Water for the Environment Special Account

Murray-Darling Basin - Sustainable Communities

This Schedule provides funding to Basin States to develop and deliver community adjustment assistance to Murray-Darling communities to minimise socio-economic impacts from the recovery of water towards the 450 gigalitres of additional environmental water under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan 2012.

Off-farm Efficiency Program New South Wales State-led Feasibility Project

This Schedule will support the New South Wales Off-farm Efficiency Program Feasibility Project (the Project). 

The Project will enable activities required to inform full project proposals that can be considered for funding through the Off-farm Efficiency Program. Activities may include ground surveys, soil testing, hydraulic modelling, detailed design, water loss calculations, cost estimation, water recovery and savings volumes verification, or other activities that are required to inform full project applications. 

Off-farm Efficiency Program: New South Wales State-led Murrumbidgee Irrigation Automation Finalisation Project

This Schedule will support the New South Wales Murrumbidgee Irrigation Automation Finalisation (MAIF) Project.

The MIAF Project will improve water delivery efficiency, increase delivery performance, support agricultural production and regional community, and increase water security across the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, leading to improved agricultural activity and generating benefits for the local and regional communities. 

Accelerated funding: NSW supply and constraints projects

This Schedule will support the Commonwealth and States to implement the package of supply and constraints measures to give effect to an amendment to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan (Basin Plan) which commenced in law on 13 January 2018 and enabled the Basin Plan's Sustainable Diversion Limits to be increased by 605 gigalitres (GL).

The Schedule complements the existing agreement set out in the Project Agreement (Project Agreement for Stage 1 Funding for Sustainable Diversion Limits Adjustment Supply and Constraints Measures in the Murray-Darling Basin) and the deliverables set out in its related Schedule A (Stage 1. Funding for New South Wales Supply and Constraints Measures).

The Schedule accelerates the delivery of five specific measures originally anticipated to be delivered under a new funding agreement for Stage 2 activities. These activities will be accelerated ahead of the completion of Stage 1 (Schedule A to the Project Agreement), and/or prior to the approval for progress with the comprehensive project works package for any remaining Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjust Mechanism (SDLAM) projects. This will allow streamlined assessment and delivery of the five measures by 30 June 2024.

Off-farm Efficiency Program: Goulburn-Murray Water - Water Efficiency Project

This Schedule will support the Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) Water Efficiency Project to recover 15.9GL of water and facilitate environmental watering across the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District and Murray-Darling Basin. It will lead to improved agricultural activity and generate benefits for local and regional communities. 

Stage 1 Funding for Sustainable Diversion Limits (SDL) Adjustment Supply and Constraints Measures in the Murray-Darling Basin

The output of this Agreement will be Stage 1 activities (including designs, obtaining regulatory approvals, technical investigations and stakeholder engagement) to progress the development of supply and constraints measures nominated under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan’s mechanism for the adjustment of Sustainable Diversion Limits. The activities will inform the Commonwealth’s decision to fund the implementation of the measures.