Summary

Water is fundamental to the future growth of northern Australia, but fragmented water information and outdated accounting systems can make it difficult for growers, investors, regulators and communities to understand how much water is available, who holds water rights, how much is being used and what is being traded.

The Scaling Next Generation Water Markets in Northern Australia final report explores how better water accounting, digital technology and place-based governance can build more transparent, trusted and effective water markets across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

The project’s central finding is clear: water accounting must be right before water markets can work effectively. The research proposes three tests for water accounting systems: accounts must reconcile accurately, water information must be processed and published within agreed timeframes, and proposed trades should be automatically checked against applicable water plan rules.

A key component of the project was a live pilot of Civic Ledger’s Water Ledger platform with Seqwater across the Central Lockyer Valley and Lower Lockyer Valley Water Supply Schemes. The pilot replaced spreadsheet-based accounting with a digital water accounting system operating with real customers and live water data. Quarterly regulatory reporting was reduced from three weeks of staff time to less than 10 minutes, while processing bulk meter reads was reduced from six weeks to less than five minutes. Customers also gained real-time visibility of their water accounts and an audit trail.

The report also examines water market governance across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia, finding that while the jurisdictions have different legislative frameworks, licensing arrangements and trading rules, these differences can be accommodated through common digital architecture and shared data standards.

Place-based governance is identified as another essential foundation for northern water markets. The research highlights the importance of local knowledge, Traditional Owner participation and community involvement in developing governance arrangements that reflect the environmental, social, cultural and economic characteristics of individual catchments and regions.

The report makes five strategic recommendations, including establishing a Water Operator Accounting Standard for northern Australia, progressively rolling out Water Operator-grade digital accounting, developing a cross-jurisdictional water market governance framework, delivering grower-led water market education and capability programs and establishing a public monitoring and evaluation framework.

Together, the findings provide a practical pathway for developing more transparent, accountable and investment-ready water markets across northern Australia, while avoiding some of the governance and information challenges experienced elsewhere in Australia.