Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Water Act 1989 - SECT 51

Licence to take and use water

51. Licence to take and use water



(1) A person may apply to the Minister for the issue of a licence to take and
use-

   (a)  water from a waterway (including the River Murray); or

   (b)  groundwater; or

   (ba) water from a spring or soak or water from a dam (to the extent that it
        is not rainwater supplied to the dam from the roof of a building or
        water supplied to the dam from a waterway or a bore), for a use other
        than domestic and stock use; or

   (c)  water, other than recycled water, from any works of an Authority; or









   (d)  water, other than recycled water, from any works of a person holding a
        water licence, a water and sewerage licence or a water headworks
        licence issued under Division 1 of Part 2 of the
        Water Industry Act 1994.

(1AA) An application may not be made under subsection (1) to take and use
water in a declared water system unless-

   (a)  the water to be taken and used is to be subject to a condition that a
        proportion of the water so taken and used is to be returned to the
        water system; or

   (b)  the water is to be taken and used for a prescribed purpose.

(1A) During the period commencing on 1 July 2002 and ending on 30 June 2003, a
person may apply, without payment of an application fee, to the Minister for
the issue of a registration licence to take and use-

   (a)  water from a spring or soak or water from a dam (to the extent that it
        is not rainwater supplied to the dam from the roof of a building or
        water supplied to the dam from a waterway or a bore), for a use other
        than domestic and stock use; or

   (b)  water from a dam on a waterway other than a river, creek, stream or
        watercourse, for a use other than domestic and stock use.

(1B) Subsection (1A) only applies, in relation to a spring or soak or dam, to
a person who at any time during the period of 10 years immediately before the
commencement of section 32 of the Water (Irrigation Farm Dams) Act 2002 was
taking and using-

   (a)  water from the spring or soak or water from the dam (other than water
        supplied to the dam from a waterway or a bore), for a use other than
        domestic and stock use; or

   (b)  water from the dam on a waterway other than a river, creek, stream or
        watercourse, for a use other than domestic and stock use for which a
        licence under subsection (1)(a) is not in force-

as the case may be.

(1C) Nothing in this section requires a person to hold a licence issued under
this section to re-use water that-

   (a)  is stored in a dam that complies with design criteria specified by the
        Minister under section 80A; and

   (b)  does not exceed the volume determined in accordance with the formula
        specified by the Minister under section 80A; and

   (c)  is supplied to the person under a licence issued under this section,
        under section 124(7) or in accordance with section 222.





(2) An application under this section must-

   (a)  be made in a form and manner approved by the Minister; and

   (b)  contain any information that-

   (i)  is prescribed; or

   (ii) is required by the Minister; and

   (ba) in the case of an application under subsection (1)(ba) or (1A) in
        relation to a spring or soak or dam by a person who at any time during
        the period of 10 years immediately before the commencement of section
        32 of the Water (Irrigation Farm Dams) Act 2002 was taking and using-

   (i)  water from the spring or soak or water from the dam (other than water
        supplied to the dam from a waterway or a bore), for a use other than
        domestic and stock use; or

   (ii) water from a dam on a waterway other than a river, creek, stream or
        watercourse, for a use other than domestic and stock use- as the case
        may be, set out the maximum volume of water to be used by the
        applicant in each year during the period of the licence, determined in
        accordance with the criteria specified by Order under section 52A; and

   (c)  be accompanied by the application fee, if any, fixed by the Minister
        for that type of application.





(3) After consultation with the Minister administering the
Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987, a licence issued under this section
may include authority to enter on any Crown land other than land which is
subject to a licence granted under Part 3A of the
Victorian Plantations Corporation Act 1993 and to install and operate works on
that land for the purpose of raising water to be taken and used under the
licence.

(4) An authority granted under subsection (3) does not remove the need to
apply for any licence that is necessary under Part 5.

(5) The licensee is liable to compensate any person who suffers any pecuniary
loss as a direct, natural and reasonable consequence of the exercise of an
authority granted under subsection (3).

(6) The amount of compensation payable is as agreed by the parties or, in the
absence of agreement, as determined by the Tribunal.



(7) For the purposes of this section, waterway includes any collection of
water which is from time to time replenished in whole or in part by water
coming by a natural sub-surface path from a waterway.