Unincorporated (GMU) 27 769.5 Upper Ovens (GMU) 1 2 5 364.3 2 42 Total 22 2,396.5 98 9,085 129 16,667.7

Table 17: Summary of transfers of groundwater take and use licences in Northern Victoria

Trade as part of River Basin Permanent trade Temporary trade land transfer Note to Table 17

Volume Volume Volume This table shows the number and volume (ML) Number Number Number (ML) (ML) (ML) of trades of surface water take and use licences. Temporary and permanent volume trades indicate 1 25 6 92 Broken the trade of water across different locations, as Campaspe 177 1,724 39 324 60 541 distinct from ownership changes that are part of land transfers. Goulburn 10 161 3 105.5 41 332.7 Kiewa 1 2 9 486 22 591 Loddon 1 6 1 10 6 238.1 Murray 4 153 18 245 Ovens 4 132 8 266 23 165.8 Total 193 2,025 65 1,370 176 2,205 Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

25 >> Water Trade in Southern Victoria Allocation trade in Southern Victoria The total volume of allocation traded within Southern Victoria during 2012/13 was about 24 GL, comprising 557 trades. This was a large increase in trade over the 7.5 GL (152 trades) reported in 2011/12. The increase in trade was partly due to the impact of lower than average rainfalls (Appendix 4) and higher than average maximum temperatures (Appendix 5) in Victoria. Transfer of allocation by trading zone Water trading zones identify areas within which trade can be done freely and between which there are hydrological limits. A map of the trading zones in Victoria is shown in Appendix 1. Table 18 presents the number and volume of allocation trades by trading zone for the unbundled Southern water systems during 2012/13. The table shows that in 2012/13: >> There was about 24 GL of allocation trade in 557 trades. >> 88% of the allocation trade occurred within trading zones, with only about 3 ML of interzone trade. > Both the volume and proportion of trade in the Thomson/Macalister system increased. In 2012/13, about 86% of > the 24,090 ML of allocation trade in Southern Victoria was within the Thomson/Macalister system compared to 77% of 7,547 ML of trade in 2011/12. > Only 3,374 ML was traded within the Werribee and Bacchus Marsh trading zones. This was still an increase in > allocation trade from1,735 ML in 2011/12. Trade within Werribee District continued to be the major contributor to the volume of allocation trade in this area.

Table 18: Trade of allocation in Southern Victoria during 2012/13 Buyer NET SOLD TOTAL SOLD TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES NUMBER

Seller District Marsh 31AD Bacchus Diverters Werribee 31AR Upper District 31BD Werribee Diverters Werribee 31BR Lower 41 Macalister 42B Mid-Thomson 31AD Bacchus Marsh District 384 18 16 4 422 21 38

31BD Werribee District 1,944 859 2,803 78 695

31BR Lower Werribee Diverters 148 148 4 -715

41 Macalister 18,314 289 18,603 409 -1,255

42B Mid-Thomson 1,544 570 2,114 45 1,255

TOTAL PURCHASED 384 18 2,108 863 19,857 859 24,090

NUMBER OF TRADES 16 2 83 2 433 21 557

Notes to Table 18

This table is for approved trades only. One trade of 5 ML was still in progress at year end and will be finalised in 2012/13. Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

