About Aboriginal community development specific purpose access licences
The NSW Government is committed to providing Aboriginal peoples with opportunities to become involved in water-related businesses.
The department can grant water extraction licences specifically for Aboriginal commercial activities that recognise the need to protect rivers and aquifers from increased extraction.
Where water resources have not been over-allocated, water sharing plans have allowed for applications for Aboriginal community development specific purpose access licences (SPALs) to support Aboriginal businesses with specified and approved purposes.
A specific purpose access licence is not fully tradable and can only be used for the purpose for which it has been issued.
Aboriginal community development SPALs are available in several inland groundwater sources and coastal unregulated river water and groundwater sources. This type of licence replaced Aboriginal commercial SPALs and there are no longer provisions for Aboriginal commercial SPALs in any water sharing plans.
Restrictions on Aboriginal community development SPALs
Unlike most other categories of SPALs, Aboriginal community development SPALs are tradeable, but only in limited circumstances. The main conditions are:
- they are available only in water sharing plan areas on the coast and in some groundwater systems
- water under these licences can be taken and used for commercial purposes, such as irrigating a crop or running a nursery
- the application needs to clearly define the social or economic purpose
- they are subject to an assessment process
- the amount of water available (volume) is limited for each water source
- in unregulated systems, they are available only in high flows and where water extracted from high flows does not significantly impact the environment
- each water source has a limit of no more than 500 megalitres
- there is no individual limit of 10 megalitres per licence
- there is a time limit – once the purpose no longer exists, the licence can be cancelled
- they are tradeable in certain limited circumstances.
Applying for an Aboriginal community development specific purpose access licence
Who can apply for a licence
Anyone can apply for an Aboriginal community development SPAL if the water taken under these licences is intended to provide social and economic benefits to Aboriginal communities.
Cost of a licence
There are no fees to apply for an Aboriginal community development SPAL. Annual water management charges will be waived until at least mid-2029 for these licences.
If a water supply work approval is needed to take water under this licence, application fees apply. More information on water supply work approval applications can be found on the WaterNSW website: Applications and fees - WaterNSW.
- Use the map on the water sharing plan webpage to find the area that applies to your application
- Check the relevant plan’s map for location and provisions for grant of specific purpose access licences (usually found in Part 5 of the plan) to see if Aboriginal community development SPALs can be applied for in your location.
How to apply for an Aboriginal community development SPAL
To apply, please send an email to water.enquiries@dcceew.nsw.gov.au
Include in your email:
- subject line: New specific purpose access licence application + location
- a short message stating you are applying for a new Aboriginal water-related business SPAL
- your contact details
Frequently asked questions
To take licenced water from a water source, a water supply work is required (for example, a bore or pump). To install a bore or pump you will need a water supply work approval. Approvals can be applied for with WaterNSW. More information can be found on their website: Applications and fees - WaterNSW.
All water sources across NSW are managed under a water sharing plan and the requirements of the Water Management Act 2000. Water sharing plans include the rules and access conditions for each water source. The plans set limits on the extraction of all water in the water sharing plan area (called a long-term average annual extraction limit) and include rules for water trading, water accounts and when water can be taken. More information can be found at: Water sharing plans.
Additional rules apply to groundwater works (bores, wells and pumps) to minimise the impacts on the water source (volume and quality of water), dependent ecosystems, culturally important sites and other groundwater users.
The rules prescribed in water sharing plans and the regulations result in mandatory conditions which are placed on an access licence or a water supply work approval that you will need to comply with to take water.
These licences are only tradable if the purpose does not change.