Amendments
The Australian Government has amended the Water Act 2007 (the Water Act) several times since 2007. Substantial amendments were included in the following:
- Water Amendment Act 2008 (Cth)
- Water Amendment (Long -term Average Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment) Act 2012 (Cth)
- Water Amendment (Water for the Environment Special Account) Act 2013 (Cth)
- Water Amendment Act 2015 (Cth)
- Water Amendment (Review implementation and Other Measures) Act 2016 (Cth)
- Water Amendment Act 2018 (Cth)
- Water Amendment (Indigenous Authority Member) Act 2019 (Cth)
- Water Legislation Amendment (Inspector-General of Water Compliance and Other Measures) Act 2021 (Cth)
Review of the Water Act
An independent expert panel conducted a review of the Water Act in 2014. This was the first review under section 253 of the Act.
The review assessed the Act’s operations and achievements against its objectives. The Water Amendment (Review Implementation and Other Measures) Act 2016 gave effect to the review’s recommendations.
The amendments to the Act ensured:
- greater flexibility for the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder to use water trade proceeds
- five-yearly reviews of the socio-economic impacts of the Basin Plan
- the next review of the Water Act in 2024
- the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder can sell water allocations when appropriate
- reduced regulatory burden on the irrigation sector and state government agencies
- more effective support of the Basin Plan.
Terms of reference
You can download the terms of reference for the review.
Download
Terms of reference - Review of the Water Act 2007 (PDF 136 KB)
Terms of reference - Review of the Water Act 2007 (DOC 34 KB)
Review report
The expert panel released its report in December 2014. They made 23 recommendations and 30 conclusions.
Download
Report of the Independent Review of the Water Act 2007 (PDF 1.2 MB)
Report of the Independent Review of the Water Act 2007 (DOCX 10 MB)
Report of the Independent Review of the Water Act 2007 — Recommendations and Conclusions (PDF 82 KB)
If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.
Government response
The Australian Government accepted all 23 of the expert panel’s recommendations. Some of them in part.
Download
Report of the Independent Review of the Water Act 2007: Australian Government response (PDF 334 KB)
Report of the Independent Review of the Water Act 2007: Australian Government response (DOCX 162 KB)
If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.