{"id":"F2018L00926","name":"Water Act (Northern Basin Review and Other Measures) Direction 2018","slug":"water-act-northern-basin-review-and-other-measures-direction-2018","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":97631,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2018L00926-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name","content":"#### 1 Name\n\n  This instrument is the Water Act (Northern Basin Review and Other Measures) Direction 2018.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority","content":"#### 3 Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under section 49AA of the Act.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 4 Definitions\n\n> Note: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in section 4 of the Act, including the following:\n\n    (a) Authority;\n    (b) Basin Plan.\n  In this instrument:\n\n> Act means the Water Act 2007.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Direction","content":"#### 5 Direction\n\n  (1) The Authority must prepare an amendment of the Basin Plan that is the same in effect as the Basin Plan Amendment Instrument 2017 (No.1).\n\n> Note: The Basin Plan Amendment Instrument 2017 (No.1) was disallowed by the Senate on 14 February 2018.\n\n  (2) The amendment must include the changes set out in paragraphs 2(2)(a), (b) and (c) of Schedule 10 to the Act.","sortOrder":4}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Direction does not expand or narrow the substantive content of the amendment it requires: it instructs the Authority to prepare an amendment that is “the same in effect” as a specified instrument and to include the listed Schedule 10 changes, so the intended substantive scope is to reproduce those changes (section 5(1)–(2)). The instrument changes process (it directs the Authority to prepare the amendment) but not the stated substantive scope of the required amendment."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument but relies on cross-references to another instrument (Basin Plan Amendment Instrument 2017 (No.1)) which is not reproduced here (section 5(1)).","Requires inclusion of specific paragraphs from Schedule 10 of the Water Act, so technical effect depends on reading those external paragraphs (section 5(2)).","Uses statutory definitions from the Water Act (for example, Authority; Basin Plan), requiring cross-reference to section 4 of the Act (Definitions note).","Legal effect is direct (a mandatory direction under section 49AA), so the drafting and administrative steps to implement it require precise legal and procedural work (sections 3 and 5).","Commencement depends on registration timing, creating a short administrative timing element (section 2)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Direction instructs the Authority under the Water Act 2007 to prepare a Basin Plan amendment “the same in effect” as the Basin Plan Amendment Instrument 2017 (No.1) and to include specified Schedule 10 changes, taking effect the day after registration. It places drafting duty and costs on the Authority and—if adopted—alters the legal rules that govern water managers and users, narrowing the Authority’s discretion and changing the regulatory baseline for affected parties."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Direction serves its narrow, original purpose: instructing the Authority to prepare a specific amendment to the Basin Plan. It has not expanded beyond this administrative function. The instrument is tightly scoped to a single task with defined parameters."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (only 5 sections, approximately 150 words)","Only 1 defined term ('Act'), with 2 terms referenced from parent Act","Single operative provision with two straightforward subsections","Relies entirely on external documents (Basin Plan Amendment Instrument 2017 (No.1) and Schedule 10 to the Act) for substantive content — the Direction itself contains no actual policy detail","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions","Simple linear structure: name, commencement, authority, definitions, direction"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a formal instruction (called a 'Direction') telling the Murray-Darling Basin Authority what it must do regarding Australia's biggest river system.\n\n**What it does:**\nThe Direction orders the Authority to rewrite part of the **Basin Plan** — the master rulebook for managing water in the Murray-Darling Basin. Specifically, it tells them to recreate an amendment that was previously rejected by the Senate, but with some specific changes added.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **The Murray-Darling Basin Authority** — they must do the work of preparing this amendment\n- **Farmers, irrigators, and communities** in the northern Murray-Darling Basin (Queensland and northern New South Wales) — because this relates to how much water can be taken from rivers for agriculture versus how much must stay for environmental health\n- **State governments** in the Basin — because they'll need to implement whatever changes eventually become law\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis Direction is about the **Northern Basin Review** — a controversial reassessment of how much water should be recovered for the environment in the northern part of the river system. The original amendment was blocked by the Senate, so this Direction is essentially the government saying 'try again, but this time include extra changes that might address concerns.' The changes mentioned (from Schedule 10 of the Water Act) relate to how water recovery targets are calculated and achieved.\n\n**Key context:**\nThe note in section 5(1) reveals this is a second attempt — the Senate already rejected this amendment once in February 2018. This Direction is the government's response to that rejection."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/water-act-northern-basin-review-and-other-measures-direction-2018","history":"/api/acts/water-act-northern-basin-review-and-other-measures-direction-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/water-act-northern-basin-review-and-other-measures-direction-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/water-act-northern-basin-review-and-other-measures-direction-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/water-act-northern-basin-review-and-other-measures-direction-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/water-act-northern-basin-review-and-other-measures-direction-2018/documents"}}