Water licensing and access entitlement
Water resources are managed in the ACT under the Water Resources Act 2007 by the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate.
Licensing
To take or access water in the ACT, you may need a licence or an exemption.
To apply or for more information, email environment.protection@act.gov.au.
Applications and licences attract a fee. View Water Resources (Fees) Determination 2022 (No 2) for current fees.
Water licenses are included on our Public registers. View the list of water licenses on our Public registers page.
Water Access Entitlement
If you need a licence to take water, then you will also need a water access entitlement (WAE) in most cases:
- Application for a water access entitlement [PDF 976 KB] [DOC 109 KB]
- Application to transfer a water access entitlement [PDF 997 KB] [DOC 125 KB]
All water access entitlements are included on our Public registers. View the list of water access entitlements on our Public registers page.
Licence to take water
A licence states how much water you can take and where from.
- Application for a licence to take water [PDF 1.1 MB] [DOC 114 KB]
- Application for an exemption from the requirement for a licence to take water [PDF 804 KB] [DOC 79 KB]
Bore owners licence
A bore includes a borehole, a hole, well, excavation or other opening in the ground or an underground cavity (whether naturally, or having been artificially constructed or modified) from which water is, or is capable of being obtained or used. For the purposes of the Water Resources Act 2007, these features are also considered to be bores if they are used, or are capable of being used, for the disposal of water or waste. However, subsoil drains are not included.
For full definitions see the Water Resources Act 2007.
You need a bore work licence and to submit a bore completion report within one month of doing any work associated with the licence.
You also need a WAE.
Driller licences
Only qualified drillers licensed in the ACT are allowed to construct, modify or seal off a bore located within the ACT.
- Information for drillers [PDF 103 KB] [DOCX 136 KB]
- Application for a driller's licence [PDF 992 KB] [DOC 71 KB]
Waterway work licences
To protect our waterways and aquatic ecosystems, you need a licence to work in a waterway or to construct a water structure with a capacity of more than 2 megalitres
Waterway work licence application [PDF 1.0 MB] [DOC 73 KB]
Water meter requirements
If you have a licence to take water in the ACT there are requirements you must meet.
These requirements relate to:
- water meter installation and maintenance
- ensuring a water meter accurately measures the volume of water abstracted.
To meet these requirements the water meter validation certificate [PDF 270KB] [DOCX 72KB] must be completed when any work is done on a water meter.
This includes when a meter is:
- installed
- moved
- repaired
- tested for accuracy – this must be done every 5 years
- has any maintenance work done.
The certificate must be completed by a registered meter installer and validator. You can find all registered meter installer and validators on Irrigation Australia's website.
Once completed, the form must be:
- provided to the licence holder within 7 days of the work
- emailed to Environment Protection Agency (EPA) within 14 days after the licence holder receives the form.
The EPA will review the certificate and decide whether the water meter meets the requirements.
If the meter does not meet the conditions the EPA may take compliance action.
The previous ACT Government Water Meter Installation, Maintenance and Replacement Guideline (March 2015) is available from the Environmental Protection Authority, upon request.
To find more information about the requirements your water meter must meet read the non-urban water metering policy [PDF 682KB].