Water Management Act 2000

An operating licence is subject to the terms and conditions determined by the Governor.

Examples of terms and conditions that may be included are as follows—

a requirement that the irrigation corporation will (in accordance with any applicable management program and the corporation’s business plan) provide, construct, maintain, manage and operate—

efficient, co-ordinated and commercially viable systems and services for supplying water from both surface and subsurface sources, and

surface and subsurface drainage networks that have sufficient capacity having regard to specified factors, including the amount of water supplied by the corporation to users,

a requirement that the irrigation corporation must be the holder of all relevant licences or other authorities,

a requirement that the irrigation corporation is to comply with the provisions of any applicable management program, either in all respects or in certain respects,

a requirement that, in supplying water to its members, the irrigation corporation is to give priority to certain councils or other local water utilities for domestic water supply,

a requirement as to how the irrigation corporation is to spend and otherwise deal with any money provided to it out of money appropriated from the Consolidated Fund or other public money.

An operating licence may be amended only in the manner specified in the operating licence.

Despite subsection (3), the Minister may amend an irrigation corporation’s operating licence so as to give effect to matters agreed to by or on behalf of the State pursuant to, or in connection with, the National Water Initiative.

In determining the terms of the amendment, the Minister must have regard to any submissions made by the irrigation corporation.

It is a condition of an operating licence that an irrigation corporation must be a member of a dispute resolution organisation prescribed by the regulations.

In this section, National Water Initiative means the Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Governments of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory (as amended from time to time).