We are
frequently contacted by Solicitors and others in the process of arranging the
transfer of ownership of parcels of land that are or may be in the PID.
If the
conveyancer believes that the property has a PID water allocation they should
verify that this is correct by contacting administration or
emailing admin@hwcpid.com.au and
obtaining a Section 360 Certificate to that effect from the board if required.
The charge for a Certificate is $150 including GST. A separate Certificate is required for each PID land holding.
The Section
360 Certificate provides folio details of the land included in the PID, Annual
Water Allocation, fees and charges, any amounts due and the balance of Annual
Water Allocation available. Charges are levied annually for the year July 1st
to June 30th, payment is due no later than
July 31st of that year
The
allocation of water under this scheme is permanently attached to a specific
parcel of land and cannot be sold or dealt with separately. The Annual
Allocation is not a water license. The PID holds a Water Access License, each PID member has a pre-determined allocation of
part of that WAL.
Any
amounts due to the PID are registerable as a charge over the land and are
recoverable from the current owner or owners regardless of when the debt was
incurred.
The
normal practice is for the Annual Charge to be apportioned between vendor &
buyer on a per diem basis, similarly to Local Government Rates.
The Annual
Charge commencing 1st July 2009 is $350 per megalitre of Annual
Allocation less a conditional rebate of $40 per megalitre.
The Water
charge 2009-2010 is in two tiers:-
0-50% of
Annual Allocation $0.00 per megalitre
50%-100%
of Annual Allocation $350.00 per megalitre
100%+ of Annual Allocation $525.00 per megalitre.
The legislation covering
the PID is the Water Management Act 2000 No.92. Relevant extracts are
reproduced below. No warranty is given that the extract is free from error or
omission. Furthermore, as the extract
has been prepared from web site copy, the accuracy of the conversion to this
web site cannot be guaranteed.
Accordingly, the Board of
the Hunter Wine Country PID and its servants and agents expressly disclaim
liability for any act done or omission made in reliance on the information in
the extract or any other information elsewhere on this web site and any
consequences of any such act or omission.
No responsibility is taken by the PID for the currency of this extract.
For your security please refer directly to the legislation.
EXTRACT from:-
WATER MANAGEMENT ACT 2000 No 92
UPDATED 16 JANUARY 2002
COVER SHEET (ONLY) MODIFIED 12 JUNE 2002
INCLUDES
AMENDMENTS (SINCE ASSENT OF 8.12.2000) BY:
Gazette No 168 of 22.12.2000, pp 13473,
13474
Corporations (Consequential
Amendments) Act 2001 No 34
Statute Law (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act 2001 No 56 (amended by Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Act (No 2) 2001 No 112)
Coal Industry Act 2001 No 107
Statute Law (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act (No 2) 2001 No 112
DOES NOT
INCLUDE AMENDMENTS BY:
Sch 8.30
to this Act (not commenced)
Aboriginal Land Rights Amendment
Act 2001 No 118 (not commenced)
SEE ALSO:
Statute Law (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Bill 2002
DISCLAIMER
The New
South Wales Legislation published by the Government Information Service in the
form of diskettes or on-demand prints is produced from the Legislation Database
compiled and maintained by the New South Wales Parliamentary Counsel's Office.
No
warranty is given that the database is free from error or omission. Furthermore, as the database has been
prepared from hard copy, the accuracy of the conversion to electronic form
cannot be guaranteed.
