Water Manager
Licensing
Trading
Water Licence Trading
We can help you buy and sell water
Water is a precious commodity, and access to water can fluctuate dramatically in Western Australia. Being able to buy and sell water rights is an essential tool for ensuring that everyone gets the water they need.
Water Manager is our online platform that connects water licence traders. It also streamlines the water-licence transfer process with the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER).
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Water Manager offers easy water trading.
Our most recent trades.
Water licence trading is largely an undeveloped market with a significant lack of information. We are aiming to solve this by being fully transparent with our process, pricing structure, and with trade value information we have. This table shows the most recent trading rates, agreed by buyers and sellers, and for trades we have lodged to DWER.
Area
Sub-Area
Aquifer
Price
Date
Swan
Swan Confined
Leederville
$ 13.50 /kL
Apr 2025
Swan
Swan Valley
Superficial
$ 5.00 /kL
Feb 2025
Perth
Perth South Confined
Leederville
$ 10.00 /kL
Dec 2024
Swan
Swan Valley
Mirrabooka
$ 4.50 /kL
Dec 2024
Wanneroo
Carabooda
Superficial
$ 4.00 /kL
Oct 2024
Perth
Shire of Swan South
Superficial
$ 6.25 /kL
Sep 2024
Our water trading process.
We offer a professional water trading service from start to finish.
From being unsure how to trade—to becoming a confident buyer or seller of water licences—our experience can help you maximise your water benefits. Here are the steps we take our clients through to help them trade water.
You find a trade via the Water Manager platform.
We prepare and lodge the trade with DWER.
DWER processes and approves the trade.
Use Water Manager to:
- Find licences available to purchase in different aquifers on your property.
- List your water licences for sale.
- Place offers and negotiate trading rates anonymously.
- Make an agreement on a water licence trade.
We can advise on the market price of allocations for an indicative price to buy or sell water.
One of our water specialists can also visit and evaluate the water needs of your property to determine the required allocation you should buy or sell.
Once you reach a trade agreement with a buyer or seller, we gather authority to act on behalf of both parties with DWER until this trade is complete.
We collect and hold the funds from the buyer, ensuring a smooth transaction upon trade approval. We also get the required information from both parties and process it to be lodged according to DWER assessment criteria.
We collect and hold the funds from the buyer, ensuring a smooth transaction upon trade approval. We also get the required information from both parties and process it to be lodged according to DWER assessment criteria.
This step includes:
- Securely holding the funds in our Water Holding account prior to lodging the trade.
- Lodging the trade application with the DWER, including professional and detailed so that the trade isn’t rejected.
We interface with DWER throughout the whole process, supporting their requirements during the assessment of the trade. DWER assesses the trade through:
- Initial screening of the legal details and information submitted (est. 1-2 weeks).
- Once the trade is assigned to an officer, they may request additional information from either party, which we will help provide (est. 4-8 weeks).
- After DWER’s processing, they request payment of Stamp Duty for dutiable water transactions and issue of the Certificate of Duty prior to issuing the new licences, which we process with Office of State Revenue (est. 2-4 weeks).
- Upon trade approval, we issue the funds to the seller (within 2 weeks) and send the new licences to both parties.
Contact us for help with trading water.
Our knowledge and experience can help you through the water trading process. We can give you confidence your trades will be approved so that your business can grow.
Contact us here to maximise your water.
Let’s talkContact us here to maximise your water.
Water Manager offers easy water trading.
Whether you’re buying or selling water, our Water Manager platform offers smarter and easier solutions.
Try Water Manager for free today.
Our Customers
What our clients and drillers say about us.
BD Water strives to build relationships that last. And what our people say about us means a lot.
We make water simple, and we do that from the first supplier to the final consumer.
Sallyann Bailey
Director, Nateis Contracting
David Saunders
Operations Manager, Purely Commercials
Our Partners
We surround ourselves with water, but BD Water is no island.
We appreciate the backing from our partners and suppliers. It is our mutual confidence and the relationship we built that allows us to ensure we deliver the service we set ourselves to.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Do I need to apply for any licences?
