Water licensing and works and/or use approval exemptions
You may not need to apply for a water access licence, water supply work, or water use approval if an exemption applies. Some exemptions still require you to submit information to the department to review before interacting with water. Please review the relevant exemption pages below to find out when this is required.
Exemptions are available for :
- drought works, where water utilities may need to draw water from alternative sources to address urgent demand to maintain water supplies for local communities
- temporary dewatering during activities such as excavations
- emergency works, such as the removal of groundwater or overland flow water to address an immediate risk
- landholders, who have basic rights to access water for specific applications
- other water licensing and /or use activities that would normally require a water access licence or work and/or water use approval.
More information about specific types of exemptions
The Water Management (General) Regulation 2018 specifies a number of water access licence and water supply work approval exemptions.
Apply for a drought works exemption and learn about licensing processes for drought-related water supply works.
You don’t need a groundwater water access licence for taking 3ML or less of groundwater per year in any water source if it’s not taken for consumption or supply.
An emergency works exemption allows you to remove groundwater or overland flow water to address an immediate risk in response to an emergency event.
Landholders can take water under basic landholder rights without a water licence or approval in certain circumstances under the Water Management Act 2000.
Not sure about what you need?
We've developed the Water Assist tool to help you work out who to talk to and what steps to take to get the licences and approvals you need.