Accordingly,
the State of
Water
Management Act 2000 No 92
Contents
Chapter 1 Preliminary
1 Name of Act
2 Commencement
3 Objects
4 Interpretation
Part 2 Private irrigation districts
Division 1 Preliminary
139 Application of Part
140 Definitions
141 Requirements for access licences and
approvals
Division 2 Private irrigation districts
142 Petition
143 Constitution of private irrigation districts
144 Addition of lands to private irrigation districts
145 Alteration of private irrigation district
146 Excision of lands from private irrigation districts
147 Supplementary petitions and objections
Division 3 Private irrigation boards
148 Private irrigation boards
149 Election of members of private irrigation boards
150 Removal of members of private irrigation board from office and
appointment of administrator
151 Abolition of private irrigation districts
152 Winding-up of private irrigation boards
153 Employees
Division 4 Construction and taking over of works
154 Authorised sites
155 Construction, maintenance and operation of water supply works
156 Private irrigation board may apply to take over water supply
works
157 Objections to applications
158 Governor may authorise construction or
taking over of water supply work
159 Taking over works
160 Transfer of lands
161 Power of entry
Division 5 Compensation
162 No compensation for surveys on land within private irrigation
district
163 Compensation for surveys on lands outside private irrigation
district
164 Compensation where private irrigation board constructs or takes
over works
165 Determination of amount of compensation
166 Recovery of compensation
Division 6 Rates and charges for water
167 Fixing of rates and charges
168 Special rates and special charges
169 Assessment and levying of rates and charges
170 Assessment of rates and charges
171 Provision for determining areas of holdings
172 Liability for rates and charges for water
173 Charge on land
174 Abandonment of rates
175 Assessment book
Division 7 Supply of water
176 Determination of allocation
177 Supply of water
178 Discontinuance or reduction of supply of water
179 Circumstances in which private irrigation board not obliged to
supply water
180 Landholders may be required to provide distribution works
181
Division 8 Effect of new subdivisions
182 Supply of water for domestic and stock purposes to new holdings
resulting from subdivisions
183 Supply of water for irrigation purposes to a new holding
resulting from a subdivision
184 Additional works required as a result of subdivision
Division 9 Meetings of landholders
185 General meeting
186 Voting rights
Division 10 Finance
187 Books of account
188 Accounts to be rendered
189 Banking of money
190 Temporary accommodation
Division 11 Miscellaneous
191 Delegation
192 Assessment book admissible as evidence
193 Service of notice of proceedings on a private irrigation board
194 Recovery of rates
195 Amendment of proclamations
196 By-laws
Chapter 8 Administration
Part 1 Water Advisory Council
369 Establishment of Water Advisory Council
370 Functions of Water Advisory Council
Part 2 Water Administration Ministerial Corporation
371 Constitution of Water Administration Ministerial Corporation
372 Functions of Ministerial Corporation
373 Commercial operations
374 Application of Public Works Act 1912
375 Acquisition of land
376 Staff of Ministerial Corporation
377 Delegation of functions
Part 3 Water investment trust
378 Definitions
379 Constitution of Trust
380 Objects of Trust
381 Functions of Trust
382 Staff of Trust
383 Delegation
384 Water Investment Trust Fund
385 Investments
386 Investment levies on water users
Part 4 General administration
387 Expert advisory panels
388 Committees
389 Delegation
390 Authorised officers
391 Resolution of disputes between public authorities
Water
Management Act 2000 No 92
An Act to
provide for the protection, conservation and ecologically sustainable
development of the water sources of the State, and for other purposes.
[Assented to 8 December 2000]
Chapter 1 Preliminary
_
1 Name
of Act
This Act is the Water
Management Act 2000.
_
2 Commencement
(1) This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by
proclamation.
(2) Different days may be appointed for the commencement of a single
provision of Schedule 7 or 8 for the purpose of commencing the repeals or
amendments effected by the provision on different days.
_
3 Objects
The objects of this
Act are to provide for the sustainable and integrated management of the water
sources of the State for the benefit of both present and future generations
and, in particular:
(a) to apply the
principles of ecologically sustainable development, and
(b) to protect, enhance
and restore water sources, their associated ecosystems, ecological processes
and biological diversity and their water quality, and
(c) to recognise and foster the significant social and economic
benefits to the State that result from the sustainable and efficient use of
water, including:
(i) benefits to the environment, and
(ii) benefits to urban
communities, agriculture, fisheries, industry and recreation, and
(iii) benefits to culture
and heritage, and
(iv) benefits to the
Aboriginal people in relation to their spiritual, social, customary and
economic use of land and water,
(d) to recognise the role of the community, as a partner with
government, in resolving issues relating to the management of water sources,
(e) to provide for the
orderly, efficient and equitable sharing of water from water sources,
(f) to integrate the
management of water sources with the management of other aspects of the
environment, including the land, its soil, its native vegetation and its native
fauna,
(g) to encourage the
sharing of responsibility for the sustainable and efficient use of water
between the Government and water users,
(h) to encourage best
practice in the management and use of water.
_
4 Interpretation
(1) Words and expressions that are defined in the Dictionary at the
end of this Act have the meanings set out in that Dictionary.
(2) Notes in the text of this Act do not form part of this Act.
Part 2 Private irrigation districts
Division
1 Preliminary
_
139 Application
of Part
This Part applies to
all private districts under the former Private Irrigation Districts Act 1973
that were in existence immediately before the repeal of that Act, and also
authorises the establishment of further private irrigation districts.