26 >> Water Trade in Southern Victoria Price of allocation trades The annual median price in the Thomson/Macalister was $137/ Table 19: Result of allocation trade applications in ML based on 168 trades with non zero prices, and for the Southern Victoria as at 30 June 2013 Werribee and Bacchus Marsh areas it was $300/ML based on 21 % of total trades. These prices should be treated with caution because of Application Number of number of Volume (ML) outcome applications the limited number of trades with non-zero prices. applications Weekly or monthly plots of allocation prices in Southern Approved 557 99.6% 24,090 Victoria for 2012/13 are not presented because of the low rate of price reporting; only 34% of the applicants (148 trades out Refused 1 0.2% 70 of 557 approved trades). There was about a 37% non zero price In progress 1 0.2% 5 reporting rate for the Thomson/Macalister areas and only 21% Total 559 24,165 for the Werribee and Bacchus Marsh areas. Given the relatively small number of allocation trades in Southern Victoria, high Reasons for refusal of allocation transfer application included rates of price reporting are particularly needed to be provide a) Incorrect completion of application forms; reliable market price trends during the year. b) Insufficient water in the seller’s account; Some trades with a nominated price of $0 may have been c) Buyer exceeding holding limit; trades between related parties for zero consideration. There was also a high proportion of allocation trades in 2012/13 that d) Incorrect signatories; and were part of land sales, for which most of the allocation trades e) Trading rule breaches. had zero prices. Result of allocation trade applications Applications to trade allocation in Southern Victoria are subject to the approval of Southern Rural Water (SRW). Table 18 presents a summary of the outcomes of these applications during 2012/13. The proportion of approvals remained high this year with about 100% approval rate compared to about 98% in 2011/12. Trade of water shares in Southern Victoria Information on the trade of water shares during 2012/13 is based on data in the Water Register on applications to transfer all or part of a water share, and applications to vary or associate a water share. Transfer of ownership of water shares The transfers in ownership of high and low reliability water shares during 2012/13 in Southern Victoria are presented in Table 20 and Table 21. These transfers may or may not be associated with a change in location of water shares. The tables show that: Table 20: Transfer of high reliability water shares in Southern Victoria (ML) > In 2012/13 there was a small > decrease in the volume of Destination high reliability transfers in Southern Victoria from 7,008 ML in 2011/12 to 6,451 ML despite a slight rise in the number of transfers from 84

transfers to 91. (ML) Out Net Number of Trades of Number The largest volume of T rades (ML) otal > T > transfers continued to be

within the Macalister Irrigation Source Distr Irrigation Marsh Bacchus River Macalister District Irrigation Macalister SRW NWU River Thomson River Werribee District Irrigation Werribee District (MID). A much lower Bacchus Marsh Irrigation Distr 32 32 3 volume of transfers occurred Macalister River 2 99 101 2 136 within the Werribee and Bacchus Marsh Irrigation Macalister Irrigation District 235 5,216 3 5,454 68 89 Districts. SRW NWU 3 For high reliability water > Thomson River 50 648 698 11 50 > shares, there was a slight increase in transfers between Werribee River delivery system to 387 ML; Werribee Irrigation District 166 166 7 with 334 ML of this volume Total Trades (ML) 32 237 5,365 3 648 166 6,451 composed of transfers between Macalister River and Number of Trades 3 9 145 6 26 17 91 Macalister Irrigation District (MID). Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

27 >> Water Trade in Southern Victoria

Table 21: Transfer of low reliability water shares in Southern Victoria (ML) Notes to Table 21 and Table 22 a) These tables summarise all Destination recorded water entitlement transfer (and divide and transfer) applications for high and low reliability water shares. Some other trades were still in progress at year end and will be finalised

in 2012/13. (ML) Out Net Number of Trades of Number T rades (ML) otal

b) Transfer applications result in a T change of ownership. In some

cases, the change of ownership Source Distr Irrigation Marsh Bacchus River Macalister District Irrigation Macalister SRW NWU River Thomson River Werribee District Irrigation Werribee occurred with a transfer of land. Bacchus Marsh Irrigation Distr 14 14 3 Transfers of ownership that are part of a water/land sale are not Macalister River 50 50 1 30 separated out. Macalister Irrigation District 79 2,427 2,506 57 30 c) The numbers presented in this report contain additional data SRW NWU that was not included in the Thomson River 322 322 9 annual reports of the water corporations and are therefore Werribee River different . Werribee Irrigation District 77 77 7 Total Trades (ML) 14 79 2,476 322 77 2,968 Number of Trades 3 7 130 3 21 17 77

Movement of water shares (transfer and variations)

