| Sections of the Act | Number |
|---|---|
| Unauthorised take of water (section 63) | 38 |
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Water corporations that manage water resources in non-urban areas play a key role in securing the rights of all water users and safeguarding the State’s water resources.
A breakdown of compliance activities between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019
Water corporations report annually on their compliance and enforcement activities in accordance with clause 7.3A of their Statement of Obligations. The following state-wide statistics have been compiled for the 2018-2019 reporting period.
Compliance activities
In 2018-19, there was a greater level of compliance activity as water corporations continued to invest in installing new meters, telemetry on meters and database management systems that enable better monitoring of water take, greater scrutiny of potential breaches, and more comprehensive compliance reporting.
As at 30 June 2019, there were approximately 57,400 meters installed across Victoria. Approximately 30,000 of these meters also have telemetry which allow water corporations to detect breaches of the Water Act quickly. Between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019, water corporations with rural customers conducted a total of 68,803 manual meter reads. 60,483 inspections of meters were also performed to ensure that meters are maintained and functioning efficiently.
Water corporations with rural customers reported that they detected 6,300 potential breaches between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019, commenced 6,550 investigations (including 250 carried forward from the previous year) and finalised 5,988 investigations. 95% of potential breaches were for unauthorised take. Potential breaches were investigated further by water corporations to check if they were actual breaches and if enforcement action was needed.
There was an increase in the year-on-year number of potential compliance breaches reported (from 1,625 in 2017/2018), with 2 main reasons.
Improved scrutiny of water take
Water corporations have greater capacity to detect potential breaches with improved metering and system monitoring technology (for example telemetry, data management systems) that makes better use of data for compliance purposes
We are now counting all allocation bank accounts (ABAs) with a negative balance as a potential breach. Concerns have been raised that some water users are regularly taking water without first buying allocation, allegedly to take advantage of lower prices later in the season to bring their water accounts back into balance. This practice is an offence under the Water Act 1989 that Victoria is actively working to stamp out and encourage other Basin states to do the same.
Warmer and drier conditions
Warmer and drier conditions have led to higher prices on the market so there may be greater temptation for some people to make poor decisions and illegally take and use water – but they will be caught.
Water corporations with rural customers finalised 4,643 investigations without taking enforcement action. Reasons for this outcome included:
- an investigation concluded that there was no offence
- insufficient evidence
- breaches involved small volumes of water for domestic and stock supply for which there may have been difficulty purchasing the needed small volume on the water market.
In some cases, no enforcement action was taken because potential breaches were resolved by the customer before investigations commenced. This does not mean that this behaviour is acceptable. Victoria is working to standardise across water corporations how such cases will be enforced under the Water Act 1989.
Enforcement actions
Water corporations have a range of enforcement options including issuing advisory letters, warning letters, notices of contraventions, reducing, restricting or discontinuing water supply, and prosecutions. Water corporations may take several different enforcement actions if a breach is not rectified. For example, a person who is issued with a notice of contravention may have been previously issued with an advisory letter and/or a warning letter but failed to correct his or her behaviour.
Between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019, water corporations took 2,043 enforcement actions against breaches of the Water Act (Table 1). 96% of the enforcement actions reported by water corporations were advisory or warning letters.
Water corporations took 481 more enforcement actions in 2018/2019 than in 2017/2018.
Table 1. Summary of enforcement actions taken between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019.
| Enforcement actions | 2018-19 | 2017-18 |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal warnings | 38 | 786 |
| Advisory letters | 841 | 786 |
| Warning letters | 1076 | 740 |
| Notice of contraventions | 53 | 12 |
| Notice to repair under section 150 | 7 | 12 |
| Recommended for prosecution | 21 | 14 |
| Referred to other agencies | 6 | 10 |
| Restrict supply under section 141 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 2043 | 1562 |
The following provides a breakdown of enforcement actions and the offences that were cited against those actions in 2019.
| Sections of the Act | Number |
|---|---|
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) | 1 |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | 775 |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 63) | 25 |
| Unauthorised works (section 75) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | 3 |
| Wrongful take of water (section 289) | 33 |
| Interference with Authority's property (section 288) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | 1 |
| Structures over works (section 148) | 3 |
| Total | 841 |
| Sections of the Act | Number |
|---|---|
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) | 737 |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | 111 |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 63) | 52 |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 63) and interference with authority's property (section 288) | 1 |
| Unauthorised works (section 75) | 4 |
| Unauthorised works (section 75) and unauthorised take of water (section 63) | 2 |
| Interference with authority's property (section 288) | 1 |
| Wrongful take of water (section 289) | 168 |
| Total | 1076 |
| Sections of the Act | Number |
|---|---|
| Unauthorised take of water (section 63) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | 1 |
| Unauthorised works (section 75) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | 1 |
| Wrongful take of water (section 289) | 43 |
| Failure to comply with notice of contravention (section 151) | 6 |
| Structures over works (section 148) | 2 |
| Total | 53 |
| Sections of the Act | Number |
|---|---|
| Interference with authority's property (section 288) | 5 |
| Structures over works (section 148) | 2 |
| Total | 7 |
| Sections of the Act | Number |
|---|---|
| Interference with authority's property (section 288) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | 1 |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) | 1 |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | 19 |
| Total | 21 |
| Sections of the Act | Number |
|---|---|
| Unauthorised works (section 75) and structures over works (section 148) | 4 |
| Unauthorised works (section 75) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | 1 |
| Others | 1 |
| Total | 6 |
| Related sections of the Act | Number |
|---|---|
| For unauthorised take of water (section 33E) | 1 |
Prosecutions
There were 15 prosecutions between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019 including 4 cases that were carried over from the previous year. Thirteen prosecutions were finalised in this period and 2 will be carried forward to the next year.