_
140 Definitions
In this Part:
irrigated
holding means a holding in respect of which water is supplied by a private
irrigation board for irrigation.
new
holding means each part of an original holding that, after subdivision, is
separately owned.
non-irrigated
holding means a holding in respect of which water is supplied by a private
irrigation board for domestic and stock use only.
original
holding means a holding in a private irrigation district, being a holding:
(a) in existence at the
date of constitution of that district, or
(b) comprising lands
added to that district under Division 2,
but
does not include any holding, or any part of a holding, that has become a new
holding or that has been excised from the private irrigation district under
Division 2.
private
irrigation board, in relation to a private irrigation district, means the board
of management for that district elected under Division 3.
private
irrigation district means a private water supply district or a private water
supply and irrigation district constituted under Division 2.
_
141 Requirements
for access licences and approvals
(1) Nothing in this Part authorises a private irrigation board to
take water otherwise than in accordance with an access licence and water supply
work approval held by the board.
(2) Nothing in this Part authorises a landholder of land within a
private irrigation district to use water otherwise than in accordance with a
water use approval held by the private irrigation board.
Division
2 Private irrigation districts
_
142 Petition
(1) Any persons who are landholders of lands that are being worked as
3 or more holdings may lodge with the Minister a petition for the constitution
of those lands:
(a) as a private water
supply district, or
(b) as a private water
supply and irrigation district.
(2) The petition:
(a) must contain the
names, addresses and occupations of all of the petitioners and be signed by all
of the petitioners, and
(b) must be accompanied
by plans showing:
(i) the location of the lands proposed to be supplied with
water, in relation to the river, estuary or lake from which water is proposed
to be obtained, and
(ii) the lands on which a water supply work is
proposed to be constructed or located in connection with the proposed water
supply, and the site on those lands of that proposed water supply work, and
(c) must be accompanied
by:
(i) particulars of the title of the lands within the proposed
private irrigation district, and
(ii) particulars of the
area of land within the proposed private irrigation district owned by each
petitioner, and
(iii) an estimate of the
quantity of water proposed to be taken annually for the purposes of the
proposed private irrigation district, and
(iv) particulars of any water use approval under
which any lands within the proposed private irrigation district are, at the
date of lodgment of the petition, authorised to be irrigated, and
(d) must contain the names, addresses and occupations
of the landholders of the lands referred to in paragraph (b) (ii) and be
accompanied by separate particulars of the title of those lands.
(3) The Minister may cause a notice containing particulars of the
petition to be published in the Gazette and in a local newspaper.
(4) Such a notice may not be published unless:
(a) the Minister is
satisfied that the establishment of a private irrigation district in accordance
with the petition would be of benefit to the landholders of land within the proposed
private irrigation district, and
(b) the Minister has
had regard to the Competition Principles Agreement, and
(c) the Premier has
concurred in the publication of the notice.
(5) In this section, Competition Principles Agreement means the agreement
of that name between the Commonwealth, the States and the Territories that was
entered into, for and on behalf of
_
143 Constitution
of private irrigation districts
(1) If a supplementary petition in relation to, or an objection to, a
petition is not duly lodged, the Governor may, by proclamation in the Gazette,
constitute the lands described in the petition:
(a) as a private water
supply district, or
(b) as a private water
supply and irrigation district,
whichever
was requested in the petition.
(2) If a supplementary petition in relation to, or an objection to, a
petition is so lodged but the Minister recommends the granting of the petition
(whether with respect to all of the lands described in the petition or some
only of them), the Governor may, by proclamation in the Gazette, constitute the
lands to which the recommendation relates:
(a) as a private water
supply district, or
(b) as a private water
supply and irrigation district,
whichever
was requested in the petition.
(3) A proclamation under this section:
(a) must assign a name
to the private irrigation district and a corporate name to the private
irrigation board, and
(b) must define the
boundaries of the private irrigation district, and
(c) must specify at
which office of the Ministerial Corporation a plan of the private irrigation
district is exhibited, and
(d) must fix a time and
place for the first election of the members of the private irrigation board.
_
144 Addition
of lands to private irrigation districts
(1) A landholder of lands adjacent to or near a private irrigation
district may lodge with the Minister a petition for the addition of those lands
to the private irrigation district.
