CICL Update June 2025
Dear Members,
This newsletter provides Members with an update on key water issues affecting CICL and its Members’ businesses.
In this month's newsletter -
Department of Climate Change Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
Allocation announcements
15/05/2025
High Security 95%
General Security 41%
Groundwater 100%
(Lower Murrumbidgee)
2024-25 CICL announcement and offers
Member benefit 10%
Additional water offer 6%
Water allocation update –NSW – DCCEEW released a water allocation update including a preliminary outlook for 2025/06 on Thursday 15 May 2025 here.
Key points from this preliminary outlook are:
On 1 July full allocations for town, domestic and stock access licences are expected.
On 1 July full access to supplementary water subject to announced events will be available.
Starting high security allocations of 95 percent.
Conveyance water allocated in accordance with the Water Sharing Plan rules.
The starting allocation for general security is expected to be very low.
State-wide opening water allocation statements will be released on Tuesday 1 July at 6.00am, with routine fortnightly statements commencing on Tuesday 15 July at 2.30pm.
A state wide groundwater allocation outlook for 2025/26 was released on Thursday 29 May here. The outlook whilst not a guarantee indicates all groundwater licence categories across all groundwater sources are likely to receive full allocations on 1 July 2025 for 2025/26.
Inter-valley trade (IVT)
Up-to-date information on the IVT is here.
You can register for WaterNSW IVT alerts here.
End of Season dates
End of season closure of annual allocation trade
CICL will close all annual trades at 12 noon on Monday 30 June 2025.
This deadline applies to:
Annual intravalley transfers to and from CICL’s licence.
Annual internal transfers between CICL farms.
Single Farming Unit Accounting.
Customers needing to either purchase or sell annual allocation to finalise their end of season account balances, need to allow sufficient lead time for trade approvals to be processed prior to 12 noon on Monday 30 June 2025.
Carryover into 2025/26 water season
The carryover provisions in the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Regulated Water Source apply to CICL water entitlements. This means:
A volume of up to 30 percent of general security water entitlements can be carried over from 2024/25 to 2025/26.
Carryover is not available on high security or G class water entitlements.
The maximum account limit on general security water entitlements in 2025/26 including carryover and the announced allocation is 100 percent.
Members with more than 30 percent available in their general security water allocation account, or water remaining in their high security water allocation account, should note the closing date for Single Farming Units and annual transfers of 12 noon Monday 30 June 2025.
Waterways
The Waterways ordering system is now closed for the 2024/25 season.
Please contact Water Operations to place or amend any water orders for the remainder of the season.
Waterways will still be available to view water statements until the end of June.
Water Operations – Business Hours T. 02 6954 4003 and after hours M. 0427 544 269.
T: 1300 850 105
CICL 2024/25 season
CICL will issue its 2024/25 invoices to customers no later than Friday 27 June 2025 with invoices due for payment no later than COB on Thursday 31 July. Invoices will be emailed and posted.
The invoice for any additional water offers accepted in 2024/25, if not previously paid, is also due on this date. A statement including all unpaid amounts will also be emailed and posted in the first week of July.
When paying your 2024/25 invoice please allow sufficient time for any payments to be cleared before COB on Thursday 31 July 2025.
Active Member eligibility
Members are reminded to be an Active Member and eligible for any Member Benefit announced by CICL, members must meet the Active Membership criteria in CICL’s Rules. Rule 9 includes payment of all 2024/25 invoices or entering a payment arrangement with CICL by COB on Thursday 31 July 2025.
Foreign Ownership Register
The Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets (Foreign Ownership Register) came into effect on 1 July 2023 with the Register of Foreign Ownership of Water or Agricultural Land Act 2015 being repealed on this date. The CICL Rules have been updated accordingly.
Rule 138.3 requires that if a Member is, or becomes, or ceases to be, a foreign person during a financial year (1 July to 30 June), the Member must give notice of that circumstance to the Co-operative by the seventh day after the end of the financial year, but this Rule does not apply if either:
(a) the Member is not a foreign person at the end of the financial year and was not a foreign person at the end of the previous financial year; or
(b) the Member is no longer a Member at the end of the financial year.
CICL is also required to register if it considers it is foreign owned. CICL therefore requires any of its Members who have become, or ceased to be, foreign owned to notify the Company Secretary. Members that are considered foreign owned are requested to comply with CICL Rule 138.
