Reforms

The things your scheme needs to do depends on when you last held elections and your type of scheme. The actions you need to take relate to elections, works plans, and rules.

Elections

If your scheme was a private irrigation board or private drainage board, and your last election was before 1 March 2022, you will need to elect a new board by 1 September 2024. The election process you will need to follow depends on how your scheme chooses to implement the reforms:

• If you hold elections before you vote to adopt your rules, you need to follow the process that was in the Water Management (General) Regulation 2018 on 29 February 2024.
• If you hold elections after you vote to adopt your rules, you need to follow the process you have set in your rules.

If your scheme is a private water trust that chooses to become a corporation and your last election was before 1 March 2022, you will need to elect a new board within 6 months of converting to a corporation.

If your scheme is a private water trust that chooses to remain as a trust, your elected members will be called trustees and will continue as trustees until whichever happens first:

• elections are held
• the trustee’s appointment ends.

You will need to specify the timing of elections in your rules.

Works plans and rules

Existing documents have been recognised as your works plan and rules. You will need to change or replace these plans and rules so that they are up to date and comply with the new requirements under the reforms.

Private water corporations and private water trusts that choose to remain as trusts will need to hold a general meeting to vote on their works plan and rules. You must hold this meeting by 1 March 2025.

If you are a private water trust that chooses to become a corporation, you will need to hold a general meeting to vote on your works plan and rules. You must hold this meeting within 12 months of converting to a corporation.

Rules need to be approved by at least two-thirds of the members entitled to vote.

Consequences of not holding a general meeting to vote on your works plan and rules by 1 March 2025

If your scheme does not adopt rules by 1 March 2025, the model rules will become your rules.

If your scheme does not adopt a works plan by 1 March 2025, we may appoint someone to prepare your works plan and recover the cost from you.

We may also consider whether failing to adopt a works plan and rules is a serious contravention of the Water Management Act 2000 or regulations. If schemes are regularly and seriously contravening the Act or the regulations, we may remove the board or trustees and appoint an administrator to manage the scheme. Administrators can recommend that schemes be wound up.

For schemes that have been inactive for some time, we may consider winding up the scheme.

Reforms that started on 1 March 2024 automatically converted:

• private irrigation districts governed by private irrigation boards into private water corporations
• private drainage unions governed by private drainage boards into private water corporations.

The private water corporations operate in the same area and have the same name as the boards.

The reforms did not:

• Change any Australian business names. Australian business names cannot be changed once they have been registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). If your scheme wants to trade under a different name, you must register a new business name with ASIC. You can find more information about updating your business name details (including your contact information) and cancelling or registering business names at ASIC.
• Change any Australian business number (ABN). ABNs are unique 11 digit numbers which cannot be changed once they have been registered with the Australian Business Register. You can find more information about updating your ABN details (including your contact information) and cancelling or applying for an ABN at the Australian Business Register.
• Automatically make your scheme, or require your scheme to become, a registered company or registered Australian body under the Commonwealth Corporations Act 2001.
• Change the membership of your scheme. Existing members automatically became members of the corresponding private water corporation if they were the:
  • landholder of land within a private irrigation district before the new laws started
  • landholder of land within a private drainage district before the new laws started.
• If your scheme supplies water, change the members that the scheme supplies water to. If a landholder within a private irrigation district becomes a member upon conversion to a private water corporation, the landholder will not automatically receive a member's water entitlement or right to delivery of water.
• Change the membership of your board. Existing board members continue as the board members of the private water corporation until you hold your first election as a corporation. If your last election was before 1 March 2022, you must hold an election by 1 September 2024.
• Change your rates and charges. Your scheme’s current rates and charges will continue to apply until you replace them. You are required to fix rates and charges each financial year.

Security for unpaid rates and charges

The reforms introduced new powers for private water corporations to require security for unpaid rates and charges. To use these new powers, corporations must include requiring security in their rules. The rules must be consistent with the regulations.

The form of security is limited to:

• a charge over an access licence
• a guarantee by an authorised deposit-taking institution
• a deposit lodged with the corporation
• a charge over a member's water entitlement
• another kind of security agreed between the parties.

The maximum amount of security that can be charged is the higher of:

• 5 times the value of the rates and charges levied by the corporation on the stakeholder in the immediately preceding water year, or
• 5 times the average of the value of the rates and charges levied by the corporation per stakeholder for each of the immediately preceding 5 water years.