(2) The petition:
(a) must specify the
name, address and occupation of the petitioner and must be signed by the
petitioner, and
(b) must be accompanied
by plans showing:
(i) the location of
the additional lands proposed to be supplied with water, in relation to the
river, estuary or lake from which water is proposed to be obtained, and
(ii) the lands on which any additional water
supply work is proposed to be constructed or located in connection with the
proposed water supply, and the site on those lands of that proposed additional
water supply work, and
(c) must be accompanied
by:
(i) particulars of the title and the area of the additional
lands, and
(ii) an estimate of the
quantity of water proposed to be taken annually by the petitioner for the
purposes of those lands, and
(iii) particulars of any water use approval under
which those lands are, at the date of lodgment of the petition, authorised to
be irrigated, and
(d) if:
(i) the private irrigation district has been constituted as a
private water supply and irrigation district, and
(ii) the petitioner seeks
a supply of water for irrigation,
must be
accompanied by a statement by the private irrigation board as to whether, and
to what extent, the landholders within the private irrigation district have
agreed to reduced allocations of water so as to permit an allocation of water
being made to the additional lands, and
(e) must contain the names, addresses and occupations
of the landholders of the lands referred to in paragraph (b) (ii) and be
accompanied by separate particulars of the title of those lands.
(3) The Minister must consider any petition lodged under this section
and may cause a notice containing particulars of the petition to be published
in the Gazette and a local newspaper.
_
145 Alteration
of private irrigation district
(1) If an objection to a petition under section 142 is not duly
lodged or an objection is duly lodged but the Minister recommends the granting
of the petition, the Governor may, by proclamation in the Gazette, redefine the
boundaries of the private irrigation district to which the petition relates by
adding to that district the lands referred to in the petition.
(2) If additional lands have been added to a private irrigation
board's district under this section, the board:
(a) must, if an appropriate agreement has been
made, redetermine the quantity of water to be
allocated for domestic and stock use and for irrigation to each holding
(including any holding in the additional lands) that is supplied or to be
supplied with water for irrigation, and
(b) must, in respect of
the holding in the additional lands, assess the rates and charges for water for
the period or year, as the case may be, current at the date of the addition of
those additional lands to the private irrigation district.
(3) The assessment of rates and charges referred to in subsection (2)
(b) must be made on the basis of the rates and charges fixed in respect of that
period or year, the rates and charges so assessed being proportionate to the
portion of the period or year during which those additional lands are added to
the private irrigation district.
_
146 Excision
of lands from private irrigation districts
(1) A landholder of lands within a private irrigation district may
make application to the Land and
(2) Notice, in the prescribed form, of the application must be given
by the landholder to the private irrigation board on the lodging of the
application in the Land and
(3) A private irrigation board and all persons whose interests appear
to the Land and Environment Court to be affected by the application may attend
the hearing of, and be heard in support of, or in opposition to, the
application.
(4) The Land and
(5) The decision of the Land and
(a) if the decision is in favour of the
applicant, include an order that any water supply works that are situated on
the excised lands are to be works of which the private irrigation board has the
control, use and maintenance, and
(b) embody such terms
and conditions as to the Court seem just.
(6) If the decision of the Land and
(7) The excision of any lands from a private irrigation district
under this section does not affect the liability of any person for any rates or
charges levied or leviable in respect of those lands while they were in the
private irrigation district.
_
147 Supplementary
petitions and objections
(1) Within a period of 28 days after the publication of the notice of
a petition for the constitution of a private irrigation district:
(a) a person who is the landholder of lands that
the person desires to be included in the district to which that notice relates
may lodge with the Minister a supplementary petition for the inclusion in that
district of lands owned by the person that are being worked as a separate
property, or
(b) any person may
lodge with the Minister an objection in writing to the petition referred to in
the notice on the ground that the granting of that petition would adversely
affect the person's interests.
(2) Within a period of 28 days after the publication of the notice of
a petition for the addition of lands to a private irrigation district:
(a) the private irrigation board for the
district to which that notice relates may lodge with the Minister an objection
in writing to the petition referred to in the notice, or
(b) any person may
lodge with the Minister an objection in writing to the granting of that
petition on the ground that the granting of that petition would adversely
affect the person's interests.
(3) A person may not lodge an objection on the ground that the
person's interests would, if the petition were granted, be adversely affected
for reasons relating to the quantity of water available from the river, estuary
or lake from which it is proposed to take water for the purposes of the
proposed private irrigation district, and any objection lodged on that ground
is not to be entertained.
