Environmental Entitlement Requests
Environmental entitlements are held by the Minister responsible for administering the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (the ‘Minister for Environment and Climate Change’).
The Minister for Environment and Climate Change can request the Minister for Water to allocate an environmental entitlement. This right to take, apply or store water up to a maximum volume is allocated under section 48B of the Water Act 1989 with certain conditions and obligations.
Environmental entitlements can be a combination of water in storage, minimum flow levels and protection of the flows remaining in the river after the other demands have been met (‘above cap’ flows). Environmental entitlements make it possible to actively manage water to meet specific environmental needs such as fish spawning triggers or maintaining critical habitats during drought.
Requests to allocate or amend environmental entitlements
With Victoria entering its thirteenth year of drought and changes to our climate, the Government and water corporations are investing in water savings projects and water purchases to recover sufficient water to maintain the environmental values of our rivers, floodplains and wetlands.
To convert this recovered water to environmental entitlements, the Minister for Environment and Climate Change asks the Minister for Water to either allocate a new entitlement or amend an existing entitlement.
The Water Act 1989 sets out the requirements to be followed when the Minister for Water receives a request from the Minister for Environment and Climate Change.
Requests to allocate new environmental entitlements or amend existing entitlements are advertised in local newspapers and on this website.
The process may involve consultation with stakeholders and local communities and submissions to the Department of Sustainability and Environment or the Minister for Environment and Climate Change.
The purpose of the consultations is to identify all the potential impacts of the proposal in the request.
The Minister for Water may call for submissions when a request is received, and will consider any submissions received before he/she makes a decision about the request.