(a) an agency of a Basin State that has the function of managing a river flow control work or a salinity work (whether or not the function is carried out by another person under a licence, contract or other arrangement with the agency); or
(b) a person who has the function of managing a river flow control work or a salinity work (whether or not the function is carried out by another person under a licence, contract or other arrangement with the person).
overallocation: there is an overallocation for a water resource plan area if, with full development of water access rights in relation to the water resources of the area, the total volume of water able to be extracted by the holders of water access rights at a given time exceeds the environmentally sustainable level of take for those water resources.
overuse: there is an overuse for a water resource plan area if the total volume of water actually taken for consumptive use from the water resources of the area at a given time exceeds the environmentally sustainable level of take for those water resources.
Note: An overuse may arise for a water resource plan area if the area is overallocated, or if the planned allocation for the area is exceeded due to inadequate monitoring or accounting.
paid work means work for financial gain or reward (whether as an employee, a self‑employed person or otherwise).
penalty unit has the meaning given by section 4AA of the Crimes Act 1914.
planned environmental water has the meaning given by section 6.
premises includes the following:
(a) a building;
(b) a place (including an area of land);
(c) a vehicle;
(d) a vessel;
(e) an aircraft;
(f) a water resource;
(g) any part of premises (including premises referred to in paragraphs (a) to (f)).
President has the meaning given by subsection 239J(2).
pre‑trade, in relation to the trade or transfer, or proposed trade or transfer, of any type of eligible tradeable water right includes, but is not limited to, offers to buy or sell occurring before an agreement or contract for the trade or transfer is entered into.
principles of ecologically sustainable development has the meaning given by subsection (2).
Productivity Minister means the Minister administering the Productivity Commission Act 1998.
proposed Basin limit has the meaning given by subsection 23A(5).
proposed plan area limit has the meaning given by subsection 23A(5).
Ramsar Convention means the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat done at Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971.
Note: The text of the Convention is set out in Australian Treaty Series 1975 No. 48. In 2007, the text of a Convention in the Australian Treaty Series was accessible through the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (www.austlii.edu.au).
reference time has the meaning given by subsection 23A(5).
referring State has the meaning given by section 18B.
regulated water charges has the meaning given by section 91.
relevant chief executive, in Division 5 of Part 8, has the meaning given by section 155A.
relevant international agreement means the following:
(a) the Ramsar Convention;
(b) the Biodiversity Convention;
(c) the Desertification Convention;
(d) the Bonn Convention;
(e) CAMBA;
(f) JAMBA;
(g) ROKAMBA;
(h) the Climate Change Convention;
(i) any other international convention to which Australia is a party and that is:
(i) relevant to the use and management of the Basin water resources; and
(ii) prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.
relevant State Minister, for a Basin State, means:
(a) the Minister of the Crown for the State who is responsible for the administration of the State’s water management law; or
(b) if there is more than one such Minister—the Minister of the Crown for the State that the Premier of the State advises the Authority, in writing, is the relevant State Minister for the State.
river flow control work has the meaning given by section 8.
River Murray Operations assets has the meaning given by subsection 239D(2).
River Murray System has the meaning given by subsection 86A(3).
ROKAMBA means the Agreement with the Government of the Republic of Korea on the Protection of Migratory Birds done at Canberra on 6 December 2006.
Note: The text of the Agreement is set out in Australian Treaty Series 2007 No. 24. In 2007, the text of a Convention in the Australian Treaty Series was accessible through the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (www.austlii.edu.au).
salinity work means a work to reduce, or maintain, salinity levels in the Murray‑Darling Basin.
State (except in section 18B) includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.
State water management law means:
(a) the Water Management Act 2000, the Water Act 1912 and the Rivers and Foreshores Improvement Act 1948 of New South Wales; or
(b) the Water Act 1989 and Parts 4 and 5 of the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 of Victoria; or
(c) the Water Act 2000 of Queensland; or
(d) the Natural Resources Management Act 2004 of South Australia; or
(e) the Water Resources Act 2007 of the Australian Capital Territory; or
(f) a law of a Basin State, or a part of such a law, that:
(i) is relevant to the management of Basin water resources; and
(ii) is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition;
and includes regulations, and other instruments, made under those laws.