CICL 2025/26 water charges
CICL’s Schedule of charges for 2025/26 will be sent to customers and available on our website on Monday 16 June 2025.
The Schedule will detail CICL’s charges for 2025/26. For CICL’s pass through of Government charges the Schedule will contain the charges included in the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s (IPART) draft determination for WaterNSW bulk water charges and recovery of NSW contributions to the MDBA.
For the recovery of services provided by the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC) including NSW contributions to the MDBA for WAMC services, the 2024/25 charges will apply from 1 July 2024 to 30 September 2025.
CICL will update its Schedule of charges once IPART’s final determination for WaterNSW is made.
Further information about WAMC charges from 1 October is including in external issues in this newsletter.
Water use Limit 2025/26 set at 9ML/ha
In line with its Water Use Policy, CICL has set the total farm water use limit (including on-farm bores) at 9ML/ha for the 2025/26 season, an increase of 1ML/ha from the prior season. The increase is possible because of the reduction in land area with a water table (i.e. within 0-2m of the surface), as demonstrated by our recent piezometer readings. The rice soil suitability provisions in the CICL Water Use Policy also remain suspended. Please contact Keith Thompson via reception on T: 02 6954 4003 for further information.
Winter works in action
CICL has a significant winter works program across our footprint. Below is a snapshot of one our major works, the upgrade of the Tubbo Wells regulator.
EXTERNAL ISSUES
IPART Pricing Determinations
The NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) is reviewing the maximum prices for both WaterNSW and the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC). IPART released its draft report on WaterNSW charges to apply from 1 July in early June, with a final determination due before the end of June 2025.
CICL recovers both the WaterNSW and WAMC charges from customers, with these charges shown in our Schedule of Charges as CICL pass through of government charges.
IPART Draft Determination WAMC
IPART has released its draft determination and draft report on WAMC charges to apply from 1 October 2025.
The draft determination proposes a three-year determination commencing on 1 October 2025 and ending on 30 June 2028.
Submissions on the draft report and draft determination are due on Tuesday 1 July and can be made via Have your say.
In summary IPART is proposing:
a three-year determination.
to constrain the increase in WAMC’s water management component charges to a maximum of 5% per year plus CPI in year two and three and a total of 15.8% plus CPI from 2024–25 to 2027–28 (before inflation)
to maintain MDBA charges in line with inflation only from 2024-25 to 2027-28
The WAMC pricing proposal sought to cap price increases at 15 percent per year, plus CPI.
It is positive that IPART have limited the price increases customers will pay for WAMC services. However, important unresolved issues about the cost of government services, including who should be responsible for funding WAMC’s water planning, regulation, licencing and compliance enforcement remain. These issues need to be addressed prior to the next determination.
Phased introduction of the Water Market Intermediaries Code and statutory trust accounting (STA) framework
The first phase of the Water Market Intermediaries Code and STA framework will commence on 1 July 2025, with full implementation from 1 October 2025.
The Code will apply to water market intermediaries such as:
brokers
exchanges
irrigation infrastructure operators (IIOs) that provide intermediary services including operating an exchange, and
any other intermediary service providers.
These intermediaries will also need to follow new trust accounting obligations under the Water Act 2007. Further information is available here.
The ACCC will be responsible for regulating compliance with the Code and STA framework.
Retirement of NSWIC CEO & appointment of Dr Madeleine Hartley
Claire Miller will retire as NSWIC CEO at the start of July. CICL acknowledges Claire’s outstanding contribution as CEO over the last five years, including her leadership as industry has navigated difficult water reforms, including the Commonwealth’s Restoring our Rivers Act 2023.
Tom Green, NSWIC chair has announced the appointment of Dr Madeleine Hartley as the new CEO. Madeleine is an award winning lawyer with over 15 years’ experience in water law and policy. CICL thanks Claire for her contribution and we look forward to working with Madeleine.
Conclusion
Please note the note the key dates in the newsletter, including the closure of all annual trades at 12 noon on Monday 30 June.
You will have probably noticed CICL’s “winter works” program is underway as we make the most of the short period where our channels are drained. Please take care around these works and look out for slow moving machinery and vehicles.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the important contribution of Senator Perin Davey over the last six years. At the recent election, Senator Davey was not re-elected to the Senate with the Coalition only securing two NSW senate positions. Senator Davey has been a great advocate for our industry and rural and regional communities, and her absence from the Senate and political circles will be greatly missed. We wish Perin well with the next steps in her career.
Julian Speed
CEO
