Registration of interest for transferring water access licences to Aboriginal legal entities

This ROI process is available only to Aboriginal legal entities that are not an individual person or a sole trader (for example, a company, a statutory body or an incorporated association). In addition to being a legal entity of this kind, you must meet both of the following two criteria:

1. You must be an Aboriginal-controlled entity. For the purposes of this ROI process, this means that you must be one or more of the following:
   1. an Aboriginal Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)
   2. a Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW)
   3. a Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC) under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth)
   4. an Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisation (ACCO) as set out in clause 44 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap
   5. another kind of legal entity that is not an individual or a sole trader and is at least 51% Aboriginal owned, managed and controlled as evidenced by the entity’s ASIC Company Extract, Constitution, Articles or Memorandum of the Aboriginal board of governance.
2. You must be based in NSW. For the purposes of this ROI process, this means that you must currently (that is, at the time you submit this form and at all times until you are notified of the outcome of this ROI process):
   1. have some operations within NSW; and
   2. satisfy one or both of the following criteria:
      1. you must have a current registered office in NSW or premises within NSW, and you must carry out operations from that office or premises; or
      2. you must list your main business location on the Australian Business Register as being in NSW.

These eligibility criteria have been selected by the department to ensure it can contribute to NSW Water Strategy and NSW Aboriginal Water Strategy objectives to increase Aboriginal ownership of water by making water available to as many Aboriginal legal entities as possible.

Information that you include in this ROI form or provide to the department in connection with this ROI process may be used by the department to confirm your eligibility to participate in this ROI process and may inform the assessment of your application. If you do not complete a section in the Participant Response Sections of this form, this may affect your ROI application, because the department may not be able to establish that you meet the eligibility criteria and may therefore exclude your application from further consideration.

Please complete all sections within the part of this form titled "Participant Response Sections".

Please note that the information which the department or its personnel provides in connection with the ROI process and about matters such as WALs, water shares, water sources and the operation of water management laws is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. The department cannot provide any advice to you, including advice about your specific circumstances.

If you ask the department a question, the department may publish the answer to that question on its website and may share the response with other potential ROI participants. This is to ensure that, wherever practicable, potential participants have an equal access to relevant information in connection with the ROI process.

However, the department respects privacy and confidentiality and will not publish your name, any personal information or any information that you expressly advise us in writing at water.enquiries@dcceew.nsw.gov.au is your confidential information and which the law also treats as confidential information.

There are no application fees to submit your entity’s ROI form or to participate in this ROI process.

If you are successful in this ROI process, you will not need to pay any costs to obtain the WALs(s) and/or water shares from the Minister for Water.

However, you will be responsible for any other costs associated with those WALs or water shares. For example, if further approvals under the Water Management Act 2000 are required (for example, if you propose to take and use the water via a pump and pipe and so you need to obtain a water management work approval), you will be responsible for the costs relating to those approvals (including any applications). You will also be responsible for any costs incurred in using any water, as well as any costs to link your WAL to a water management work. You can find more information about fees in the FAQs below.

In addition, if you receive a WAL(s) or water shares as a result of this ROI, you will become responsible to pay any further fees and charges associated with that WAL(s) or any water shares and any dealings with it. This may include (for example):

• annual water management charges, which are payable even if no water is taken/extracted from the water source
• any fees for approvals for works (for example, pumps or bores); and
• fees if you choose to trade the water.

You can find more information on other fees and annual water management charges in the FAQs below.

Participation in this ROI process is subject to the following terms:

