Continuing programs and initiatives

The Australia Government has committed $100 million for the Murray–Darling Basin Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program.

This program is part of a broader effort to strengthen the Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Act 2023. It also aims to provide greater recognition of First Nations People's values and uses of water.

The program supports various aspects of First Nations people's well-being, including:

• cultural
• social
• economic
• spiritual and
• environmental needs.

Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth 

From 2011 to 2020, the Australian Government invested $121 million in the Coorong Lower Lakes Murray Mouth (CLLMM) Recovery Project in South Australia. The project helped manage the area’s ecological health and supported the goals of the CLLMM Long Term Plan.  Read CLLMM Final Report.

Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin project 

The Australian and South Australian governments committed $77.8 million to the Healthy Coorong Healthy Basin (HCHB) program in 2018. The program supports the long-term health of the Coorong, with a particular focus on the Southern Lagoon.

In 2024, the Australian and South Australian governments committed the program’s final $26.2 million to develop long-term management plans for the Coorong South Lagoon. This phase focuses on: 

• analysing infrastructure options, creating designs, and preparing a business case to support future investment
• carrying out wetland restoration activities at the local level
• supporting community and First Nations engagement, consultation and participation.

This builds on the first phase of the HCHB program. That phase provided $51.6 million to South Australia to work with community, the Ngarrindjeri, and the First Nations of the South-East and:

• invested in scientific research to fill important knowledge gaps
• improved water forecasting and modelling to better manage water delivery
• restored migratory shorebird habitats at the Teringie Wetland, Tolderol Game Reserve and Lake Hawdon North
• developed a Coorong Restoration Roadmap
• assessed long-term infrastructure options.

The HCHB program is expected to be complete by 2027.

Find out more about HCHB program.

This project is designed to improve understanding of the groundwater system and water balance in the Great Artesian Basin.

Find out more about the GAB groundwater project

The objective of the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM) Recovery Project is to assist the South Australian Government in managing the site for ecological health and to support the implementation and objectives of the CLLMM Long-term recovery plan on the South Australian Government Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources website. The objectives of the long-term plan are to provide a clear direction for the future management of the CLLMM region as a healthy, productive and resilient Wetland of International Importance.

In addition to completed early works projects ($36.9 million), the Australian Government is contributing up to $123.3 million funding for management actions under the CLLMM Recovery Project.

The Australian Government has committed $32.6 million to assist the South Australian (SA) Government in improving natural water flow patterns in the Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges Prescribed Water Resources Area (EMLR WRA). This will be achieved through bypassing low flows at up to 1,100 strategically located dams and water course diversions in the Angas and Bremer catchments in the EMLR WRA, and the Marne Saunders catchment in the Marne Saunders Prescribed WRA.

Environmental benefits that are supported through bypassing low flows in the Angas, Bremer and Marne Saunders river systems include:

• increases in native fauna and flora, particularly fish and amphibians; and
• improvements in water quality in the immediate project area and downstream.

The project will also support the agricultural and tourism industry to remain sustainable.

For more information on the project visit the South Australian Natural Resources Flows for the Future web site.

The Australian Government has committed $8 million to the Goyder Institute for Water Research Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM) Research Centre over 4 years from 2022–23. This grant program uses research and community engagement to support the management of the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth and the critical environmental, cultural, social, and economic values of this region into the future.

Find out more about the Goyder Institute for Water Research Program.

This program builds on and replaces the Off-farm Efficiency Program. It aims to provide a more flexible approach than previous programs to meet the 450 GL water recovery target.

The program funds investment in infrastructure that provides:

• longer term outcomes
• multiple benefits
• water recovery for the environment.

Find out more about Resilient Rivers Water Infrastructure Program.