(4) A supplementary petition:
(a) must contain the
name, address and occupation of the supplementary petitioner, and
(b) must be accompanied
by plans showing:
(i) the location of the lands that the supplementary petitioner
desires to be included in the proposed district, and
(ii) the lands on which any additional water
supply work to be used for the taking of water for the use of the lands that
the petitioner desires to be included in the proposed district is proposed to
be constructed or is located and the site on those lands of that water supply
work, and
(c) must be accompanied by particulars of the
title and area of the lands referred to in paragraph (b) (i)
and of any water use approval under which those lands are, at the date of
lodgment of the supplementary petition, authorised to be irrigated, and
(d) must contain the names, addresses and
occupations of the landholders of the lands referred to in paragraph (b) (ii)
and be accompanied by separate particulars of the title of those lands.
(5) An objection must be in writing and must state particulars of the
grounds of objection.
(6) If a supplementary petition or an objection has been lodged with
the Minister, the Minister must, after consultation with the petitioner or
objector, make a recommendation with respect to the petition or objection.
Division
3 Private irrigation boards
_
148 Private
irrigation boards
(1) For each private irrigation district
there is to be a board of management.
(2) Each board is a corporation under the corporate name assigned to
it by the proclamation by which its private irrigation district is constituted.
(3) A board is to consist of such number of members, being not less
than 3 nor more than 10:
(a) in the case of the
first board elected for a private irrigation district, as may be determined by
the Minister, and
(b) in the case of any
subsequent board elected for a private irrigation district, as may be
determined before the election by the board for that private irrigation
district.
(4) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to:
(a) the conduct of
elections for the members of a board, and
(b) other matters
concerning the constitution and procedure of a board.
_
149 Election
of members of private irrigation boards
(1) An election of the members of a private irrigation board must be
held on the day and at the time fixed by the proclamation by which it is
constituted and thereafter:
(a) if the third
anniversary of the declaration of the poll for the previous election of members
of that board is a Saturday, on that Saturday, or
(b) in any other case,
on the Saturday following the third anniversary of the declaration of the poll
for the previous election of members of that board.
(2) A corporation that is a member of a private irrigation board must
authorise an individual to represent it as a member
of the board.
(3) Subject to this Division, the members of a private irrigation
board hold office until the date of the declaration of the poll for the next
election.
_
150 Removal
of members of private irrigation board from office and appointment of
administrator
(1) The Governor may, by proclamation in the Gazette, remove all the
members of a private irrigation board from office:
(a) if there are not
sufficient members of the board to form a quorum, or
(b) if, in the opinion of the Governor, the
board has failed or neglected to make or levy rates or charges required by this
Part, or otherwise to exercise its functions under this Part.
(2) If there are insufficient members of a private irrigation board
to form a quorum, the Governor, instead of removing the members from office,
may, by proclamation in the Gazette, appoint persons (each being eligible for
election) to fill the vacancies in the membership of the board and to hold
office until elections are held to fill those vacancies.
(3) If the Governor has removed the members of a private irrigation
board from office, the Governor may, in the proclamation removing the members
from office or in a subsequent proclamation in the Gazette, appoint an
administrator for the board.
(4) An administrator so appointed has and may exercise all of the
functions of a private irrigation board and is entitled to be paid, out of the
funds of the board, such remuneration as the Governor may determine.
(5) If the members of a private irrigation board have been removed
from office, the Minister may, and if the board's term of office has more than
12 months to run, must, by notice in the Gazette, order that an election of
members be held on a day specified in the order.
(6) The day so specified must be a day not more than 6 months after
the date of removal of the members from office and not less than 4 weeks after
the date on which the notification is published in the Gazette.
(7) Any member elected at an election held under this section is to
hold office until the time when the terms of office of the members of a private
irrigation board who have been removed from office would but for their removal
have expired and no longer, but is eligible for re-election if otherwise
qualified.
(8) On sufficient members of a private irrigation board, by election
or appointment under this section, taking office to form a quorum, the
functions of the administrator cease.
(9) If the members of a private irrigation board have been removed
from office because of the board's failure or neglect as referred to in
subsection (1) (b), each of those members is ineligible for election at an
election ordered under this section or, if no such election is ordered, at the
next election of members of the board, unless the Minister is satisfied that
the failure or neglect took place without the member's knowledge or consent
and, by instrument in writing, declares that the member is eligible for
election at any such election.
_
151 Abolition
of private irrigation districts
The Governor may, by
proclamation published in the Gazette, abolish any private irrigation district
for which a private irrigation board has not been elected.