We recommend you contact us directly so we can provide advice specific to your situation.
In general, most commercial or large properties in proclaimed areas (from the Hills line to the Coast) need a licence to drill and utilise the bore. If you are doing any of the following you’ll most likely need a groundwater licence to take water:
- Irrigating more than 1/2 an acre (2,000 square meters)
- Using the bore for commercial activity (feedlots, agriculture, construction, etc)
- Looking to utilise an aquifer deeper than the Superficial aquifer (bores generally deeper than 30 metres)
Another type of licence is a 26D licence to drill a borehole, which you need in case you are:
- Using the bore for commercial activity
- Looking to drill into a confined or semi-confined aquifer (bores generally deeper than 60 metres)
To ensure you are compliant with the legislation applicable to you, contact us so we can assess your property and give you specific advice for your situation.
What is water licensing?
The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation started regulating the water use in WA because, simply put, we’re taking more water out of the ground than what’s going back in. This results in water levels dropping.
A groundwater licence is one of the ways DWER monitors and manages the amount of water being abstracted.
Water licences allow their holders to take more groundwater that the unlicensed standard amount to irrigate 1/2 an acre (2,000 square meters).
Do you represent the Department of Water?
No. BD Water is a private business and we do not represent the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. BD Water owns Water Manager, which is also independent from DWER.
All information we provide is our own interpretation of their documentation and if unsure please contact us or confirm with DWER directly.
Does the water licence come with the property I’ve purchased?
By default, no.
In your contract of sale of the land, the licence transfer is usually included as a condition for the sale. However, this does not start the licence transfer process and the property settlement does not automatically transfer ownership of the water licence into your name.
You must notify the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation that there has been a change in ownership of the licence within 30 days of settlement. If you do not notify them, you will risk losing the allocation.
To notify, you must apply for a licence transfer. We can handle the licence transfer on your behalf. You can simply talk to us, and we will go through the whole process with you.
How do I buy/sell a licence?
Traditionally you’ll need to find a buyer/seller in the same water resource you’re allowed to trade with, and offer to buy/sell part or the full allocation. Using our platform, Water Manager, you can list licences for sale or find licences available to purchase on your exact property.
Both parties have to fill our a licence transfer form and submit it to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. The trade will then go through due diligence with DWER, which usually takes multiple months before approved.
The process will look at the following:
- Are you seeking to trade within your designated groundwater sub-area and aquifer?
- Is the seller’s licence fully compliant with the regulations and licence conditions?
- Is the allocation is currently being fully utilised?
- What is the new intent for the allocation?
- Are there any environment incumbents?
- Does the new owner of the allocation have the infrastructure in place to utilise the allocation or the capability to construct it?
Alternatively, you can talk to us. You can let us find you a buyer/seller for your trade, handle all the paperwork according to the current regulations and guidelines, and interface on your behalf with DWER. We will take care of the whole process, making it simple and streamlined for you.
Can I get a new water licence issued?
Generally, no.
The majority of areas and aquifers are over allocated, meaning there is more water being extracted from the ground then there is replenishing the supply (via rainfall). This means no more new licences are being issued, certainly not around the denser areas of Perth.
There are some cases where a temporary allocation may be issued but this is generally reserved for construction works or emergency situations.
Generally, the only option for getting an allocation is to trade it with someone else. More info about water trading on Water Manager.
You can call us to discuss your situation, we can help you decipher if you are eligible for a new licence, or advise you of your options.
Can I trade licences with anyone?
No. You are only allowed to trade water within the same water resource. A water resource is the combination of groundwater area, sub-area & aquifer.
- For the semi-confined aquifers Mirrabooka and Leederville, the trading range isn’t very restricted, as the sub-areas cover a wide geographical area.
- For the Superficial aquifer, the groundwater sub-areas are geographical boundaries that put a more significant limit on the water resources. The same suburb can have 3-4 different sub-areas within itself.
You can check what water resource your property is in, and which licences are available for purchase on your property, via Water Manager. Our platform makes it easy to find buyers or sellers, and you can be sure you are trading with parties you are allowed to.