State water sharing arrangement has the meaning given by subsection 86D(4).
surface water includes:
(a) water in a watercourse, lake or wetland; and
(b) any water flowing over or lying on land:
(i) after having precipitated naturally; or
(ii) after having risen to the surface naturally from underground.
take water from a water resource means to remove water from, or to reduce the flow of water in or into, the water resource including by any of the following means:
(a) pumping or siphoning water from the water resource;
(b) stopping, impeding or diverting the flow of water in or into the water resource;
(c) releasing water from the water resource if the water resource is a wetland or lake;
(d) permitting water to flow from the water resource if the water resource is a well or watercourse;
and includes storing water as part of, or in a way that is ancillary to, any of the processes or activities referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d).
temporary diversion provision has the meaning given by item 7 of the table in subsection 22(1).
thing includes a substance, and a thing in electronic or magnetic form.
total Basin adjustment percentage has the meaning given by subsections 23A(5) and (6).
tradeable water rights means:
(a) water access rights; or
(b) water delivery rights; or
(c) irrigation rights.
transitional asset has the meaning given by subsection 239C(3).
transitional instrument has the meaning given by subsection 239N(4).
transitional liability has the meaning given by subsection 239F(3).
transitional water resource plan has the meaning given by section 241.
Upper Murrumbidgee River means the waters of the Murrumbidgee River upstream of the Burrinjuck Dam.
water access entitlement means a perpetual or ongoing entitlement, by or under a law of a State, to exclusive access to a share of the water resources of a water resource plan area.
water access right:
(a) means any right conferred by or under a law of a State to do either or both of the following:
(i) to hold water from a water resource;
(ii) to take water from a water resource; and
(b) without limiting paragraph (a), includes the following rights of the kind referred to in that paragraph:
(i) stock and domestic rights;
(ii) riparian rights;
(iii) a water access entitlement;
(iv) a water allocation; and
(c) includes any other right in relation to the taking or use of water that is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.
water accounting period for a water resource plan area has the meaning given by item 2 of the table in subsection 22(1).
water allocation means the specific volume of water allocated to water access entitlements in a given water accounting period.
water charge rules has the meaning given by section 92.
water charging objectives and principles means the objectives set out in Schedule 2.
watercourse:
(a) means a river, creek or other natural watercourse (whether modified or not) in which water is contained or flows (whether permanently or from time to time); and
(b) includes:
(i) a dam or reservoir that collects water flowing in a watercourse; and
(ii) a lake or wetland through which water flows; and
(iii) a channel into which the water of a watercourse has been diverted; and
(iv) part of a watercourse; and
(v) an estuary through which water flows.
water delivery right means a right to have water delivered by an infrastructure operator.
water‑dependent ecosystem means a surface water ecosystem or a ground water ecosystem, and its natural components and processes, that depends on periodic or sustained inundation, waterlogging or significant inputs of water for its ecological integrity and includes an ecosystem associated with:
(a) a wetland; or
(b) a stream and its floodplain; or
(c) a lake or a body of water (whether fresh or saline); or
(d) a salt marsh; or
(e) an estuary; or
(f) a karst system; or
(g) a ground water system;
and a reference to a water‑dependent ecosystem includes a reference to the biodiversity of the ecosystem.
Water for the Environment Special Account means the special account established by section 86AB.
water information has the meaning given by section 125.
water market authority, in relation to the proposed trade or transfer of an eligible tradeable water right, means:
(a) a person authorised or required under a law of a State to approve, allow or register the trade or transfer; or
(b) an irrigation infrastructure operator that approves, allows or registers the trade or transfer.
water market rules has the meaning given by section 97.
water markets information means the following information:
(a) any raw data, or any value added information product (including information that is generated), that relates to:
(i) the pre‑trade, trade or transfer of any type of eligible tradeable water right; or
(ii) the allowance, approval or registration of a trade or transfer of any type of eligible tradeable water right; or
(iii) accounts relating to eligible tradeable water rights; or
(iv) the ownership of eligible tradeable water rights and other entitlements on issue relating to Basin water resources;
(b) any metadata or contextual information relating to information of a kind referred to in paragraph (a);
(c) such other information (if any) as is prescribed by the regulations.
Water Markets Intermediaries Code means the code (if any) prescribed by the regulations made under Division 3 of Part 5.
water markets intermediary services means services referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) of the definition of eligible water markets intermediary.
water resource means:
(a) surface water or ground water; or
(b) a watercourse, lake, wetland or aquifer (whether or not it currently has water in it);
and includes all aspects of the water resource (including water, organisms and other components and ecosystems that contribute to the physical state and environmental value of the water resource).
water resource plan for a water resource plan area means a plan that:
(a) provides for the management of the water resource plan area; and
(b) is either:
(i) accredited under section 63; or
(ii) adopted under section 69;
but only to the extent to which the water resource plan:
(c) relates to Basin water resources; and
(d) makes provision in relation to the matters that the Basin Plan requires a water resource plan to include.
water resource plan area means an area that:
(a) contains part of the Basin water resources; and
(b) is specified in the Basin Plan as an area that is a water resource plan area for the purposes of this Act.