Table 2. Summary of prosecutions between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019
| Number of prosecutions carried forward from previous year | 4 |
| Number of prosecutions commenced between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019 | 11 |
| Number of prosecutions finalised between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019 | 13 |
| Number of prosecutions that have commenced and will be carried forward to next year | 2 |
The following provides more details about prosecutions that were finalised between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019 and prosecutions that will be carried forward to the next year.
| Sections of the Act | Basin | Date commenced | Date finalised | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unauthorised works (section 75) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | River Murray | 26 July 2017 | 18 December 2018 | 1. Matter settled by consent 2. Accused ordered to pay costs of $12,500 |
| Wrongful take of water (section 289) | Macalister Irrigation District | 4 April 2018 | 18 June 2019 | 1. Diversion 2. Costs $3450 |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | River Murray Torrumbarry Irrigation Area | 29 May 2018 | 13 November 2018 | 1. Matter settled by consent 2. Accused agreed to pay costs of $1122.30 |
| Interference with authority's property (section 288) and wrongful take of water (section 289) (2 counts) | River Murray Rochester Irrigation Area | 30 May 2018 | 26 September 2018 | 1. 12-month bond 2. Costs $724.30 3. No conviction |
| Interference with authority's property (section 288) | MDB - Surface Water | 20 June 2018 | 11 July 2018 | $700 fine and court costs |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289)# | Goulburn River Central Goulburn Irrigation Area | 12 July 2018 | 25 September 2018 | Withdrawn |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289)# | Goulburn River Central Goulburn Irrigation Area | 12 July 2018 | 25 September 2018 | Withdrawn |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289)* | Goulburn River Shepparton Irrigation Area | 24 July 2018 | 5 October 2018 | Withdrawn |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289)* | Goulburn River Shepparton Irrigation Area | 24 July 2018 | 1 November 2018 | 1. Diversion 2. 5-month bond 3. Costs $324.30 |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | River Murray Murray Valley Irrigation Area | 25 July 2018 | 31 October 2018 | 1. Fine $2000 2. Costs $1500 3. Conviction |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289)^ | River Murray Torrumbarry Irrigation Area | 26 July 2018 | 20 November 2018 | Withdrawn |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289)^ | River Murray Torrumbarry Irrigation Area | 26 July 2018 | 20 November 2018 | Withdrawn |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289)^ | River Murray Torrumbarry Irrigation Area | 26 July 2018 | 20 November 2018 | 1. Diversion 2. Compensation $1000 3. Costs $124.30 |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 63), Unauthorised works (section 75) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | Goulburn River | 8 August 2018 | 1 February 2019 | 1. Matter settled by consent 2. Accused made application for appropriate licences |
# ^ * denotes related offences
| Sections of the Act | Basin | Date commenced |
|---|---|---|
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | Goulburn River Shepparton Irrigation Area | 16 May 2019 |
| Unauthorised take of water (section 33E) and wrongful take of water (section 289) | River Murray Torrumbarry Irrigation Area | 21 June 2019 |
Priorities for 2019 to 2020
DELWP, together with water corporations, is committed to ensuring that the increased focus on compliance and enforcement is sustained and turned into business as usual. The passage of the Water and Catchment Legislation Amendment Act 2019 is timely as it provides for greater deterrence against water theft by strengthening penalties and gives water corporations a wider range of enforcement tools.
A key priority for the 2019 to 2020 year will be to improve the monitoring and enforcement of unauthorised take of water. This is when water users take more water than they are allowed to in their water licence or water share. While most instances of unauthorised take are small, the collective amount of water taken without permission can add up, and there is limited water to go around.
In times of drying conditions, especially in the southern-connected Murray-Darling Basin where inflows into the Basin storages are at record low levels, it is important for water corporations to work with their customers to maintain positive balances in allocation bank accounts, plan ahead for their water needs, keep track of water use and identify and resolve issues well before the end of the water year.
Other priorities include completing the remaining actions in the Murray-Darling Basin Compliance Compact and drafting regulations to implement the new amendments.
Page last updated: 08/09/23