Water management fees in Queensland

The Queensland Government undertakes a range of activities to sustainably manage the state's water resources.

To cover a portion of the costs associated with water management and planning, fees and charges are applied to certain dealings under the Water Act 2000.

From 1 July 2022, the Queensland Government has a new mechanism for how fees are updated annually to reflect indexation.

All regulatory fees in legislation have changed from fee dollars to fee units, with the fee unit value prescribed in the Acts Interpretation (Fee Unit) Regulation 2023. The fee unit value will be updated annually in line with the Government Indexation Rate (GIR).

Read more information about this change from Queensland Treasury.

For transparency, the department will continue to publish a full list of water management fees and charges.

Water management fees and charges

Fees in the Water Regulation 2016 are categorised as:

  • schedule 12 and 13 – application and administrative fees
  • schedule 14 – water charges
  • schedule 15 – royalties for riverine quarry material
  • schedule 16 – drainage rates.
Fee nameFee

Application for a seasonal water assignment

  1. for a water allocation
  2. for a seasonal water assignment notice

{{ passfee_5935 }}

{{ passfee_36828 }}

Application for a water allocation dealing {{ passfee_5930 }}
Application for a water licence {{ passfee_5981 }}
Application for a dealing with a water licence to renew the licence {{ passfee_36771 }}
Application for a dealing with a water licence to relocate the licence {{ passfee_36779 }}
Application for a dealing with a water licence for a seasonal water assignment notice for a seasonal water assignment {{ passfee_5986 }}
Application for 1 or more other dealings with a water licence {{ passfee_36772 }}
Water licence fee—for each year {{ passfee_5993 }}
Application for an operations licence {{ passfee_5992 }}
Application for an allocation of quarry material—for each 6 month period, or part of a 6 month period, the allocation notice has effect {{ passfee_5987 }}
Application to renew an allocation notice—for each 6 month period, or part of a 6 month period, the renewed allocation notice has effect {{ passfee_5988 }}

Application for a water bore driller's licence

  1. application for a licence
  2. class 1 onsite evaluation fee
  3. class 2 onsite evaluation fee
  4. class 3 onsite evaluation fee

{{ passfee_7555 }}

{{ passfee_7556 }}

{{ passfee_7557 }}

{{ passfee_7558 }}

Application to amend a water bore driller's licence {{ passfee_5990 }}
Application to renew a water bore driller's licence {{ passfee_5991 }}
Application to reinstate an expired water bore driller's licence {{ passfee_7559 }}
Purchase a copy of a document available for inspection
  1. if the copy is generated at an office of the department
  2. if the copy generated electronically

{{ passfee_7561 }}

{{ passfee_7562 }}

Certifying a copy of a document available for inspection {{ passfee_7563 }}
Investigative search, by the chief executive, of the department's water entitlement database (not including providing copies of documents)
  1. if no additional computer programming time is required—for each hour or part of an hour
  2. if additional computer programming time is required—for each hour or part of an hour

{{ passfee_7566 }}

{{ passfee_7567 }}

Copy of a report on an entry in the department's water entitlement database {{ passfee_7568 }}
Testing a water meter—for each hour {{ passfee_5994 }}
Reading a water meter
  1. for 1 water meter
  2. for each additional water meter on the same or an adjacent property

{{ passfee_5996 }}

{{ passfee_5997 }}

Fee nameFee
Application to transfer all or part of a continuing interim water allocation (s193) {{ passfee_5975 }}
Application to transfer all or part of a continuing interim water allocation (s195)
  1. for 1 application
  2. for each additional application, made at the same time, to transfer to the same land

{{ passfee_36773 }}

{{ passfee_36774 }}

Application to replace jointly held continuing interim water allocation {{ passfee_36775 }}
Application to amend continuing interim water allocation {{ passfee_36776 }}
Application to amalgamate continuing interim water allocations {{ passfee_36777 }}
Application to replace continuing interim water allocation with 2 or more new continuing interim water allocations {{ passfee_36778 }}
Water management area (date the water year ends) Water charge
Barker–Barambah Creeks water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6020 }}
Border Rivers water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_32842 }}
Bowen–Broken Rivers water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6031 }}
Boyne and Stuart Rivers water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6037 }}
Central Lockyer water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6055 }}
Dawson Valley water management area (30 September)

Water harvesting from zone Dawson B to M as identified in the Fitzroy Basin water management protocol—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6069 }}
Dumaresq River water management area (30 June)

Water from a watercourse flowing from Glenlyon Dam

  1. part A
  2. part B

{{ passfee_6072 }}

{{ passfee_6073 }}

Fitzroy water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting from zone Fitzroy A as identified in the Fitzroy Basin water management protocol—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6076 }}
Logan River water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting from Burnett Creek or Logan River—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6084 }}
Lower Balonne water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting

  1. from a supplemented section of the Thuraggi watercourse or Thuraggi diversion channel—for each megalitre
  2. from Beardmore Dam or from any watercourse downstream of Beardmore Dam to the Queensland/New South Wales border—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6087 }}

{{ passfee_6088 }}

Lower Burnett and Kolan Rivers water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6090 }}
Lower Lockyer water management area (30 April)

Water harvesting—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6092 }}
Macintyre Brook water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6094 }}
Nogoa Mackenzie water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting from Lake Maraboon or Nogoa River or Mackenzie River to the junction with Springton Creek—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6096 }}
Pioneer River water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting from zones Cattle 01, Cattle 02, Pioneer 01, Pioneer 02, Pioneer 03, Pioneer 04 or Silver/McGregor 01 identified in the Water Plan (Pioneer Valley) 2002—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6100 }}
Three Moon Creek water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6102 }}
Upper Burnett and Nogo Rivers water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting from Nogo River or Burnett River—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6104 }}
Upper Condamine water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting from zones UCU-03 (excluding the ponded area of Leslie Dam), UCU-04, UCU-05, UCU-06, UCU-07, UCU-08, UCU-09 or UCU-11 identified in the Condamine and Balonne water management protocol—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_34450 }}
Warrill Valley water management area (30 June)

Water harvesting

  1. from Reynolds Creek, Warrill Creek from its junction with Reynolds Creek or Bremer River from the junction of Warrill Creek downstream to Berry's Lagoon—for each megalitre
  2. from Black Gully, Kent's Lagoon, Normanby Gully, West Branch, Waroolaba Creek or the Upper Warrill systems—for each megalitre

{{ passfee_6109 }}

{{ passfee_6110 }}

Royalties Fee/cubic metre removed
Removing state quarry material – for each cubic metre removed
  1. by a local government or other entity established under an Act and that does not represent the State (a statutory body), for its own use
  2. by another person for a statutory body if the statutory body issues a certificate stating that the material was supplied to the statutory body for its own use
  3. if paragraphs (a) and (b) do not apply

{{ passfee_2356 }}

{{ passfee_2357 }}

{{ passfee_2358 }}

Drainage rateFee
Burdekin River drainage area, shown on AP4064 rate for each hectare of land {{ passfee_6810 }}

Water licence fee

Generally, unsupplemented water licence holders are required to pay an annual water licence fee. The fee unit is also listed in schedule 12 of the Water Regulation 2016.

The annual water licence fee may be waived in drought or disaster declared areas.

Water charges

Holders of unsupplemented water entitlements which allow for water harvesting in declared water management areas generally pay water charges to the department. These charges are calculated on the amount of water taken and are billed annually.

Also consider...