GWYDIR VALLEY IRRIGATORS ASSOCIATION

Events

 Please join us for the 2025 GVIA Annual General Meeting.
This is also where we ask for nominations for the GVIA committee. The Committee is elected by members at the AGM, the only requirement is that the nominated member is a financial member of the Association and that nomination is endorsed by two other members.
Please find included a link to the GVIA Committee Nomination Form.  This form must be completed and returned to the GVIA by Tuesday the 2nd September 2025.   Click here to RSVP for this Event through our website

Three year Supplementary summary

Please find included the latest updated on the three year supplementary volumes from WaterNSW as of Monday the 11th August. 

NSWIC July Newsletter includes information on the following:
1. Review of Murray Darling Basin Plan begins
2. Stronger Enforcement and Penalties Bill 2025 
3. NRAR enforcement action again BLR user
4. Water for the Environmental Special Account

The NSW Government has declared the Landholder Negotiation Scheme (LNS) as an amendment to the Water Management (General) Regulation 2018 under the Water Management Act 2000, accompanied by statutory negotiation guidelines.
The LNS provides the approach the NSW Government will take when negotiating voluntary agreements with landholders affected by future environmental water deliveries at higher flow levels, or under different regimes, than current operating practice.
An outline of changes made,  is provided in the What we heard report released May 2025. View the What we heard report, new regulation and negotiation guidelines.

GVIA Celebrates 30 years

This month we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the creation of the GVIA following a motion from July 1995 proposing to bring the irrigation associations of Biniguy / Moree Water Users' Association, Carole/Gill Gill Water Users' Association, Copeton / Biniguy Spray Irrigators' Association, Gwydir Co-operative Ltd and the Mehi / Moomin Water Users' Association together to form the Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association. The intention was to "employ and take any necessary action to promote the interests of the irrigators in the Gwydir Valley."


Last week the MDBA released the 2025 Basin Plan Evaluation and the 2025 Sustainable Rivers Audit.
These are encouraging as it shows progress has been made, but there are still concerns which we are reviewing in partnership with National Irrigators Council. 
The findings and key insights from this Evaluation will be considered alongside other key lines of evidence as part of the 2026 Basin Plan Review. The Review is an opportunity for the MDBA to consider the evidence, listen to Basin communities and recommend changes to the Basin Plan.

This month's newsletter bids a farewell to outgoing CEO, Claire Miller and introduces new CEO Dr Madeleine Hartley. 
Claire has done a wonderful job over the past five years helping to grow the membership and profile of the organisation and hence help get the voice of irrigators heard in the community, many of you will have heard her on the Country hour. Thank you for everything Claire.
The new CEO Madeleine will bring a different skill set, with a legal background, something that will no doubt be useful as the Council navigates a path for members through the new NRAR enforcement bill introduced to the upper house last week. We look forward to working with you in the years to come. 

As of Tuesday the Gwydir Unregulated Water Sharing Plan has lapsed.
Water users are still required to operate in accordance with their existing licence and works approval conditions.
WaterNSW will continue to apply dealings (water trades) and approvals as per the current plan provisions, so license holders will still be able to conduct trades.


* Local Water utilities and stock and domestic licence holders have received maximum (100%) allocation
* Regulated High security licences received usual full opening allocation
* Floodplain harvesting licence holders have received full opening allocations
* Supplementary access license holders have received full allocations in the Gwydir

NSWIC latest media release states that "IPART has added to the cost squeeze on NSW farmers with its final determination today to increase rural water bills by up to 8.3% in most valleys for 2025-26."
"NSW Irrigators’ Council CEO Claire Miller said it was disappointing that IPART had shifted from the affordable 1.9% plus CPI price rise proposed in its information paper last month."
“The determination underlines the need for the NSW Government to urgently reform the flawed pricing model and corporate structure driving unaffordable hikes in rural water bills over the last 10 years.”

For the full story follow the link.

IPART has decided to issue a 1-year determination commencing on 1 July 2025 and ending 30 June 2026, or when replaced
From 1 July, prices will increase by 5.8% plus inflation of 2.4% for bulk water customers. MDBA charges will increase by 0.6% plus inflation of 2.4% and BRC charges will increase by 1.1% plus inflation of 2.4%. All other prices will increase by inflation only.​
At this stage, the Tribunal is not convinced that all the increased costs proposed by WaterNSW are sufficiently justified as necessary or efficient, or that they should all be passed on the customers. The short determination will allow more work to be done on the broader challenges identified through this price review.
The GVIA requested a full performance review and analysis of the business structure. ​

The AgriEmpower Scholarship Program is an investment in the future of our next generation of changemarkers, dedicated to helping young people enhance their capabilities and unlock new opportunities for growth.
The program offers financial support, resources, and access to National Farmers’ Federation and Woolworths networks, and a community of like-minded individuals, all with the goal of driving long-term success in the agriculture sector.
As part of the $400,000 program, 20 scholarships of $20,000 each will be awarded.

