51Licence to take and use water

51 Licence to take and use water (1) A person may apply to the Minister for the issue of a licence to take and use— (a) water from a waterway (including the River Murray); or S. 51(1)(ba) inserted by No. 5/2002 s. 19(1). (ba) water from a spring or soak or water from a dam (to the extent that it is not rainwater supplied to the dam from the roof of a building or water supplied to the dam from a waterway or a bore), for a use other than domestic and stock use; or S. 51(1)(c) amended by Nos 50/1992 s. 10(Sch. item 11.4), 49/1994 s. 5(1)(b), substituted by No. 86/1995 s. 11, amended by Nos 99/2005 s. 25(a), 23/2019 s. 107(a). (c) water, other than recycled water, from any works of an Authority. S. 51(1)(d) inserted by No. 86/1995 s. 11, amended by No. 99/2005 s. 25(b), repealed by No. 23/2019 s. 107(b). S. 51(1AA) inserted by No. 99/2005 s. 46, substituted by No. 29/2007 s. 14. (1AA) An application may not be made under subsection (1) to take and use water in a declared water system unless— (a) the water to be taken and used is to be subject to a condition that a proportion of the water so taken and used is to be returned to the water system; or (b) the water is to be taken and used for a prescribed purpose. S. 51(1A) inserted by No. 5/2002 s. 19(2) (as amended by No. 6/2002 s. 4(1)). (1A) During the period commencing on 1 July 2002 and ending on 30 June 2003, a person may apply, without payment of an application fee, to the Minister for the issue of a registration licence to take and use— (a) water from a spring or soak or water from a dam (to the extent that it is not rainwater supplied to the dam from the roof of a building or water supplied to the dam from a waterway or a bore), for a use other than domestic and stock use; or (b) water from a dam on a waterway other than a river, creek, stream or watercourse, for a use other than domestic and stock use. S. 51(1B) inserted by No. 5/2002 s. 19(2) (as amended by No. 6/2002 s. 4(1)). (1B) Subsection (1A) only applies, in relation to a spring or soak or dam, to a person who at any time during the period of 10 years immediately before the commencement of section 32 of the **Water (Irrigation Farm Dams) Act 2002** was taking and using— (a) water from the spring or soak or water from the dam (other than water supplied to the dam from a waterway or a bore), for a use other than domestic and stock use; or (b) water from the dam on a waterway other than a river, creek, stream or watercourse, for a use other than domestic and stock use for which a licence under subsection (1)(a) is not in force— as the case may be. S. 51(1C) inserted by No. 5/2002 s. 19(3). (1C) Nothing in this section requires a person to hold a licence issued under this section to re-use water that— (a) is stored in a dam that complies with design criteria specified by the Minister under section 80A; and (b) does not exceed the volume determined in accordance with the formula specified by the Minister under section 80A; and (c) is supplied to the person under a licence issued under this section, under section 124(7) or in accordance with section 222. S. 51(2) amended by No. 5/2002 s. 19(4)(a). (2) An application under this section must— S. 51(2)(ba) inserted by No. 5/2002 s. 19(4)(b). (ba) in the case of an application under subsection (1)(ba) or (1A) in relation to a spring or soak or dam by a person who at any time during the period of 10 years immediately before the commencement of section 32 of the **Water (Irrigation Farm Dams) Act 2002** was taking and using— (i) water from the spring or soak or water from the dam (other than water supplied to the dam from a waterway or a bore), for a use other than domestic and stock use; or (ii) water from a dam on a waterway other than a river, creek, stream or watercourse, for a use other than domestic and stock use— as the case may be, set out the maximum volume of water to be used by the applicant in each year during the period of the licence, determined in accordance with the criteria specified by Order under section 52A; and S. 51(2)(c) amended by No. 110/1997 s. 17(1), substituted by No. 5/2002 s. 19(4)(c). (c) be accompanied by the application fee, if any, fixed by the Minister for that type of application. S. 51(3) amended by No. 35/1998 s. 21(1). (3) After consultation with the Minister administering the **Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987**, a licence issued under this section may include authority to enter on any Crown land other than land which is subject to a licence granted under Part 3A of the **Victorian Plantations Corporation Act 1993** and to install and operate works on that land for the purpose of raising water to be taken and used under the licence. (4) An authority granted under subsection (3) does not remove the need to apply for any licence that is necessary under Part 5. (5) The licensee is liable to compensate any person who suffers any pecuniary loss as a direct, natural and reasonable consequence of the exercise of an authority granted under subsection (3). S. 51(6) amended by No. 52/1998 s. 311(Sch. 1 item 105.10). (6) The amount of compensation payable is as agreed by the parties or, in the absence of agreement, as determined by the Tribunal. (7) For the purposes of this section, ***waterway*** includes any collection of water which is from time to time replenished in whole or in part by water coming by a natural sub-surface path from a waterway. S. 51AA inserted by No. 24/2013 s. 11. 