1. A reference to a "participant" in this document means a legal entity which participates in this ROI process or who submits a registration of interest as part of this ROI process.
2. To maintain the integrity of the ROI process, the department cannot provide advice to any participant in connection with this ROI process, including (for example) advice about:
   1. whether a participant should or should not participate in this ROI process and register an interest
   2. the viability of the water source for the participant's proposed uses
   3. any other matter related to this ROI process or a WAL or share component.
3. While the department will make reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy of the information it provides to participants in connection with this ROI process, the department makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of the information which it provides. It is each ROI participant's responsibility to ensure that it conducts its own due diligence and obtains its own independent advice.
4. Participants must not seek to influence the department, its employees, personnel or agents or any Minister or member of Parliament in relation to this ROI process. Any breach of this requirement may lead to exclusion of a participant from the ROI process.
5. Acquiring a right to receive a WAL or a water share through the ROI process does not guarantee that water of a particular volume or quality will be able to be accessed by the successful participant. This is because water volume and quality can vary throughout a water source and because available water determinations, water sharing plan rules (such as cease to pump rules) and other legal requirements can change in the future. If successful participants are unable to access suitable water, they will not be given compensation.
6. The following rules will apply, to achieve the department's policy aim to make water available to as many Aboriginal legal entities based in NSW as possible:
   1. If two or more ROI participants register an interest in the same water source or water management area and are successful as part of this ROI process, the department will, subject to paragraph (b) below, divide the water shares equally amongst those participants as far as reasonably practicable.
   2. However, if any participant has requested only a specific proportion of the available water share which is less than an equal share for all eligible participants, the department will allocate the water share in accordance with the specific proportions requested by the participant, and equal division may not apply in such a case.
7. The department and the Minister retain the right to suspend or terminate the ROI process at any time prior to the grant or conveyance of a WAL or a water share. The Minister or the department are not obligated to award any legal entity any WAL or water share or any water entitlement as part of the ROI process.
8. This ROI:
   1. does not create a contract (including a process or other implied contract)
   2. does not constitute an offer capable of acceptance
   3. does not guarantee the transfer of a WAL or any water share to any participant.
9. Nothing in this ROI form constitutes any partnership, agency or other relationship between the department and a participant or between the Minister and a participant.
10. The rights and discretions given to the department and the Minister in connection with this ROI process are not pursuant to any contract between the department or the Minister and a participant, but instead are rights and discretions which the department or the Minister has as part of this ROI process.
11. Once an entity submits this ROI form, it must promptly notify the department in writing of any change to the details that it has submitted or provided to the department in connection with this ROI process.
12. The fees and dollar amounts referenced in this document and on the ROI webpage are current as of October 2025 or the date (if any) specified for those fees and dollar amounts. Those fees and dollar amounts may be subject to change. Additional fees and charges associated with water shares, allocations and associated dealings may apply depending on the water share, allocations and the dealing.
13. Each participant, the department and the Minister agree to the use of electronic communications and electronic transactions in connection with this ROI process, including as permitted under the Electronic Transactions Act 2000 (NSW).
14. To the extent permitted by law, the department and the Minister will not be liable for any claim by a participant, or anyone associated in any way with a participant, in connection with:
    1. any costs, expenses, loss or other liability which may be incurred by anyone in connection with this ROI process; and
    2. without limiting paragraph (a) above, any costs, expenses, loss or other liability which may be incurred by any participant in connection with its use of, reliance on, any document, statement or information (express or implied) provided for or on behalf of the department or the Minister in connection with this ROI process (whether verbally, in writing or otherwise).
15. The participant is solely responsible for its own costs and expenses in connection with its participation in the ROI process, including but not limited to, the participant's costs in preparing a response to this ROI form.
16. In this ROI form, the words "include", "including", "for example" and words of similar expression are not words of limitation and do not limit what they refer to.

By participating in the ROI process, the participant acknowledges and agrees that:

1. It is responsible for, and will make, its own independent investigations and conducting its own enquiries and due diligence in relation to the WALs or water shares which are subject to this ROI process.
2. If the department or the Minister determines that a WAL or water share is granted or transferred to it in connection with this ROI process, the grant or transfer will be done under a separate process and may include other documents, such as a contract.
3. If a WAL or water share is granted or transferred to it in connection with this ROI process, it will be fully responsible for paying all ongoing fees and charges in connection with the WAL or water share (as the case may be), including (for example) the annual water management charges for each WAL, even if no water is taken or extracted from a water source or water management area in connection with that WAL or water share (as the case may be).
4. The department may contact it if the department seeks additional information or documents or wishes to clarify anything provided by a participant in connection with this ROI process. A successful participant may also be required to provide the department with additional documents and information to facilitate the conveyance of a WAL or water shares. It is your responsibility to provide such information and documents to the department in a timely manner and, failing to do so may impact our ability to assess a participant's application and to transfer a WAL or share component.

By participating in this ROI process, the participant warrants and declares on a continuing basis that:

1. It has not engaged in (and will not engage in) any fraudulent or corrupt conduct or uncompetitive behaviour in connection with this ROI process.
2. It has not colluded with anyone else or engaged in any conduct which might be regarded as collusive.
3. The participant and (to the best of its knowledge, information and belief) anyone associated with it have not offered, and will not offer, any form of inducement or bribe to any department personnel, any Minister or Ministerial personnel, and other member of Parliament or any other NSW Government employee, contractor or adviser.
4. The information provided to the department in connection with this ROI process is true, complete and accurate, and it and its personnel have not engaged in any misleading or deceptive conduct in connection with this ROI process.
5. The participant and (to the best of its knowledge, information and belief) anyone associated with it have not engaged in, and will not engage in, any practice which has denied or may deny opportunities for other participants in the ROI process.
6. It is legal entity which is not an individual or a sole trader.

