{"id":"water-resources-far-north-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2003","name":"Water Resources (Far North Prescribed Wells Area) Regulations 2003","slug":"water-resources-far-north-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2003","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":238198,"registerId":"sa-water-resources-far-north-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2003-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-06","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Water Resources (Far North Prescribed Wells Area) Regulations 2003","content":"South Australia\nWater Resources (Far North Prescribed Wells Area) Regulations 2003\nunder the Water Resources Act 1997\n\nContents\nPreamble\n1\tShort title\n2\tCommencement\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tDeclaration of prescribed wells and exclusion of operation of section 7(5) of Act\n5\tEstablishment and prescribed periods\nSchedule—Revocation of proclamations and regulations\nPart 1—Revocation of proclamations\n1\tRevocation of proclamation made under the Water Resources Act 1976\n2\tRevocation of proclamation made under the Water Resources Act 1990\nPart 2—Revocation of regulations\n3\tRevocation of Water Resources (Roxby Downs Exemption) Regulations 1997 (Gazette 26.6.1997 p3255)\nLegislative history\n\n\nPreamble\n1\tThe Roxby Downs (Indenture Ratification) Act 1982 (the Indenture Ratification Act), among other things—\n\t(a)\tratifies and approves the Indenture, as varied, amended or replaced from time to time (the Indenture); and\n\t(b)\tprovides that the law of the State is to be construed subject to the provisions of the Indenture and, in the case of any inconsistency between the provision of a State Act or law and the Indenture, the provisions of the Indenture will prevail.\n2\tThe Indenture sets out various matters relevant to water requirements for projects undertaken by the Joint Venturers (within the meaning of the Indenture Ratification Act).\n3\tIn particular, clause 13 of the Indenture includes provisions—\n\t(a)\tfor the granting to the Joint Venturers of Special Water Licences to draw water from designated areas; and\n\t(b)\tfor every well in a designated area, not already proclaimed under the Water Resources Act 1976 (the 1976 Act) or the Water Resources Act 1990 (the 1990 Act), to be declared a proclaimed well under the 1990 Act.\n4\tIn accordance with the Indenture—\n\t(a)\ta Special Water Licence was granted to the Joint Venturers in respect of a designated area and the designated area was declared by proclamation under section 41 of the 1976 Act to be the Curdimurka Proclaimed Region (Gazette 24.1.1985 p161); and\n\t(b)\ta Special Water Licence was granted to the Joint Venturers in respect of another designated area and that designated area was declared by proclamation under section 33 of the 1990 Act to be the Muloorina Proclaimed Wells Area (Gazette 25.1.1996 p807).\n5\tIt is now appropriate to make a regulation under section 8 of the Water Resources Act 1997 (the current Act) declaring a number of other wells situated in the part of the State that encompasses the Curdimurka Proclaimed Region and Muloorina Proclaimed Wells Area to be proclaimed wells.\n7\tThe regulations to be made under the current Act will make the declarations of the Curdimurka Proclaimed Region and the Muloorina Proclaimed Wells Area otiose but will have no effect on the operation of the Special Water Licences referred to above or on any Special Water Licence granted to the Joint Venturers under the Indenture after the commencement of the regulations.\n\n1—Short title\nThese regulations may be cited as the Water Resources (Far North Prescribed Wells Area) Regulations 2003.\n2—Commencement\nThese regulations come into operation on the day on which they are made.\n3—Interpretation\nIn these regulations—\nAct means the Water Resources Act 1997;\nFar North Prescribed Wells Area means the area bounded by the bold black line on GRO Plan No 593/2001.\n4—Declaration of prescribed wells and exclusion of operation of section 7(5) of Act\n\t(1)\tPursuant to section 8 of the Act, wells situated in the Far North Prescribed Wells Area and wells drilled in that Area after the commencement of these regulations are declared to be prescribed wells.\n\t(2)\tPursuant to section 7(6) of the Act, the operation of section 7(5) of the Act is excluded in relation to any such prescribed well.\n5—Establishment and prescribed periods\nFor the purposes of section 36 of the Act—\n\t(a)\tthe establishment period in relation to the Far North Prescribed Wells Area commenced on 1 January 1995 and ended at the commencement of the prescribed period; and\n\t(b)\tthe prescribed period in relation to the Far North Prescribed Wells Area commenced on 20 December 2001 and will end on 30 December 2005.\nSchedule—Revocation of proclamations and regulations\nPart 1—Revocation of proclamations\n1—Revocation of proclamation made under the Water Resources Act 1976\nThe proclamation made under section 41 of the Water Resources Act 1976 revoking a declaration of a proclaimed region and making a fresh declaration of Curdimurka Proclaimed Region (Gazette 24.1.1985 p161) is revoked.\n2—Revocation of proclamation made under the Water Resources Act 1990\nThe proclamation made under section 33(2) of the Water Resources Act 1990 specifying part of the State as the Muloorina Proclaimed Wells Area (Gazette 25.1.1996 p807) is revoked.\nPart 2—Revocation of regulations\n3—Revocation of Water Resources (Roxby Downs Exemption) Regulations 1997 (Gazette 26.6.1997 p3255)\nThe Water Resources (Roxby Downs Exemption) Regulations 1997 (Gazette 26.6.1997 p3255) are revoked.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nPrincipal regulations\nYear\nNo\nReference\nCommencement\n2003\n31\nGazette 27.3.2003 p1249\n27.3.2003: r 2\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: consolidating water management zones in the Far North to accommodate the Roxby Downs Indenture arrangements. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific geographic area and mining-related water governance."