Note: See item 2 of the table in subsection 22(1).
water resources of a water resource plan area has the meaning given by item 2 of the table in subsection 22(1).
water service infrastructure has the meaning given by subsection 7(3).
water trading rules means the rules included in the Basin Plan under item 12 of the table in subsection 22(1).
wetland has the same meaning as in the Ramsar Convention.
(2) The following principles are principles of ecologically sustainable development:
(a) decision‑making processes should effectively integrate both long‑term and short‑term economic, environmental, social and equitable considerations;
(b) if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation;
(c) the principle of inter‑generational equity—that the present generation should ensure that the health, biodiversity and productivity of the environment is maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future generations;
(d) the conservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity should be a fundamental consideration in decision‑making;
(e) improved valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms should be promoted.
5 Application of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 to Parts 1A, 2A, 4, 4A, 10A and 11A
(1) The Acts Interpretation Act 1901, as in force on the day on which Schedule 1 to the Water Amendment Act 2008 commences, applies to Parts 1A, 2A, 4, 4A, 10A and 11A.
(2) Amendments of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 made after that day do not apply to those Parts.
6 Planned environmental water
(1) For the purposes of this Act, planned environmental water is water that:
(a) is committed by:
(i) the Basin Plan or a water resource plan for a water resource plan area; or
(ii) a plan made under a State water management law; or
(iii) any other instrument made under a law of a State;
to either or both of the following purposes:
(iv) achieving environmental outcomes;
(v) other environmental purposes that are specified in the plan or the instrument; and
(b) cannot, to the extent to which it is committed by that instrument to that purpose or those purposes, be taken or used for any other purpose.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, planned environmental water is water that:
(a) is preserved, by a law of a State or an instrument made under a law of a State, for the purposes of achieving environmental outcomes by any other means (for example, by means of the setting of water flow or pressure targets or establishing zones within which water may not be taken from a water resource); and
(b) cannot, to the extent to which it is preserved by that instrument for that purpose or those purposes, be taken or used for any other purpose.
(3) The water may be committed to, or preserved for, the purpose or purposes referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (2)(a) either generally or only at specified times or in specified circumstances.
(4) Without limiting paragraph (1)(b) or (2)(b), the requirements of paragraph (1)(b) or (2)(b) are taken to have been met even if the water is taken or used for another purpose in emergency circumstances in accordance with:
(a) the instrument referred to in that paragraph; or
(b) the law under which the instrument is made; or
(c) another law.
6A Meaning of eligible tradeable water right
(1) For the purposes of this Act, an eligible tradeable water right means the following:
(a) a tradeable water right;
(b) any other right in relation to the taking or use of water that is able to be traded or transferred, other than a right prescribed by the regulations;
(c) a right prescribed by the regulations;
to the extent that the right relates to Basin water resources or any other water resource prescribed by the regulations.
(2) For the purposes of Parts 5 and 5A, an eligible tradeable water right does not include a right that is a financial product within the meaning of section 761A of the Corporations Act 2001.
7 Infrastructure operators etc.
(1) This section applies if a person owns or operates infrastructure for one or more of the following purposes:
(a) the storage of water;
(b) the delivery of water;
(c) the drainage of water;
for the purpose of providing a service to someone who does not own or operate the infrastructure.
(2) The person is an infrastructure operator.
(3) The infrastructure is water service infrastructure.
(4) If water service infrastructure is operated for the purposes of delivering water for the primary purpose of being used for irrigation:
(a) each infrastructure operator for the water service infrastructure is an irrigation infrastructure operator; and
(b) the water service infrastructure is the irrigation network of each of those irrigation infrastructure operators.
8 River flow control works
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a river flow control work is a work that:
(a) regulates the flow or control of water in the watercourses of the Murray‑Darling Basin, including:
(i) a dam, barrage, bank, regulator, weir or lock; or
(ii) a work connecting a river channel with an off‑stream work that regulates the flow or control of water; or
(iii) a work (including a canal) connecting a river channel with another river channel; and
(b) is either:
(i) owned by, or is under the control of, the Commonwealth or a Basin State; or
(ii) specified in the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.
(2) However, river flow control work does not include:
(a) a work that is under the control of the body that is entitled, under the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997 of New South Wales, to the Snowy water licence within the meaning of that Act; or
(b) a work operated primarily to deliver water for urban retail supply; or