Breach of any of the above warranties and declarations may result in a participant being excluded from further participation in the ROI process.

If a participant provides the department or its personnel with any personal information as part of its ROI form or in connection with the ROI process, then the participant:

• represents and warrants that it is duly authorised to provide that information to the department and its personnel
• acknowledges and agrees that the personal information may be collected and used by the department and its personnel for the purposes of facilitating or evaluating this ROI process and the conveyance of any resultant WAL or share component, including enabling the department to consider, process and assess the registration of interest and to contact the participant and provide the participant with information in connection with the ROI process and any WAL, water share or water entitlement which may be granted or transferred as part of that process
• further acknowledges and agrees that:
• the personal information which it provides to the department or its personnel will be protected and handled by the department in accordance with relevant NSW privacy laws, including the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW)
• any personal information which the participant shares with the department or its personnel may be shared in accordance with privacy legislation, including where the department is permitted or required by law to share such information.

Details in relation to how the department manages personal information, as well as information about a person's rights in relation to their personal information, are set out in the department's Privacy Management Plan.

The department may share or exchange any information provided by a participant to the department or its personnel (including employees, contractors or advisers) to the Minister or other State departments or government bodies to facilitate this ROI process and the transfer or grant of any WAL or water share or to evaluate and improve the ROI process.

The department may also share or disclose information in connection with this ROI process where referenced in this ROI form or where required or authorised by law, including under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW).

Please complete and submit the Participant Response Sections of this ROI form to the department by 5 pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) on Wednesday 10 December 2025 (Closing Date and Time). Completed forms should be:

• emailed to the department at water.enquiries@dcceew.nsw.gov.au and with the subject title "ROI process for Aboriginal Water" or
• sent by registered post to:

Attn: ROI process for Aboriginal Water, NSW DCCEEW Water

6 Stewart Avenue, Newcastle

Locked Bag 1002, Dangar NSW 2309

Any attachments or supporting documents provided as part of the ROI form must be attached to the ROI form and clearly named and marked to indicate their content and relevance (for example, "Certificate of Incorporation").

Please ensure that each document is legible. All electronic documents must be submitted in either PDF or Microsoft Word format.

Participants must ensure that all electronic files and documents submitted as part of the ROI application are free from viruses and other harmful code and are not corrupted. The department reserves the right to reject or not consider any ROI form or an attachment that is found to contain harmful code or is otherwise corrupted.

The department reserves the right not to consider and to reject any ROI form which is received after the Closing Date and Time.

Unless you receive a delivery notification failure, ROI forms will be deemed received by the department once sent by email or within 5 business days following posting. In addition, the department will endeavour to acknowledge receipt of ROI forms within 2 business days (if received by email) or 5 business days (if received by post) after it received them. If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your ROI form from the department within 2 business days of submitting via email or within 5 business days of submitting via post, please contact the department at: water.enquiries@dcceew.nsw.gov.au with details of the date and time you submitted your ROI form.

Please note that an acknowledgment of receipt is not confirmation that the department has received all aspects of your ROI form or that you have completed your ROI form correctly.

If you send your ROI form response or any communication by post, you are responsible for covering the postal costs.

At the conclusion of the ROI process, the department will notify all participants who have submitted an ROI form of the outcome of the ROI process. At this stage, the department anticipates that it will notify participants of the outcome of this ROI process by the end of March 2026.

If you are successful as part of the ROI process, the department will be in contact with you to facilitate the next stage of the ROI process to convey or transfer a WAL or water share (as applicable).

The following categories of access licence are held by the Minister and will be offered in certain water sources:

• Regulated river (general security)
• Supplementary water (only in regulated river water sources)
• Unregulated river
• Aquifer
• Aquifer (high security)

Each type of water access licence has different rules about when, where and how the water can be taken. Regulated river access licences cannot be used to take water from unregulated systems or groundwater systems and vice-versa.

There are approximately 26,000 shares available across 235 water sources. There are approximately:

• 730 shares available in regulated river water sources
• 14,800 shares available in unregulated river water sources
• 10,600 shares available in groundwater sources

The shares are not spread evenly across NSW water sources, as they are only available in water sources where shares have been surrendered to the Minister.

The interactive maps show the surface water and groundwater sources where water is available, the licence categories and the number of shares that can be applied for.

An Assessment Panel set up by the department will independently review all registrations of interest to see if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Representatives on the Assessment Panel will not be involved in providing information about the ROI to anyone during the ROI application process.

Aboriginal peoples are currently estimated to own less than 1% of all licensed water entitlement in NSW.

