{"id":"F2024L00703","name":"Water (Accredited Water Resource Plan—Macquarie-Castlereagh) Instrument 2024","slug":"water-accredited-water-resource-plan-macquarie-castlereagh-instrument-2024","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442426,"registerId":"F2024L00703-fast-fetch-1775957440780","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Water (Accredited Water Resource Plan—Macquarie-Castlereagh) 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—Macquarie-Castlereagh) 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—Macquarie-Castlereagh) 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 Macquarie-Castlereagh water resource plan area specified in subsection (2) is accredited.\n\n(2)    The plan is the document titled Macquarie-Castlereagh Surface 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":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument does not change the substantive scope of water management in the area; it formally accredits the Macquarie‑Castlereagh Surface Water Resource Plan as in force on the instrument date and excludes materials expressly not part of the plan (s5(2)). The instrument confers legal effect and triggers obligations under the Act; termination procedures remain those in ss54 and 64."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (5 operative clauses) with straightforward legal effect (accreditation) rather than new regulatory detail.","Relies on an external, separately published document (Macquarie‑Castlereagh Surface Water Resource Plan) for substantive rules (s5(2) and Note 1).","Cross-references to multiple provisions of the Water Act 2007 for authority and termination (s63 authority; ss54 and 64 cessation).","Minister/Authority discretion to identify plan content and to exclude materials not forming part of the plan (s5(2) — potential administrative discretion).","Compliance burden and enforcement derive from the accredited plan itself, not from this instrument (creates linkage but not operational rules).","Notes reference statutory requirements for accreditation (table item 11 of s22(1) and Chapter 10 of the Basin Plan) which could require technical assessment outside this instrument."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument, made under s63 of the Water Act 2007, accredits the Macquarie‑Castlereagh Surface Water Resource Plan as in force on the instrument's date. Accreditation gives the plan legal effect for the Macquarie‑Castlereagh water resource plan area and takes effect the day after registration.\n\nWho pays/decides: the Minister and Basin Authority confirm the plan's content (s5(2)); water users and the Authority must comply with the accredited plan; accreditation may cease under ss54 and 64."},"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-developed water plans."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 5 operative sections across 2 pages","No defined terms in the instrument itself — relies entirely on definitions in the parent Water Act 2007 and Basin Plan","Single substantive operation: accreditation of an external document by reference","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions","Cross-references are minimal and straightforward (sections 63, 54, 64 of the Act; Chapter 10 of Basin Plan)","No penalty provisions, enforcement mechanisms, or compliance obligations in the instrument itself"],"plain_english_summary":"The instrument officially accredits the Macquarie‑Castlereagh Surface Water Resource Plan (as it stood on 17 June 2024), making that NSW plan a recognised Commonwealth water resource plan. It affects water users in the catchment, the Murray‑Darling Basin Authority and the NSW Government, because accreditation means the plan counts toward Australia’s Basin Plan obligations under the Water Act 2007. Accreditation can lapse or be revoked under ss.54 and 64 of the Water Act."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/water-accredited-water-resource-plan-macquarie-castlereagh-instrument-2024","history":"/api/acts/water-accredited-water-resource-plan-macquarie-castlereagh-instrument-2024/history","analysis":"/api/acts/water-accredited-water-resource-plan-macquarie-castlereagh-instrument-2024/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/water-accredited-water-resource-plan-macquarie-castlereagh-instrument-2024/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/water-accredited-water-resource-plan-macquarie-castlereagh-instrument-2024/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/water-accredited-water-resource-plan-macquarie-castlereagh-instrument-2024/documents"}}