Water trading service standards
The tables below compare the Department of Natural Resources and Mines' (the department) performance against service standards for processing temporary and permanent water trades. These service standards are set by Council of Australian Governments (CoAG) requirements. For reports on processing times for supplemented water assignments, please refer to SunWater’s website.
Processing times for seasonal water assignments—temporary trade*
Table 1 below shows the percentage of unsupplemented seasonal water assignment applications processed by the department within the intended timeframe.
| Seasonal water assignment processing requirements | Total number of seasonal water assignments processed | Number processed within standard requirement | Performance against standard | Intended service standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Inter-state seasonal water assignments - percentage processed within 10 business days |
2 |
2 |
100% |
90% |
Intra-state seasonal water assignments - percentage processed within 5 business days |
105 |
58 |
55% |
90% |
*National Water Initiative terminology equivalent is 'allocation' trade.
Processing times for permanent water trades**
Table 2 below shows the percentage of permanent water trades registered on the Water Allocation Register by the Titles Registration business unit within the intended timeframe.
| Permanent trade registration requirement | Total number of permanent trades processed | Number processed within 10 days | Performance against standard | Intended service standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Registration of permanent trades within 10 business days |
393 |
380 | 97% |
90% |
**National Water Initiative terminology equivalent is 'water access entitlement' trade.
Note:
- The timeframe for the service standard commences on receipt of the application forms and associated fee.
- The service standard is a measure of business days only.
- An application finalised on the same day it is received is taken as being finalised in one day.
- Recorded processing times excludes any time the application is returned to the applicant for further information or to correct an error. Only the time spent by the department processing the trade is recorded.
- Performance against the service standard is reported as a cumulative monthly figure.
Seasonal water assignments
Seasonal water assignments include the time taken to approve or refuse applications which were finalised during the period indicated.
Permanent trade
Permanent trade refers to the transfer of holder. This means that it:
- includes the recording of a transfer of water with or without land
- does not include leases
- does not include other water dealings such as location changes, subdivisions or amalgamations.
Last updated 20 May 2013

