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Traditional Owners have managed land and water sustainably for thousands of generations. Caring for Country, including its waterways, is a custodial obligation of Traditional Owners. Keeping Country healthy can deliver thriving cultural economies and benefits for all Victorians.
Water is Life
Under Water is Life: Traditional Owner Access to Water Roadmap (Water is Life), the Victorian Government is committed to working with Traditional Owners to increase their access to water and their involvement in water management. Water is Life provides an important framework to support Traditional Owner self-determination in water access and management.
The Victorian Water Accounts (VWA) reports on the volume of water entitlements held by Traditional Owners and other Aboriginal organisations as at 30 June each year. This annual reporting helps us monitor our progress against Targeted Outcome 7 in Water is Life: Water is returned to Traditional Owner groups across Victoria through the issue of water entitlements for their self-determined use.
Water entitlements held by Traditional Owners
Traditional Owners and other Aboriginal organisations hold surface water and groundwater entitlements.
The VWA reports on the volume of water held by Registered Aboriginal Parties as well as other known Aboriginal organisations and cooperatives. There may be other Aboriginal organisations holding water entitlements that are not included in this assessment. The total entitlement volume held by these organisations as at 30 June 2025 was estimated to be 9,778 ML. This is an increase of 550 ML from the previous year (Table 1).
Table 1: Water held by Traditional Owner and other Aboriginal organisations in Victoria
In 2024-25, there were 3 water returns to Traditional Owners. New licences totalling 550 ML were issued from unallocated water.
Other access to water by Traditional Owners
Latrobe Bulk Entitlement redistribution
During the 2024-25 year, 16,000 ML of water previously set aside for power generation through the Bulk Entitlement (Latrobe - Loy Yang 3/4 Bench) Conversion Order 1996 was allocated to 3 new entitlements, shared equally to supply agriculture, Traditional Owners and the environment (equal shares of 5,333 ML each). The Traditional Owner share of this volume will be available for Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLAWAC). More information can be found in the article Benefits Of Reallocated Water To Flow Across
Traditional Owner water management
In addition to holding water entitlements, Traditional Owners also work in partnership with government agencies to manage water for environmental and cultural outcomes. Some 2024-25 examples of ways that Traditional Owners are involved in managing waterinclude:
- In the Moorabool basin, Barwon Water and Central Highlands Water made a combined total of 200 ML of water available to Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (Wadawurrung). This water was used for Wadawurrung-led delivery to the east and west branches of the Moorabool River, and to the Durdidwarrah Wetland, for the second year in a row.
- In the Kiewa basin, 185 ML of environmental water was delivered to the Ryans Lagoon Wetland complex using Commonwealth environmental water from the Murray River. The delivery was the result of a partnership between many groups, including Duduroa Dhargal Aboriginal Corporation, North East Catchment Management Authority, North East Water, Parklands Albury Wodonga, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and the Commonwealth and Victorian Environmental Water Holders. Wetland vegetation, tree health, and frog and bird monitoring has taken place following the water delivery to assess the ecological outcomes.
- In the Ovens basin, the Taungurung Land and Water Council Aboriginal Corporation transferred 39 ML of water allocation to the Victorian Environmental Water Holder for delivery in the Ovens system (King River) for environmental and cultural outcomes.
Section 8A rights
In addition to the examples mentioned above, under section 8A of the Water Act 1989, any member of a Traditional Owner Group with a natural resource agreement under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 can access water from a waterway or a bore for traditional purposes. Like other Section 8 rights, these entitlements are not recorded in the Victorian Water Register. For more information on these entitlements, visit How is water managed?
Water information for Traditional Owners
The Victorian Water Register can be a useful source of information for Traditional Owner organisations about the volumes of water that are available and used on Country. For example, in 2022-23, at the request of DJAARA (Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation), DEECA provided support in the development of a map of water infrastructure and extraction on Djandak (Dja Dja Wurrung’s Country), to be used in its Gatjin (Water) Strategy.
DEECA welcomes further information sharing with Traditional Owners – if you would like to learn more about the information we have available, contact us at water.reporting@deeca.vic.gov.au.
