Australia's water information legislation
Accurate and timely information about water resources is vital. It's used to inform water policy and management across Australia.
The Water Act 2007 is a national law that gives the Bureau specific functions and powers relating to water information. It enables us to:
- collect, hold, manage, interpret and disseminate Australia's water information
- provide regular reports on the status of Australia's water resources and use of those resources
- provide regular forecasts on future availability of water resources
- compile and maintain water accounts for Australia, including a National Water Account.
To support implementation of this law, the Australian Government has also issued the Water Regulations 2008.
Benefits of our national water information service
Our datasets, reports, and forecasts help to inform policy, investment and operational decisions. They also support water reform and public confidence in Australia's water management. This happens through:
- greater transparency in the information that underpins water policies and management
- consistent national information to benchmark performance
- public disclosure of water entitlements, allocations, trades and use
- better water availability forecasts, which support water market performance
- improved community understanding of water resources management.
Collecting information about water in Australia
So we can deliver this water information service for all Australians, it's a legal requirement under the Act that some organisations provide water information to the Bureau.
The requirements are outlined in Part 7 of the regulations, which specify:
- who must give us water information – the categories of persons required to give information
- what water information they must give – the categories and subcategories of information
- the time and format for providing the water information – view Providing your water information.
This information contributes to national intelligence on water across Australia.
Definitions of water information terms
Find water information definitions in our Glossary.
Who must submit water information – categories of persons
The regulations list 11 categories of 'persons' who must provide water information in their possession, custody or control to the Bureau.
A person can be an individual or organisation. The categories are based on functions, such as 'lead water agencies'.
An individual or organisation can appear in more than one category if they perform more than one function. For example, an organisation can be in one category because it is an urban water utility. It can be in another category because it manages a major water storage, or provides flood warning information to the Bureau.
Some organisations employ service providers to collect and store data on their behalf. With few exceptions, this information is still in their control. They are responsible for ensuring it is provided to us.
List of water information providers
You can find the list of organisations named in the regulations:
- in the Persons and classes of persons incorporated document on this page – it lists the organisations in each category
- using Water Regulations Online. This service is on our current website – we're still building this new one.
What water information is required – categories and subcategories
The regulations list 10 categories of water information that individuals or organisations may have to provide. These are divided into subcategories.
Incorporated documents – metadata, urban water, persons, commercially sensitive sites
The contents of these documents are incorporated in the regulations and have effect as though they were included in the regulations. This is made possible by section 256 of the Water Act 2007.
The requirements in these incorporated documents can change. Learn about the principles and policies we apply when managing changes.
We record changes to the Commercially Sensitive Sites and Persons and Classes of Persons incorporated documents in a Register of changes (PDF, 706 KB).
If you need an accessible version of any of these documents, contact us about your needs.
Changes to water information regulations
We manage amendments to Part 7 of the regulations in line with our policy, Amending Part 7 of the Water Regulations 2008. You'll find this on our Principles and policies for water information page.
You can find the background to the regulations and full history of amendments on Trove.
Summary of amendments
Licence to use this content
You can use content on this page in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.