Security can be forfeited if:

• the rates and charges have been overdue for at least 6 months
• the corporation has given written notice to the stakeholder of their intention to forfeit security and have considered any submissions that are made
• the corporation has given the person the option of entering a payment plan (as an alternative to forfeiture) and they have decline the option or not complied with the payment plan.

Investigations

The reforms introduced new investigation powers for private water corporations.

Private water corporations may appoint a person to act as an authorised officer to enter land for an investigation. An authorised officer may enter land at any reasonable time to investigate a suspected breach of an irrigation, water supply, water distribution or drainage agreement. This new power enables corporations to appoint an independent person, external to the scheme, to investigate a suspected breach.

As part of their investigations, authorised officers can:

• examine and inspect works
• take and remove samples
• make examinations, inquiries and tests
• take photographs, films, audio, video and other recordings
• require records to be produced for inspection
• examine and inspect any records
• copy any records.

People can accompany an authorised officer and take all reasonable steps to assist the authorised officer in their investigation.

An authorised officer cannot enter any part of a premise that is used only for residential purposes.

Enforcement

The reforms introduced new enforcement powers for private water corporations. Corporations can impose a charge on a person who has:

• knowingly taken water from water management works owned by, or under the corporation’s control and management in a contravention of the Act, the regulations, the rules or an agreement with the corporation
• destroyed, damaged or interfered with works owned, or under the control of, the corporation.

To exercise these new powers, corporations must apply to the Natural Resources Access Regulator for approval.

Use this document to apply to exercise enforcement powers: Application form. Email your completed application form and any other documents it requires to ***.

Corporations’ decisions to impose charges may be appealed to the Land and Environment Court and are recoverable as a debt due.

Reforms that started on 1 March 2024 did not:

• Change the names of private water trusts or areas where private water trusts operate.
• Change any Australian business names. Australian business names cannot be changed once they have been registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). If your scheme wants to trade under a different name, you must register a new business name with ASIC. You can find more information about updating your business name details (including your contact information) and cancelling or registering business names at ASIC.
• Change any Australian Business Number (ABN). ABNs are unique 11 digit numbers and cannot be changed once they have been registered with the Australian Business Register. You can find more information about updating your ABN details (including your contact information) and cancelling or applying for an ABN at the Australian Business Register.
• Automatically make your scheme, or require your scheme to become, a registered company or registered Australian body under the Commonwealth Corporations Act 2001.
• Change the membership of your scheme.
• Change the chairperson. The current chairpersons continue to be the chairperson until a new one is elected by the trustees. The chairperson elected must be a trustee.
• Change your rates and charges. Your scheme’s current rates and charges will continue to apply until you replace them. You are required to fix rates and charges each financial year.

The reforms have changed some terminology. Before 1 March 2024, private water trusts were managed by elected members. Elected members are now called trustees and will continue as trustees until whichever happens first:

• elections are held
• the trustee’s appointment ends.

The number of trustees for a private water trust will be the number of trustees the trust had on 1 January 2001. This is usually 3 or 5 trustees.

Please contact us if you are unsure how many trustees your trust has.

Security for unpaid rates and charges

The reforms introduced new powers for private water trusts to require security for unpaid rates and charges. To use these new powers, trusts must include requiring security in their rules. The rules must be consistent with the regulations.

The form of security is limited to:

• a charge over an access licence
• a guarantee by an authorised deposit-taking institution
• a deposit lodged with the trust
• a charge over a member's water entitlement
• another kind of security agreed between the parties.

The maximum amount of security that can be charged is the higher of:

• 5 times the value of the rates and charges levied by the trust on the stakeholder in the immediately preceding water year
• 5 times the average of the value of the rates and charges levied by the trust per stakeholder for each of the immediately preceding 5 water years.

Security can be forfeited if:

• the rates and charges have been overdue for at least 6 months
• the trust has given written notice to the stakeholder of their intention to forfeit security and have considered any submissions that are made
• the trust has given the person the option of entering a payment plan (as an alternative to forfeiture) and they have decline the option or not complied with the payment plan.

Becoming a private water corporation

As a result of the reforms, private water trusts can apply to become private water corporations. There is no fee if you apply before 1 March 2026.