This initiative ensures that important policy and licensing work is undertaken to improve groundwater management in Victoria, including implementation of a new groundwater management framework. Specific projects include a review of legislative instruments to remove licensing anomalies and developing a refined planning and reporting framework to align better with new boundaries and the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Total EC3 investment: $4.70 m

2012-13 expenditure: $0.920 m 
2013-14 expenditure: $1.204 m 
2014-15 expenditure: $0.603 m 
2015-16 expenditure: $1.392 m
2016-17 expenditure: $0.580 m

Progress

Key achievements of this initiative to date include:

  • Introduction of groundwater catchments
  • Completion of Catchment Statements, including local management rules for all Groundwater Catchments in southern Victoria
  • Local management plans prepared for groundwater management areas in northern Victoria, including Central Victorian Mineral Springs, Strathbogie, Upper Goulburn, Kiewa, Upper Murray, Mid Goulburn,  Shepparton Irrigation Region, Broken and Upper Goulburn
  • Consultative Committee appointed to prepare amendments to the Katunga Water Supply Protection Area groundwater management plan
  • Local management plan completed for South West Limestone Aquifer resulting in the abolition of the Nullawarre and Yangery Water Supply Protection Areas
  • Commenced preparation of South West Deep aquifers local management plan
  • Updates to groundwater Permissible Consumptive Volumes following completion of management plans
  • Introduced carryover following completion of management plans
  • Issue of Guidelines for Local Management Plans
  • Issue of Metering Policy
  • Update of Polices for Managing Take and Use Licences
  • Update of Policies for Managing Works Licences
  • Finalised resource share guidance
  • Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem guidelines approved by the Minister for Water
  • Completed Stage 1 of a Groundwater Interference Assessment Tool, which rural water corporations can use to aid assessment of applications to transfer and for new groundwater licences
  • Release of online bore construction licence application, reducing cost and time for licensing domestic and stock, investigation and observation bores
  • Updates to the Victorian Groundwater Resources Online tool providing information for users about access to and quality of groundwater in their area
  • Emergency Water Supply Points information made available online

Page last updated: 24/05/19