Water Act 1989

An Authority may sell, or cause to be transferred to itself, any water share in relation to which any fee imposed under Division 9 of Part 3A has been due to the Authority and unpaid for at least 3 years.

Subsection (1) does not apply if—

the fee has been waived; or

the fee has been deferred for the period for which it is unpaid; or

the person liable to pay has arranged with the Authority for payment by instalments of the amount due, and any instalments that have become due have been paid; or

the person liable to pay is not the owner of the water share.

An Authority must not sell the water share or cause it to be transferred unless it has, at least once in the 3 years, tried to recover the money due to it.

An Authority must pay, for a transfer of a water share under subsection (1), an amount equal to or greater than a valuation of the water share that is made by a valuer not more than 6 months before the date of the proposed transfer.

An Authority must in selling a water share under subsection (1) sell the share for an amount equal to or greater than a valuation of the share that is made by a valuer not more than 6 months before the date of the proposed sale.

At least 4 weeks before selling any share, or causing it to be transferred, under subsection (1), the Authority must—

give public notice of its intention to do so; and

serve, on any person who appears from the water register to be the share owner or a mortgagee or a holder of a limited term transfer recorded on the water share, a notice requiring payment of any outstanding amounts referred to in subsection (1).

The Registrar may register a transfer of a water share by an Authority under this section if the transfer is in a form approved by the Registrar.