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 defined terms in the interpretation section (Act, Far North Prescribed Wells Area, and implicit references to the Indenture)","Heavy reliance on external documents — the actual boundaries are on 'GRO Plan No 593/2001' which isn't reproduced in the text","Nested statutory references — requires understanding of Water Resources Act 1997 sections 7, 8, and 36, plus the 1976 and 1990 Acts","The Preamble is longer than the operative provisions (5 substantive sections vs 7 preamble paragraphs explaining historical context)","Schedule contains simple revocation provisions with no conditional logic","No exceptions, exemptions, or penalty provisions in the regulations themselves"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations create a new water management zone called the **Far North Prescribed Wells Area** in outback South Australia. They declare all existing and future water bores (wells) in this area to be \"prescribed wells\" — meaning they come under strict government control and licensing requirements.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n* **BHP/Olympic Dam (the \"Joint Venturers\")**: The mining giant operating the Roxby Downs/Olympic Dam mine. This legislation tidies up their special water access arrangements under a 1982 deal (the \"Indenture\").\n* **Any future water users** in the Far North Prescribed Wells Area — farmers, pastoralists, or other miners who want to drill for water will now need a licence.\n* **The environment**: The area includes the Great Artesian Basin and sensitive desert ecosystems.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis is essentially **housekeeping for a mining giant's water rights**. The regulations:\n\n* **Consolidate** two older water zones (Curdimurka and Muloorina) into one new zone\n* **Preserve** BHP's special water licences** — these stay untouched despite the reshuffle\n* **Tighten control** over who can take water from this arid region by bringing all wells under the licensing system\n* **Set a time limit** — the special rules run until December 2005 (though they may have been extended since)\n\nThe key thing to understand: this doesn't give BHP *new* water rights. It just reorganises the paperwork around their existing rights while making sure everyone else in the area needs a permit to drill."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The regulations shift the legal mechanism used to regulate the same geographic wells: they re-declare wells under the Water Resources Act 1997 (reg 4(1)) and revoke earlier proclamations and a 1997 regulation (Schedule), rather than leaving the earlier proclamations in force. They preserve the operation of existing Special Water Licences (Preamble para 7). Substantively the same wells are treated as regulated, but the instrument, timing (reg 5) and statutory references governing them have changed."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to multiple legislative instruments and eras (Water Resources Act 1976, 1990 and 1997) and the Indenture in the Preamble, requiring readers to track historical material (Preamble; Schedule).","Geographic scope defined by an external plan reference (GRO Plan No 593/2001) rather than a textual description, so users must consult that map to identify affected wells (reg 3 definition).","Direct change to statutory operation by excluding section 7(5) of the Act in relation to these wells (reg 4(2)), which alters how the primary Act applies to the declared wells.","Temporal rules: separate establishment period and prescribed period with explicit start and end dates (reg 5), creating timing-sensitive entitlements or obligations.","Revocation of prior proclamations and a prior regulation (Schedule, Parts 1 and 2), shifting the legal basis for the area from proclamations to these regulations.","Preservation of existing Special Water Licences (Preamble para 7) requires concurrent reading of licences and these regulations to determine practical effects."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations declare every well inside the mapped Far North Prescribed Wells Area to be a \"prescribed well\" under the Water Resources Act 1997, exclude a specific statutory exception, fix the establishment and prescribed periods (1995–2005), and revoke earlier proclamations and a 1997 regulation. The change reclassifies wells in that mapped area and therefore affects those who own or operate wells there, while leaving existing Special Water Licences referenced in the Indenture intact."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope change cannot be determined — the legislative text was not available for analysis. The title suggests a geographically focused instrument (Far North Prescribed Wells Area) consistent with a narrow, specific regulatory purpose, but no amendments or broadening of scope could be confirmed."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — only a website error page was returned","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without access to the actual regulations","Score of 2 reflects minimal base complexity inferred from title only: it is a subordinate instrument (regulations) under a single Act, covering a defined geographic area","Water resource regulations of this type typically involve licensing schemes, measurement requirements, and exemptions, which can carry moderate technical complexity — but this is speculative without the text"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation governs groundwater use in the Far North Prescribed Wells Area of South Australia, setting rules for accessing and extracting bore water under the State’s water-resources framework. It affects landowners, pastoralists, miners and Aboriginal communities who rely on wells in that remote region. It matters because it controls scarce outback water supplies, licensing and compliance, and breaches can carry significant penalties."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/water-resources-far-north-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2003","history":"/api/acts/water-resources-far-north-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2003/history","analysis":"/api/acts/water-resources-far-north-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2003/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/water-resources-far-north-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2003/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/water-resources-far-north-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2003/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/water-resources-far-north-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2003/documents"}}