Table 22 and Table 23 Table 22: Transfer and variation of high reliability water shares in Southern Victoria (ML) present the transfer and variations of high and low Destination reliability water shares recorded in Southern Victoria during 2012/13 by delivery system. Whilst not all transfers involved

a change of location, the (ML) Out Net Number of Trades of Number movement of water shares T rades (ML) otal T between delivery systems

that did occur in 2012/13 Source Distr Irrigation Marsh Bacchus River Macalister District Irrigation Macalister SRW NWU River Thomson River Werribee District Irrigation Werribee can be observed in these Bacchus Marsh Irrigation Distr 32 3 35 4 3 tables. Macalister River 170 99 11 280 7 125 Table 22 and Table 23 Macalister Irrigation District 235 16,802 3 73 17,113 147 147 show that in 2012/13, 387 SRW NWU 15 15 2 97 transfers and variations of low and high reliability Thomson River 50 90 2,330 2,470 27 67 water shares (totalling Werribee River 4 4 2 4 30,272 ML) were recorded Werribee Irrigation District 649 649 17 for Southern Victoria. This is an increase from 261 Total Trades (ML) 32 405 16,966 112 2,403 649 20,566 transfers (amounting to Number of Trades 3 9 145 6 26 17 206 17,159 ML) in 2011/12. Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

28 >> Water Trade in Southern Victoria

Notes to Table 22 and Table 23 Table 23: Transfer and variation of low reliability water shares in Southern Victoria (ML) a) These tables summarise all recorded water entitlement Destination transfer, divide and transfer and variation applications for high and low reliability water shares. Some other trades were still in progress at year end and will be finalised in

2012/13. (ML) Out Net Number of Trades of Number T rades (ML) otal

b) Transfer applications result T in a change of ownership.

In some cases, the change Source Distr Irrigation Marsh Bacchus River Macalister District Irrigation Macalister SRW NWU River Thomson River Werribee District Irrigation Werribee of ownership occurs with a transfer of land. Transfers Bacchus Marsh Irrigation Distr 14 1 16 4 1 of ownership that are part Macalister River 84 50 5 139 6 25 of a water/land sale are not separated out. Macalister Irrigation District 79 7,909 36 8,024 132 56 c) A variation application occurs SRW NWU 10 10 1 41 without a change in ownership. Thomson River 45 1,160 1,205 21 9 d) The numbers presented in this report contain additional data Werribee River that was not included in the Werribee Irrigation District 314 314 17 annual reports of the water corporations and are therefore Total Trades (ML) 14 163 7,968 51 1,196 314 9,706 different . Number of Trades 3 7 130 3 21 17 181

Limited term transfers of water shares Unbundling created water shares as separate assets which can be leased to others under a limited term transfer. Table 24 suggests that there is limited, but growing interest in this facility. The use of limited term transfers of water shares is still relatively small because irrigators can achieve similar results through the faster and simpler allocation trade application process. Looking at the total volume of limited term transfers that exist, Figure 8 shows the volume of limited term transfers at 30 June 2013 has surpassed the previous high of 2008/09. This is a recovery after a large volume of limited term transfers expired in 2010/11.

2400 Table 24: Limited term transfers of water shares in Southern Victoria High Low + Spill Water share Number of 2160 Year Volume ML Total reliability Applications

1920 High 14 531 1680 2012-13 Low 15 253

1440 High + Low 29 784 High 9 339 1200 2011-12 Low 9 161 960 High + Low 18 500 720

480

240

0 Volume of active LTT at the end of each financial year (ML) at LTT of active Volume

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13

Figure 8: The volume limited term transfers active on the 30th of June Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

29 >> Water Trade in Southern Victoria Price of water share transfers According to the pricing data in the Water Register the median price of Table 25: The annual median prices for high reliability high reliability water shares in the Thomson/Macalister system during water shares in 2012/13 and 2011/12 2012/13 was about $2,000/ML, down from $2,100 in 2011/12 (Table 25). The median price of low reliability water shares in the Thomson/ Water System Source 2011-12 2012-13 Macalister system during 2011/12 was $149/ML, this decreased to Thomson/Mcalister $2,100 $2,000 $100/ML in 2012/13 (Table 26). Werribee and Bacchus Marsh - - For the Werribee and Bacchus Marsh system, there were only four records with non-zero price for high reliability water share transfers and Table 26: The annual median prices for low reliability only two records for low reliability water share transfers. Therefore, no water shares for 2012/13 and 2011/12 reliable price estimates can be drawn in these areas. Water System Source 2011-12 2012-13

Thomson/Mcalister $149 $100 Werribee and Bacchus Marsh - -

Result of water share transfer applications Applications for transfer of ownership of water shares in Southern Victoria are subject to the approval of Southern Rural Water (SRW). As per land dealings which also require registration, the application is then submitted to the Victorian Water Registrar for recording. Table 27 presents a summary of the outcomes of these applications during 2012/13. There was a decrease in the percentage of transfers that were rejected by the Water Registrar from about 11% in 2011/12 to 7% in 2012/13. All the rejected applications exceeded the 60 days allowed between the approval of a transfer and lodging an application for recording with the Water Registrar.