Estimating the number of Aboriginal water licences in NSW is difficult. For general water access licences, the water licensing database only registers the name of the licence holder. In some cases, it is clear from the access licence holder’s name that the organisation holding the licence is likely to be an Aboriginal controlled organisation. There are also a small number (around 6) of  Aboriginal cultural specific purpose access licences.

Aboriginal individuals and other legal entities can apply for an Aboriginal culturally specific purpose access licence (SPAL) in any water source in NSW.

In some water sources, Aboriginal community development SPALs and supplementary water (Aboriginal environmental) access licences can also be applied for. These licences can be granted only for a specific purpose and cannot be traded.

Transfers of surrendered water access licences is a step to increase Aboriginal ownership of water access licences that can be used for any purpose or traded.

The aspirations of Aboriginal peoples are likely to be greater than what this initiative can deliver, but it is a start.

The department wants to learn from Aboriginal entities who participate in the ROI process and those who choose not to, about how we can continue to develop approaches designed to increase access to and ownership of water for Aboriginal peoples.

Yes. Eligible Aboriginal entities can still apply for a licence and trade the water even if they aren’t located near the water source where the access licence is being offered.

A general water access licence (WAL) entitles its holder to take a specified share of water from a specified water source, under the conditions set in the relevant water sharing plan.

Water can be taken under a WAL for any purpose, including agriculture, other commercial, cultural, or environmental purposes.

Shares associated with a WAL can also be traded.

Yes. You can trade your access licence, shares or water allocation in the same way that all other licences can be traded under the rules of the relevant water sharing plan and the Access Licence Dealing Principles Order 2004.

If the intent is to trade water to generate income, it is recommended you investigate whether there is an active water market in the water source the licence is granted in. Information about previous trades is available free of charge.

There are application fees to do trades (dealings). More information on those costs can be found at applications and fees.

Yes. Even though the grant of the licence is at no cost, yearly water charges will apply even when no water is taken from the water source.

There is a minimum annual charge to hold a water access licence. For the 2025-2026 water year it is $295.66 so regardless of the number of shares you own, you will need to pay at least $295.66 for that year. The charges need to be paid each year, and the amount will increase per water year (same as a financial year) subject to the Customer Price Index (CPI).

Water management charges for unregulated and groundwater access licences are usually cheaper. For more information  about water management fees and charges visit WaterNSW.

Yes.  In most cases a water supply work and water use approval need to be held under the Water Management Act 2000 before a water supply work (such as a pump or bore) can be used to take water from a water source.

The cost to apply for a water supply work approval and/or use approval differs between surface water and groundwater sources and depends on the location.

For example, for the 2025/26 financial year, an application for an approval to construct a bore would cost between $5,489 and $10,075, depending on the groundwater source it is in.

These application costs are additional to the costs of constructing the work.

Further information on work approval costs that are required by WaterNSW visit applications and fees.

Before taking or trading water under your access licence, you will need to register the access licence on the Water Access Licence Register, through NSW Land Registry Services. The registration fee in 2025/26 is $175.70 (inc. GST). Instructions on how to register will be provided when the licence is transferred.

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. They 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 and other groundwater users.

The rules prescribed in water sharing plans and the regulations result in mandatory conditions on an access licence or a water supply work approval that you will need to comply with to take water.

No, these water access licences are ongoing. This means if a participant is offered and accepts a water access licence and shares under the registration of interest process, they can hold that access licence forever unless they sell the licence or shares to someone else (via trade) or surrender the access licence and shares back to the Minister.

We cannot guarantee any water access licence or shares will be offered to an entity that participates in this process. It will depend on the number of applications received from eligible entities in the water source.

The department’s Water Enquiries team is available to provide support on any general water-related questions, complaints, feedback or suggestions. WaterNSW also has a customer service centre that provides information on licensing and approvals, metering and trade.

The department and WaterNSW cannot arrange the actual trade of water access licences, shares or allocation between different parties. Participants can privately engage a water broker to assist with the trading process.

Through this process the department is not providing financial support to participants to build the infrastructure that may be needed to take water or apply for approvals. There may be other NSW or Commonwealth government grants available that could be used to financially support those requirements to take water under a water access licence now and in the future.

Yes, you can still register your interest. If you get another licence in the same water source, you could combine them. If you would like to merge your new licence and an existing licence of the same category in the same water source, you can do this later through a dealing. For more information visit dealings.

Yes, there is no limit on the number of water sources an entity can express interest in. If an entity is successful, it is not obligated to accept a water access licence that is offered to you as part of this process.

No, each eligible entity wanting to participate will need to complete a Registration of Interest form (refer to Eligibility Requirements).