97Water market rules

97  Water market rules

 (1) The Minister may make rules (to be called water market rules), applying in Basin States that are referring States and in the Australian Capital Territory, that:

 (a) relate to an act that an irrigation infrastructure operator does, or fails to do, in a way that prevents or unreasonably delays arrangements being made that would reduce the share component of a water access entitlement of the operator to allow:

 (i) a person’s entitlement to water under an irrigation right against the operator; or

 (ii) a part of that entitlement;

  to be permanently transformed into a water access entitlement that is held by someone other than the operator; and

 (b) contribute to achieving the Basin water market and trading objectives and principles set out in Schedule 3.

Arrangements of the kind referred to in paragraph (a) are referred to in this section as transformation arrangements.

 (2) Water market rules are legislative instruments.

 (3) Without limiting subsection (1), water market rules may deal with the restrictions that an irrigation infrastructure operator may, or may not, impose in relation to:

 (a) transformation arrangements; or

 (b) the trading or transferring, by a person who had an irrigation right against the operator, of a water access entitlement, or part of such an entitlement, obtained as a result of transformation arrangements.

 (4) Without limiting subsection (3), the restrictions referred to in that subsection include:

 (a) restrictions imposed by including provisions in a contract, arrangement or understanding between an irrigation infrastructure operator and:

 (i) a person who has an irrigation right against the operator; or

 (ii) a person who has a water access entitlement, or part of such an entitlement, that the person obtained as a result of transformation arrangements in relation to an irrigation right the person had against the operator; and

 (b) restrictions imposed by the way in which an irrigation infrastructure operator conducts its operations.

 (5) Without limiting subsection (1), water market rules may:

 (a) permit an irrigation infrastructure operator to require security before allowing:

 (i) a person who holds an irrigation right against the operator to obtain a water access entitlement, or part of such an entitlement, through transformation arrangements in relation to the irrigation right; or

 (ii) a person who has obtained a water access entitlement, or part of such an entitlement, as a result of transformation arrangements in relation to an irrigation right the person had against the operator to trade or transfer the water access entitlement, or part, obtained; and