The AgriEmpower Scholarship Program runs for 18 months allowing individuals an opportunity to deep dive into developing themselves and with the support of NFF & Woolworths.

The link is to the submission by the GVIA to the NSW Parliament’s Legislative Assembly Committee on Investment, Industry and Regional Development
To the inquiry into the Impacts of the Water Amendment Act 2023 on NSW regional communities.

Within the GVIA submission we raise issues associated with 
* Government Performance
* Impacts of Rules-based changes
* The Risk Assignment Framework
* Floodplain Harvesting regulations and
Other Water related matters such as 
* Over-recovered water
* Water Resources Plans
* Wetlands
* NRAR and
* the NRC. 

The NSW Irrigators Council April newsletter is now available. The Top issues discussed include.

  1. Parliamentary Inquiry: Restoring Our Rivers
  2. Revised wetland mapping in water sharing plans
  3. IPART draft report on rural bulk water pricing
  4. Sustainable Diversion Limits Adjustment Mechanism update
  5. Non- Urban Metering


This month's NSW-DQ webinar focused on "Are You Measurement Ready". A recording is available here and responses to questions taken on notice will be available here in the next fortnight.

Some key take aways:
  • All water users should check their licence and approvals to ensure the details are correct, and ensure they are following their conditions.
  • Water users subject to the mandatory metering condition but eligible for exemption should use the online metering guidance tool and take a record of what exemption they believe they can claim.
  • Metering requirements apply to Unregulated users as well as Regulated.

To take FPH entitlement in the Gwydir you must have Primary storage meters installed and validated by a DQP on all the storages in your works approval. 

Users looking to find out the storage levels on the DAS before starting an FPH event, and then at the end of an FPH event may find this video useful.

The primary storage meters record on approximately 15 minute intervals, but only upload onto the DAS once a day, so ensure you monitor your FPH take using a secondary storage meter or gauge boards. 

To log onto the DAS you will need a username and password.
You should have received an email with this information on it. To find this email search WaterNSW+DAS, it may have landed in the junk folder. 

This link provides useful tools for water users

NSW Irrigators Council newsletter March 2025. Topics include

  1. Federal election and Budget
  2. NSWIC March General Meeting
  3. Expanding NRAR's enforcement powers
  4. Water sharing plans and wetland mapping saga
  5. Murray-Darling Basin Plan updates

As we have seen rain in the recent week, it is possible that there may be opportunity for FPH where you have all the storages in your works approval fitted with a primary storage meter certified by your DQP.
Entitlement holders with a point of intake meter completed and approved by your DQP will also be able to access FPH entitlement. 
This is the link to the WaterNSW Gwydir FPH fact sheet. 
This is the link to the department Gwydir FPH and licensing page. 

Federal Election

As we will now have a federal election on the 3rd of May 2025, I encourage you to have conversations with people from all different parts of the community to ensure they understand what is important to safegard the Australian irrigation industry. The following links will show you what the peak industry organisations have as their election policy positions. There are also a number of useful facts about irrigation which you may be able to utilise in your discussions. 

National Irrigators Council

NSW Irrigation Council

National Farmers Federation

Following the review of the Non-Urban metering framework there are some changes that are of importance for smaller users. 
A summary of the changes to the rules around non-urban metering are available here. There is also information to step you through how to ensure you are compliant. 
Some points to note:
* Smaller water users across NSW with works nominated by total entitlements of >15 ML and <100 ML, (unless otherwise exempt) have until 1 December 2027 to comply or by the work approval renewal, whichever is later.
* Water users with entitlements of 15 ML or less are not required to install a meter unless trading water allocations. However, recording and reporting water usage remains mandatory.

The government have updated the metering guidance tool, so you can check if you need a meter or telemetry.

The department sought public feedback in late 2023 on proposed changes to distance restrictions for new or amended bores from other bores or property boundaries in the Water Sharing Plan for the NSW Great Artesian Basin Groundwater Sources 2020 (the plan).

At this time, feedback from stakeholders indicated that the community needed further information on the proposed changes. To address the community's questions, we released a Status Update Document on 17 February 2025, outlining what’s changing and why. Public feedback on this document and the proposed changes is welcome until 6 April 2025.

Show More

© 2025 Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association. Powered by Oncord

Follow Us: