The Water Access Licenses (WAL) Register began on 1 July 2004 under the Water Management Act 2000. It provides an online record of every water access licence in New South Wales.
The WAL Register is maintained by NSW Land Registry Services (NSW LRS) on behalf of the Minister administering the Water Management Act 2000. NSW LRS also print and issue WAL certificates.
The WAL Register aims to:
- Make information on water access licences easily available to WaterNSW and the public
- Provide a secure system for water access licence information
- Reduce conveyancing costs, and
- Help to develop a market in water access licences.
More detailed information on the WAL Register is available on the Register General's Guidelines website.
What is recorded on the WAL Register?
The WAL Register has a separate record for each water access licence issued in NSW, called a ‘WAL folio’. Each WAL folio has a unique number for identification purposes, the first being 'WAL1'.
The WAL folio shows details such as:
- Share component (volume)
- Extraction component
- Water source
- Expiry date
- Conditions
- Current ownership details
- Mortgages, charges and related information, and
- A licence reference number.
A duplicate of the WAL folio (called the WAL certificate) is issued to the licence holder or any party entitled to hold it such as the mortgagee. The WAL certificate is required when registering certain transactions, such as a transfer, mortgage or charge.
Unlike the Torrens Title Register, the information shown on the WAL Register is not guaranteed by the State. You must search all of the transactions registered on the WAL folio to establish if they are legal and form an unbroken ‘chain of title’. The historical title search for the WAL folio provides this list of transactions.
Searching the WAL Register
Searches of the WAL Register can be completed in person over the counter at NSW LRS or you can search the Register using an authorised Information Broker .
Transactions affecting the WAL Register
Water access licence transactions — such as transfers of ownership, mortgages, charges, caveats and related transactions — are registered on the appropriate folio using forms called ‘WAL dealings’.
To register a transaction, WAL dealings and the WAL certificate are lodged with NSW LRS. Following lodgment, WAL dealings are given a unique number and the transaction is recorded on the WAL Register. Following registration, a new edition of the WAL certificate will be issued to the entitled party.
WAL dealing forms and instructions for completion are available on the forms page. WAL dealing information is also available on the Registrar General's Guidelines website.
Any transaction requiring the Minister’s Consent also need to be lodged, as explained below.
Fees for WAL Register searches and transactions
The fee for WAL searches are the same as the fees applicable for equivalent Torrens title searches.
Fees for lodgment of WAL dealings are not equivalent to lodgment fees under the Real Property Act 1900; this is because a Torrens Assurance Fund levy is included in the fee for each Real Property Act dealing. As indefeasibility of title is not yet offered for water access licences, no levy is applied to WAL dealings.
For current transaction fees on the WAL Register see the WAL register fees.
Please note licensing and other fees are applied by WaterNSW.
Role of WaterNSW
WaterNSW maintains overall responsibility for accepting and assessing applications to change water access licences including:
- Change of water source (e.g. from a regulated river to a connected unregulated river)
- Change of category (e.g. from general security on a regulated river to high security)
- Subdivision, i.e. dividing the water access licence into parts (e.g. a licence for 10 unit shares divided into one licence for 7 unit shares and another licence for 3 unit shares)
- Consolidation, i.e. amalgamation of a number of water access licences into one
- Change of nominated water supply works, i.e. changing the location from which water may be extracted.
Once approved, WaterNSW will provide the applicant with a Notification Dealing form for lodgment with NSW LRS; this will be used to update the WAL register.
In cases where a change of WAL holder requires written consent from the Minister for Water, WaterNSW will also include an application number.
Under the Water Management Act 2000, other information is required to be kept apart from the information maintained on the WAL Register.
The NSW Water Register maintained by WaterNSW provides information about:
- The status of approvals and approval applications
- The conditions of water access licences and approvals
- Available water determinations, and
- Water trading statistics.
Role of the Natural Resources Access Regulator
Water licensing functions under the Water Management Act 2000 are shared between the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) and WaterNSW. The NRAR is an independent regulator with total carriage of the compliance and enforcement of water management legislation in NSW. You can find out more on the NRAR website.