Application fees

'New' work approval means any work proposed which is not currently listed on a water approval or is replacing an existing work which is listed on a water approval.  *Note that forms are sent directly to these holders.

These fees are determined by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).

WaterNSW collects the groundwater assessment fee on behalf of the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment-Water (DPIE-Water). DPIE-Water hydrogeologists are responsible for undertaking the groundwater assessment, when required.

Consent Transactions in relation to Monopoly Services provided by Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC).

Consent transaction in relation to drillers licences, solicitor enquiries and special meter reads are not stated, as they have not been regulated by IPART and are deemed to be unregulated services.

Impact and rules-based assessments:
Applications generally require a detailed impact assessment. This includes case by case investigation to consider potential local impacts and determine whether those impacts require refusal or consent, or consent subject to conditions.

Depending on the type of transaction, impact assessment can include identifying and addressing impacts on adjoining pumps or bores, Aboriginal heritage sites, native vegetation, threatened species, wetlands, land degradation, salinity, soil compaction, geomorphic instability, hydrology, water logging, acidity, contamination and water quality, in addition to consideration and resolution of any lodged objections. In some cases where significant risks are identified, WaterNSW may require the applicant to commission third-party experts to determine the extent of those risks and how they might be mitigated.

Applications determined by IPART which are identified as ‘low risk’ are processed with a rules-based assessment which does not require the above detailed impact assessment.

Lower fees are charged for transactions which are identified as ‘low risk’.

WAMC charges are determined by IPART under the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal Act 1992 (IPART Act) and the WAMC determination. The reasons are:

1. Section 11 of the IPART Act gives IPART a standing reference to conduct investigations and make reports to the Minister administering the IPART Act on the determination of the pricing for a government monopoly service supplied by a government agency specified in Schedule 1 of the IPART Act.
2. The Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (Corporation) is listed in Schedule 1 of the IPART Act.
3. The services which are declared as government monopoly services under clause 3 of the Independent Pricing and  Regulatory Tribunal (Water Services) Order 2004 are services supplied by the Corporation which involve:
   (1) the making available of water;
   (2) the making available of the Corporation’s water supply facilities; or
   (3) the supplying of water, whether by means of the Corporation’s water supply facilities or otherwise, (together, the  Monopoly Services).
4. Under section 4(6) of the IPART Act, the Corporation is taken to be the supplier of the services for which fees and  charges are payable under Chapter 3 of the Water Management Act.
5. In practice, charges for such water resource management activities are made as charges under licences, permits,  approvals or authorities granted by:
   (1) the Minister under Chapter 3 of the Water Management Act (in areas of NSW in which proclamations under  sections 55A and 88A of the Water Management Act are in force); and
   (2) the Corporation under the Water Act (in other areas of NSW).
6. Accordingly, in determining maximum prices for the Monopoly Services, IPART has determined maximum prices payable for these services under various licences, permits, approvals or authorities granted under the Water Management Act and the Water Act.