Table 27: Result of water share transfer applications in Southern Victoria as at 30 June 2013

% of total Number of Application outcome number of Volume (ML) applications applications Approved by water authority 22 11% 1,702 and eligible for recording

Recorded 162 82% 8,931

Rejected by Registrar 13 7% 775

With water authority 1 1% 160

Total 198 11,567 Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

30 >> Water Trade in Southern Victoria Trade of take and use licences in Table 28: Summary of transfers of groundwater take and use licences in Southern Victoria Trade as part of Southern Victoria GMU Permanent trade Temporary trade land transfer Table 28 shows that in 2012/13, trades of take Volume Volume Volume Number Number Number and use licences were dominated by trades (ML) (ML) (ML) as part of land transfers (take and use licence Bungaree (GMU) 13 212.0 4 233.5 ‘change of ownership’) with 114 trades amounting Cardigan (GMU) 1 22.0 1 3.0 to about 15 GL. There was about 7 GL and 2 Colongulac (GMU) 2 15.4 GL of transfers in temporary and permanent Condah (GMU) 4 367.0 entitlement volume, respectively. Denison (GMU) 14 1,325.0 6 349.4 In contrast to groundwater, for surface water, Deutgam (GMU) 4 110.5 1 51.0 entitlement volume transfers were more Frankston (GMU) 1 5.0 common. As shown in Table 29, there was about Giffard (GMU) 1 200.0 1 50.0 2 1,140.0 12 GL of volume entitlement transfers compared Glenelg (GMU) 1 200.0 4 1,914.0 to less than 5 GL of change of ownership Glenormiston (GMU) 1 1.0 1 2.5 transfers. Hawkesdale (GMU) 3 82.8 7 730.0 4 1,477.3 Heywood (GMU) 3 9.0 Koo Wee Rup (GMU) 5 27.1 11 427.4 13 744.2 Moe (GMU) 1 4.0 Nepean (GMU) 1 10.0 8 346.0 2 218.0 Nullawarre (GMU) 6 676.8 13 738.0 8 990.2 Orbost (GMU) 1 277.0 Rosedale (GMU) 1 83.0 1 120.0 3 3,185.6 Sale (GMU) 4 270.0 6 444.5 1 10.0 Tarwin (GMU) 1 35.0 Unincorporated (GMU) 1 5.0 5 178.0 34 1,827.9 Wa De Lock (GMU) 1 1.2 2 600.0 7 394.7 Wandin Yallock (GMU) 4 38.0 Warrion (GMU) 3 96.0 1 150.0 5 452.4 Wy Yung (GMU) 2 70.0 1 60.0 Yangery (GMU) 1 180.0 3 166.3 4 373.6 Yarram (GMU) 1 120.0 4 1,110.0 3 637.9 Total 32 1,783.9 101 7,018.7 114 14,765.6 Note to Table 28

Table 29: Summary of transfers of surface water take and use licences in Southern Victoria This table shows the number and volume (ML) of trades of groundwater take and use licences. Trade as part of Temporary and permanent volume trades River Basin Permanent trade Temporary trade land transfer indicate the trade of water across different locations, as distinct from ownership changes Volume Volume Volume that are part of land transfers. Number Number Number (ML) (ML) (ML) Barwon 6 263.3 11 133.2 Bunyip 7 196.2 10 345.1 24 606.1 East Gippsland 1 3.4 Glenelg 1 2.5 4 44.4 Hopkins 7 480.0 3 164.3 Latrobe 3 16.2 29 908.5 23 680.9 Maribyrnong 4 41.0 12 250.8 Mitchell 4 238.0 8 235.3 Moorabool 2 32.9 5 97.0 Otway Coast 1 5.0 8 155.8 Portland Coast 1 30.0 Snowy 3 129.0 South Gippsland 2 51.0 3 100.0 19 347.6 Note to Table 29 Tambo 5 122.8 This table shows the number and volume (ML) Thomson/Macalister 2 3.0 4 207.9 12 1,077.4 of trades of groundwater take and use licences. Werribee 1 4.0 Temporary and permanent volume trades indicate the trade of water across different locations, as Yarra 5 8,530.0 24 271.8 46 606.0 distinct from ownership changes that are part of Total 25 8,870 92 2,951 183 4,559 land transfers. Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

