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Overview

To lodge a water share transaction you must use a form approved by the Water Registrar under the Water Act 1989. The Water Registrar has responsibility for the part of the Victorian Water Register in which dealings with water shares are recorded. You'll find a list of the most commonly used forms below.

If you’re unable to use the approved forms below, you may create your own version of the approved forms (except for transfer forms and limited term transfer forms).

If you produce your own form, you must make sure the format is the same as the approved form, including layout, spacing, margins and information.

A form must be printed on white A4 size paper of not less than 80gsm and have clear margins of not less than 10 millimetres and not more than 15 millimetres on all borders. Forms must be printed single-sided, in black text and in portrait format.

The body text for all forms is Arial 11 font; the heading text is Arial 14 font; all pages must be numbered, and the total number of pages specified.

Handwriting must be in block letters, clear and legible and in black ink or blue ink. Signatures must be in black ink or blue ink.

Erasures, correction products, over-typing or over-printing must not be used on forms.

Lodgments must be mailed to:

Water Register
GPO Box 527
Melbourne VIC 3001

Please make sure you include a phone number and email address so we can contact you to formalise the lodgment and payment.

For updates regarding the Victorian Water Register, please subscribe to our Customer Information Bulletins.

Water share forms

Forms for water trading approvals can be obtained from the Victorian Water Register website or from the relevant water authority.

The following two transfer forms will be made available by your water authority on approval of your transfer or limited term transfer. The forms below are samples only:

Unconfirmed water shares

If multiple parcels of land were listed as a 'holding' in the water authorities' Section 230 Registers on the appointed day when a water system became a declared water system under the Water Act 1989 (for water systems in northern Victoria 1 July 2007 and southern Victoria 1 July 2008), the Act required the creation of water shares for those holdings as 'unconfirmed' – Clause 17(1)(a) or (b) if parcels in the holding were:

  • owned by different persons (even if the names were for only one individual person), or
  • owned by the same persons but in a different manner, or
  • if the parcels in the holding were subject to different mortgages.

In cases where there are multiple occurrences of the same name, then the application to confirm must be accompanied by a statutory declaration to verify that the multiple names shown as current water shares owners are one and the same as each of the applicants. A suggested form of this declaration is attached below.

The confirmation status of a water share appears in the copy of record available by searching a water share.  There are very few water shares remaining unconfirmed under Clause 17(1)(a) or (b). Any enquiries should be directed to your water authority or contact the Water Registrar.

When a water share is unconfirmed according to Schedule 15 Clause 18(2) of the Water Act 1989, there are additional requirements to ensure all entitled members agree on the ownership of the share. Please refer to the Registrar's Guidelines for applications to confirm these shares.

Guides

Land Use Victoria's guides to dealings with water shares provide basic information for filling out forms. Conveyancers and lawyers familiar with water register dealings can lodge these on your behalf. Note: The guides are being updated. All instructions not to use a post office box address should be disregarded.

Fees

For Water Registrar fees and fees related to water shares and water allocations, go to the Water Register website.

Credit or debit card payments are the only accepted forms of payment. We will call you after lodgment to process your card payment. Payment will be confirmed over the phone and we will not retain any written records of the card used in the transaction. We will send a receipt to you by email.

Please note we do not accept cheques or money orders.

Trusts on water shares

The Water Registrar has determined that a trustee capacity cannot be recorded on water shares. Water shares must only be held in the name of a legal person. The words 'as trustee for', 'as custodian for', or the abbreviations 'ATF' or 'ACF', must not be used in any water share form.

This determination does not prevent the use of 'off register' trusts.

Page last updated: 09/02/24