51AA Amendment of original registration licences and issue of new registration licences in certain circumstances (1) This section applies despite anything to the contrary in section 51. (2) A holder of an original registration licence may apply to the Minister (without payment of an application fee) for— (a) the original registration licence to be amended so that it authorises water to be taken and used from a single spring, soak or dam specified in the application, being a spring, soak or dam from which water was authorised to be taken and used under the licence immediately before its amendment under this section; and (b) the issue of a licence to take and use water from each other spring, soak or dam from which water was authorised to be taken and used under the original registration licence immediately before its amendment under this section. (3) An application under this section must— (b) contain any information or document that is required by the Minister. (4) The Minister, on receiving an application under this section, may— (a) amend the original registration licence so that it authorises water to be taken and used from the spring, soak or dam specified in the application; and (b) issue a licence to take and use water from each other spring, soak or dam from which the holder of the original licence was authorised to take and use water under the original registration licence. (5) The Minister, in amending an original registration licence under subsection (4)(a), must reduce the volume of water authorised to be taken and used under that licence by an amount that is equivalent to the amount that is authorised to be taken and used under every licence issued under this section. (6) Subject to subsection (8), an original registration licence that is amended under subsection (4)(a) continues to be subject to any condition to which the licence was subject immediately before the licence was amended. (7) A licence issued under this section— (a) must not authorise the taking and use of water from more than one spring, soak or dam; and (b) subject to subsection (8), is subject to any condition to which the taking and use of water from the relevant spring, soak or dam was subject under the original registration licence. (8) The Minister may amend a condition referred to in subsection (6) or (7)(b) to the extent necessary to reflect the amendment of the original registration licence and the issue of every licence under this section. (9) In this section, ***original registration licence*** means a registration licence issued under section 51(1A) that authorises water to be taken and used from more than one spring, soak or dam. S. 51AB inserted by No. 24/2013 s. 11. 51AB Issue of new registration licences in certain circumstances (1) This section applies despite anything to the contrary in section 51. (2) A person who is a successor in title to the owner of a part or parcel of land from which water was taken and used under an original registration licence may apply (without payment of an application fee) to the Minister for the issue of a licence to take and use water from each spring, soak or dam on that part or parcel of land from which water was authorised to be taken and used under the original registration licence. (3) An application under subsection (2) must— (b) contain any information or document that is required by the Minister. (4) Subject to this section, the Minister may issue a licence to take and use water from each spring, soak or dam specified in the application if the Minister is satisfied that— (a) the applicant is the successor in title to the owner of the part or parcel of land from which water was taken and used under an original registration licence; and (b) the original registration licence has not been surrendered under section 51A. (5) Before issuing a licence under this section, the Minister must— (a) give notice of the application to the holder of the original registration licence at the person's last known address; and (b) consider any submission made within 28 days after the date of the notice by the holder of the original registration licence. (6) If the Minister issues a licence under this section, the Minister must— (a) amend the original registration licence so that the original registration licence ceases to authorise the taking and use of water from the spring, soak or dam specified in a licence issued under this section; and S. 51AB(6)(b) amended by No. 42/2021 s. 139. (b) make any other amendment to the original registration licence that is necessary to reflect the amendment of that licence under paragraph (a) and the issue of a licence under this section. (7) The Minister, in amending an original registration licence under subsection (6)(a), must reduce the volume of water authorised to be taken and used under that licence by an amount that is equivalent to the amount that is authorised to be taken and used under every licence issued under this section. (8) A licence issued under this section— (a) must not authorise the taking and use of water from more than one spring, soak or dam; and (b) subject to subsection (9), is subject to any condition to which the taking and use of water from the relevant spring, soak or dam was subject under the original registration licence. (9) The Minister may amend a condition referred to in subsection (8)(b) to the extent necessary to reflect the amendment of the original registration licence and the issue of every licence under this section. (10) In this section, ***original registration licence*** has the same meaning as in section 51AA. S. 51A inserted by No. 5/2002 s. 20.