Reporting water information
To check whether your organisation needs to provide water information to the Bureau, use our Water Regulations Online service. It gives you a customised report that shows your organisation's responsibilities under the Water Regulations 2008. The report covers:
- the categories and subcategories of data you need to give
- how often you need to give each type of data
- any format requirements.
Accessibility
If you need an accessible version of any documents on this page, contact us to discuss your needs.
Water providers don't have to:
- begin collecting new information or give information they don't already have – they only need to give information in their possession, custody or control
- give information held only in hard copy format
- provide data collected from a single site for a period of less than 12 weeks
- give information collected solely in order to fulfil a contractual arrangement with another person not named in the regulations.
Timeframes for giving information
Your customised report will show what timeframes apply. How often you need to give information depends on the data you must provide.
Timeframes apply from the moment a person enters the data in a data management system. This is when the data is considered to be in a person's possession, custody or control.
For example, you may have to give specific data daily, but data is only entered into your data management system each week. You would need to provide the data the day after it enters your data management system.
Data loggers
Data in a field-based data logger is not considered to be in a person's possession, custody or control.
Data management systems
A data management system could refer to a dedicated system solely used to manage hydrometric data. However, many organisations may be managing their water information using generic systems and applications.
In general, your data management system is where you store your operational data and/or your quality controlled data. In some cases, this may be simply a series of spreadsheets or document files stored on a computer.
Short-term project information
Specified water information from projects expected to take 12–48 months is only required at the end of each financial year.
Water information from projects expected to take less than 12 months is only required from lead water agencies and other government agencies – that is, organisations in person categories A and B. View our Water information legislation page for person category details.
Asking for an exemption
If your organisation reasonably believes the data is already in the Bureau's possession, you can apply for an exemption.
- Make this application in writing using details on our Contact page.
- Explain why you believe we already have the information and provide your contact details.
Providing metadata with your information
Check metadata requirements
Metadata and contextual information requirements are outlined in 2 documents that are part of the regulations:
- Metadata and contextual information requirements – lists elements for subcategories except those in Category 7
- Urban Water Management Information Requirements – lists elements for subcategories in Category 7.
These incorporated documents are available on our Water information legislation page. Also see the explanatory notes on this page, which include more details and examples.
Assess what metadata you hold
If your organisation must submit water data, you need to assess whether you hold any of the listed metadata and contextual elements on your data management system.
The lists may not cover all metadata that your organisation collects. We limit the metadata requirements to avoid an unreasonable burden on data providers.
When to provide metadata and contextual information
You must give metadata and contextual information at the same time as you give water information.
If you don't have metadata and contextual information
If your organisation does not have any of the listed information, you are not required to give that metadata and contextual information to the Bureau.
You only have to give specified water information if it is in your possession, custody or control.
Explanatory notes for metadata
For each metadata element, our explanatory notes give:
- a description of the metadata and contextual information element
- supplementary information about the element and relevant examples.
If you need an accessible version of any of these explanatory notes, contact us to discuss your needs.
Giving urban water information
Detail for giving urban water management information under Category 7 is specified in a document that is part of the regulations. See Urban Water Management Information Requirements – PDF, 580 KB.
It details the information requirements under subcategories 7a–d and:
- links the high-level water information subcategories to W indicator and U code volumes
- specifies the person categories that give W indicator volumes, U code volumes, or both to the Bureau
- lists W indicator and U code volumes and shows the relationship between the two
- includes specific data provision requirements applicable to relevant person categories
- specifies the spatial boundaries of the information and other general requirements around data provision
- specifies metadata and contextual information requirements that must be given along with Category 7 information.
File formats
Some water information must be given in specific forms (formats). If this requirement applies to you, the formats will be detailed in your customised report from Water Regulations Online.
The Director of Meteorology specifies the required format for water information. These differ for categories of person and subcategories of water information.
The approved formats are specified in a document called an administrative instrument.
- Data providers may give their water information in any of the applicable formats listed in the document.
- Where more than one form is included, we prefer the format listed first.
- Where information can be given in ‘any format’, it must be in an electronic format – that is, machine readable and not in scanned documents.
Approved file formats
If you need assistance or templates for any of these formats, contact us.
Licensing your water information
We publish water information to be used by the community.
We recommend you use the Creative Commons Attribution Licence for data provided under the Water Regulations 2008. This licence:
- permits the broadest reuse of water information, which meets the objectives of the Water Act 2007, while protecting the data supplier's copyright
- gives the community permission in advance to make use of water information, without having to directly contact the supplier of that information
- allows people to share (copy and distribute) and remix or adapt the water information, provided they attribute the data owner as the copyright holder. They can't do this in a way that suggests the data owner endorses them or their use of the material. The licence also stipulates that these conditions can be waived with special permission from the data owner.
To use this licence
This licence is free. All you have to do is:
- advise us that you would like to apply the licence to your water information
- tell us how you would like the information to be attributed. For example: © State of Queensland (Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water).
Ownership of property rights, such as copyright, in the water information sector remains with the supplier.
This means that only your organisation can apply the licence to its water information.
If you don't use this licence
If you choose not to use this licence, we will still attribute your organisation as the source of the information.
We will also provide your organisation's contact details for community enquiries about the terms and conditions for using your information.
Making licence conditions clear to data users
When we publish your data we clearly communicate applicable licensing information to users. View our Water Information licensing policy on Principles and policies for water information.
Licence to use this content
You can use content on this page in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.