31 >> Water Trade in Western Victoria Trade of take and use licences in Western Victoria In Western Victoria there was about 7.6 GL of trade in groundwater take and use licences (Table 30) and 0.9 GL of surface water trade in various unregulated entitlement types (take and use licences, water allowances and bulk entitlements) (Table 31).

Table 30: Summary of transfers of groundwater take and use licences in Western Victoria Note to Table 30 Trade as part of GMU Permanent trade Temporary trade land transfer This table shows the number and volume (ML) of trades of groundwater take and use licences. Volume Volume Volume Number Number Number Temporary and permanent volume trades indicate (ML) (ML) (ML) the trade of water across different locations, as Murrayville (GMU) 4 635.0 1 600.0 distinct from ownership changes that are part of land transfers. West Wimmera (GMU) 2 330.0 10 1,749.0 8 4,360.0 Total 2 330.0 14 2,384.0 9 4,960.0

Table 31: Summary of transfers of bundled surface water entitlements in Western Victoria

Trade as part of River Basin Permanent trade Temporary trade Note to Table 31 land transfer a) This table shows the number and volume (ML) Volume Volume Volume Number Number Number of trades of groundwater take and use licences. (ML) (ML) (ML) Temporary and permanent volume trades Avoca 1 12.3 2 141.3 indicate the trade of water across different locations, as distinct from ownership changes Glenelg 1 2.2 that are part of land transfers. 4 1.9 Murray b) The Table shows surface water trade in Wimmera-Avon 441 587.1 9 105.8 various unregulated entitlement types (take and use licences, water allowances and bulk Total 446 601.3 12 249.3 entitlements). Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

32 >> Processing Applications Processing time for allocation trade applications

The Council of Australian Governments Table 32: Percentage of allocation trades processed within COAG required (COAG) has developed service standards time frame for the processing time for allocation trade Actual Allocation trade processing times Number applications. The processing times exclude service Intended service standard from 1/7/2011 to 30/6/2012 of trades time with the applicant. The standards standard specify that 90 per cent of intrastate water 90% of trades processed South Australia Inter-State trade 373 99% allocation trades be processed within a within 20 business days prescribed number of days depending on 90% of trades processed New South Wales Inter-State trade 597 99% the application type (see Table 32). within 10 business days Table 32 shows that the COAG processing 90% of trades processed Intra-State trade 12,267 98% times service standards were clearly met within 5 business days for both intrastate and interstate allocation trades in 2012/13. Note to Table 32: a) The processing times are calculated based on the data from the Victorian Water Register for applications which were finalised during the period indicated (includes into, out ofand within pool trades). b) The processing times include business days only. c) This report counts an application finalised on the same day it is created in the Victorian Water Register as being finalised in one day, except in the case of water share transfer registration where it would be zero days because the application is received and entered into the Water Register on the same day. d) Some trades were received more than one day prior to the commencement day shown in the Water Register because of the use of a different processing method by Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW). e) Checks showed that these trades were still processed within the COAG prescribed targets even after adjusting for the delayed entry into the Water Register. f) Therefore, the data from the Water Register presented here correctly reflects the processing times performance. Processing time for applications to transfer water shares COAG has also developed service standards for the processing time for water share Table 33: Percentage of water share transfers processed within COAG required time frame transfer applications. Water share transfer Actual Water share transfer processing Number service Intended service standard applications are first approved by the times from 1/7/2011 to 30/6/2012 of trades relevant water corporation and then standard 90% of trades approved recorded by the Water Registrar. The Approval process 3,032 99% standards specify that 90 per cent of water within 20 business days shares transfers be processed by water 90% of trades registered Registration process 3,084 100% corporations within 20 business days, and within 10 business days 90 per cent be registered within 10 business days. The standards enable the exclusion of Note to Table 33: time with the applicant. a) The processing times are calculated based on the data from the Victorian Water Register for Table 33 shows the percentage of water applications which were finalised during the period indicated (includes into, out ofand within pool trades). share transfers in Victoria during 2012/13 that were processed within the time frames b) The processing times include business days only. required by COAG. It can be seen that the c) This report counts an application finalised on the same day it is created in the Victorian Water service standards were clearly met for both Register as being finalised in one day, except in the case of water share transfer registration where it the approval and registration phases. would be zero days because the application is received and entered into the Water Register on the same day. d) Some trades were received more than one day prior to the commencement day shown in the Water Register because of the use of a different processing method by Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW). e) Checks showed that these trades were still processed within the COAG prescribed targets even after adjusting for the delayed entry into the Water Register. f) Therefore, the data from the Water Register presented here correctly reflects the processing times performance. g) The data does not fully reflect the impact of the ballot process that is in place at the start of the season to manage access to space within the 4% limit. (About 363 applications were received in late June and early July and were subjected to a ballot process to ensure they were treated equitably). This means that some processing times are underestimated, but this would not alter the fact that the COAG service standards were achieved. Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

