Water licensing

WaterNSW is responsible for managing access to water and ensuring water is shared equitably between the environment, farmers and industry.

Requirements for an approval or licence to access water depends on how and why you want to use the water.

For assistance in calculating how much water you may need for stock, domestic or general farming, go to How much water do I need? (PDF, 244.5 KB)

A key component of managing access to water is ensuring compliance with water legislation. This is essential to ensure equitable sharing of the resource.

Select your enquiry category below and use our online facility to book a phone appointment. Phone appointments are available Monday to Thursday.

• Basic landholder rights (BLR) bore enquiries
• Approval extensions
• Dewatering
• Flood work approval
• Approvals & licences for Southern NSW – includes the Murray, Murrumbidgee, Hunter, Lower Murray-Darling and Sydney South Coast River valleys
• Approvals & licences for Northern NSW – includes the Macquarie, Far West, Barwon and North Coast River valleys

The following offices are open for face-to-face meetings every Tuesday to discuss your water licensing enquiries. Select your local office to use our online facility to book a face-to-face meeting with one of our water licensing experts.

• Albury
• Deniliquin
• Dubbo
• Forbes
• Grafton
• Hunter
• Leeton
• Moree
• Murwillumbah
• Narrabri
• Nowra
• Parramatta
• Tamworth
• Wagga Wagga