{"id":"F2024L00702","name":"Water (Accredited Water Resource Plan—Barwon-Darling Watercourse) Instrument 2024","slug":"water-accredited-water-resource-plan-barwon-darling-watercourse-instrument-2024","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442421,"registerId":"F2024L00702-fast-fetch-1775957438687","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Water (Accredited Water Resource Plan—Barwon-Darling Watercourse) Instrument 2024","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nWater (Accredited Water Resource Plan— Barwon-Darling Watercourse) Instrument 2024\n\nI, Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Environment and Water, make the following instrument.\n\nDated 17 June 2024  \n\nTanya Plibersek\n\nMinister for the Environment and Water\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\n5  Accredited water resource plan\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Water (Accredited Water Resource Plan—Barwon-Darling Watercourse) Instrument 2024.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences the day after it is registered.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under section 63 of the Water Act 2007.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in section 4 of the Act, including the following:\n\n(a)      Authority;\n\n(b)      Basin Plan;\n\n(c)      water resource plan;\n\n(d)      water resource plan area.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Water Act 2007.\n\n5  Accredited water resource plan\n\n(1)    For the purposes of subparagraph 63(5)(b)(i) of the Act, the proposed water resource plan for the Barwon-Darling Watercourse water resource plan area specified in subsection (2) is accredited.\n\n(2)    The plan is the document titled Barwon-Darling Watercourse Water Resource Plan as in force on the day that this instrument is made, excluding any material identified as not forming part of the plan.\n\nNote 1: The plan could in 2024 be accessed on the Authority website at www.mdba.gov.au.\n\nNote 2: The plan meets the requirements that a water resource plan for a water resource plan area must comply with to be accredited: see table item 11 of subsection 22(1) of the Act and Chapter 10 of the Basin Plan.\n\nNote 3: The accreditation of the plan ceases to have effect in accordance with the Act: see sections 54 and 64.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument performs exactly the narrow, technical function it was designed for: accrediting a specific water resource plan under section 63 of the Water Act 2007. There is no scope creep; it does not expand beyond the statutory purpose of giving federal approval to state water plans."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 5 operative sections spanning 2 pages","Minimal defined terms: only 1 definition ('Act'), with others incorporated by reference to the parent Act","No conditional logic or nested exceptions in the instrument itself","Single substantive operation: accreditation by reference to an external document","All complexity resides in the referenced plan (not this instrument) and the underlying Water Act 2007 and Basin Plan"],"plain_english_summary":"The Environment Minister has accredited the Barwon-Darling Watercourse Water Resource Plan, giving the NSW plan legal force under Commonwealth law. That means state agencies must implement its water-sharing rules and the Murray‑Darling Basin Authority will oversee compliance, directly affecting irrigators, towns and other water users in the Barwon‑Darling. This federal sign‑off is a necessary step in delivering the Murray‑Darling Basin Plan (the accredited version is the plan as at 17 June 2024)."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument does not alter the statutory scope of accreditation powers under the Water Act 2007; it applies those powers to accredit the specified Barwon‑Darling Watercourse Water Resource Plan as in force on the instrument’s day and relies on the Act for commencement and cessation mechanics (instrument ss2–5; Act ss54,63–64)."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single-purpose instrument: accredits one named water resource plan (instrument s5).","Relies on external substantive document (the Barwon‑Darling Watercourse Water Resource Plan) whose detailed rules are not reproduced in the instrument (instrument s5(2) and Note 1).","Cross-references to the Water Act 2007 and the Basin Plan for accreditation criteria and the legal effect of accreditation (instrument s3, Note 2; Act s63 and Chapter 10 of the Basin Plan).","Operational effect and compliance obligations sit in the accredited plan rather than the instrument, requiring users to consult both texts to determine duties (instrument s5(2)).","Accreditation has temporal mechanics and cessation rules governed by other Act provisions (instrument Note 3 referencing Act ss54 and 64), creating dependence on external repeal/expiry rules.","Potential interpretive ambiguity over which parts of the external document are excluded where the instrument notes some material may not form part of the plan (instrument s5(2))."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument, made under section 63 of the Water Act 2007, formally accredits the Barwon‑Darling Watercourse Water Resource Plan as it stood on the day the instrument was made and commences the day after registration (ss2–5). It makes the plan’s rules operative for the plan area: the Minister accredits the plan and the Basin Authority and local water users must apply and comply with the plan’s requirements (s5; Act ss54,63–64)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/water-accredited-water-resource-plan-barwon-darling-watercourse-instrument-2024","history":"/api/acts/water-accredited-water-resource-plan-barwon-darling-watercourse-instrument-2024/history","analysis":"/api/acts/water-accredited-water-resource-plan-barwon-darling-watercourse-instrument-2024/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/water-accredited-water-resource-plan-barwon-darling-watercourse-instrument-2024/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/water-accredited-water-resource-plan-barwon-darling-watercourse-instrument-2024/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/water-accredited-water-resource-plan-barwon-darling-watercourse-instrument-2024/documents"}}