33 >> APPENDICES Appendix 1: Water trading zones for Victorian regulated water systems as at March 2012

Mildura Merbein FMIT Legend Red Cli s

Irrigation areas / districts Storages, weirs 7 Robinvale Channels, pipelines

Murr 1A

ay 7 Trading zone numbers Nyah A 32 020406080 100 Swan Hill B 5 Kilometres G/7247-2 Tresco River

7 Barmah Choke

Lake Torrumbarry Murr Albacutya ay B Torrumbarry 6 River 1 Weir Murray Valley Yarrawonga Weir River

River Pyramid Broke B Albury Boort Kow n 6 Swamp

n Creek Lake 1A Echuca Ov Hume Dam Warang Goulbur Hindmarsh Shepparton ens Rochester Mitta Mitta a oddon n L

Loddon Weir C B Kiew River 4 Central Shepparton 2 voca L Broke Wangaratta A 1 Goulburn n West Main River a

C Wimmera Waranga Basin h n Campaspe King River a Casey s A n 9 n Weir Coliban channel e River system l 3 B Dartmouth Dam River 9 A B East Goulbur 2 A 5 4 Main Channel Lake Horsham Bendigo Campaspe River 4 A Goulburn Bu alo River Weir Lake Lake Glenorchy William Lake Nillahcootie Cairn Hovell Eppalock River Lake Lonsdale Curran 1A Tullaroop oliban River Eildon Reservoir C Dam River Bell eld Ck. Deep

Hepburn Sno Glenelg 5 B Lagoon J Rosslynne Macalis River a Rocklands wy c Bemm

k T

s Dam ambo Reservoir We o n Newlyn Pykes s rribee C ins Creek k. ter C River Ballarat 31 Lake Mitchell Hopk Upper Yarra Dam Lal Lal Reservoir Merrimu Mari Yarra R. Moorabool Coimadai Ck. River

AR by A R. 31 River River 42 Melton rnon AD River 31 River g MELBOURNE Thomson Dam Bacchus Lake Glenmaggie Marsh 31BR Siphon River Thomson Macalister Werribee Tarago Blue River Lake 31BD Rock 41 Wellington Dam 42 B River Bunyip River Geelong Latrobe River Lake Narracan Sale Wurdee Cowwarr Weir Nambrok/Denison Boluc Warrnambool won Bar

Gellibrand R. Victorian Water Trading 2012-13 Annual Report

34 >> APPENDICES Appendix 2: Comparison of the allocations for high reliability water shares in the Murray system during the 2012/13 and 2011/12 seasons 120 2012-13 Allocation 2011-12 Allocation

100

80 tion (%)

60

40 Seasonal Determina

20

0 JulAug Sep OctNov DecJan FebMar Apr MayJun

Appendix 3: Comparison of the allocations for high reliability water shares in the Goulburn system during the 2012/13 and 2011/12 seasons 120 2012-13 Allocation 2011-12 Allocation

100

80 tion (%)

60

40 Seasonal Determina

20

0 JulAug Sep OctNov DecJan FebMar Apr MayJun