_
152 Winding-up
of private irrigation boards
(1) If the Governor:
(a) is of the opinion
that a private irrigation board has ceased to function satisfactorily, or
(b) is satisfied that a
private irrigation board has made a request to the Minister that it be wound
up,
the
Governor may order that the board be wound up.
(2) An order under subsection (1) must be published in the Gazette
and must appoint a liquidator for the private irrigation board.
(3) A winding up of a private irrigation board under this section
commences on the publication of the order in the Gazette.
(4) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to the
winding up of a private irrigation board and for the disposal of any residual
assets of the board.
(5) If the Governor is satisfied that the winding up of a private
irrigation board has been completed under this section, the Governor may, by
proclamation published in the Gazette, abolish the board.
_
153 Employees
(1) Each private irrigation board may from time to time employ such
persons as may be necessary to assist it in the exercise of its functions.
(2) A person who has ceased to be a member of a private irrigation
board is not eligible to be employed by the board until 6 months have elapsed
after the person's so ceasing to be a member.
(3) All employees of a private irrigation board are subject to the
control and governance of the board and to the provisions of any by-laws made
by the board in that behalf.
(4) A private irrigation board may fix wages and conditions of
employment of its employees if they are not fixed in accordance with the
provisions of any other Act.
Division
4 Construction and taking over of works
_
154 Authorised
sites
For the purposes of
this Division, a site is an authorised site for a water supply work if:
(a) it is the site
shown on the plans that accompanied:
(i) the petition for the constitution of the district, or
(ii) any subsequent
petition for the addition of lands to the district,
as the site of
any work proposed to be constructed as a water supply work, or is that site as
varied by the Minister as a consequence of any objection to the petition, or
(b) it is the site on
which the Governor has authorised the construction or taking over of a water
supply work, or
(c) it is the site of
any works of which a private irrigation board has the control, use and
maintenance under this Division.
_
155 Construction,
maintenance and operation of water supply works
(1) A private irrigation board may construct, maintain and operate
any water supply work that is located on an authorised site for that work.
(2) A private irrigation board must not exercise its powers under
this section in respect of any authorised site on which are situated any
existing works unless it has taken over the control, use and maintenance of
those works under this Division.
(3) For the purpose of exercising its powers under this section, a
private irrigation board may enter any authorised site (not being an authorised
site situated on lands that belong to, or are under the care, control or
management of a public authority) and take or remove, and use, any extractive
material.
_
156 Private
irrigation board may apply to take over water supply works
(1) A private irrigation board may apply to the Minister for
authority to take over any water supply work that is located on an authorised
site for that work.
(2) The application:
(a) must contain the names, addresses and
occupations of the landholders of the lands on which the water supply work
referred to in the application is or are proposed to be constructed or is or
are located, and
(b) must be accompanied
by:
(i) a plan showing those lands and the site on those lands of
that water supply work, and
(ii) particulars of the
title of those lands.
(3) The Minister must consider any such application, and may cause a
notice containing particulars of the application to be published in the Gazette
and in a local newspaper.
_
157 Objections
to applications
(1) Within 28 days after the publication of the relevant notice, any
person may lodge with the Minister an objection in writing to the granting of
the application referred to in the notice on the ground that the granting of
the application would adversely affect the person's interests.
(2) A person may not make an objection on the ground that the
person's interests would, if the petition were granted, be adversely affected
for reasons relating to the quantity of water available from the river, estuary
or lake from which it is proposed to take water by means of the proposed water
supply work, and any objection made on that ground is not to be entertained.
(3) An objection must state particulars of the grounds of objection.
(4) If an objection is lodged with the Minister, the Minister must,
after consultation with the objector, make a recommendation with respect to the
objection.
_
158 Governor
may authorise construction or taking over of water
supply work
If an objection to an
application is not duly lodged, or is duly lodged but the Minister recommends
that the application be granted, the Governor may, by proclamation in the
Gazette, authorise the construction or taking over of
the water supply work on the site concerned.
_
159 Taking
over works
(1) A private irrigation board may serve a notice in writing on the
landholder of any lands on which is situated any water supply work on an
authorised site informing the landholder that the board proposes to take over
the work.
(2) The control and management of the work specified in the notice vests
in the private irrigation board on and from the day specified in the notice.
(3) A private irrigation board must not serve such a notice after the
expiration of 12 months after the constitution of the private irrigation
district.
(4) A private irrigation board must not serve such a notice on any
person in respect of a work that belongs to, or is under the control or
management of, a public authority.
_
160 Transfer
of lands
(1) A private irrigation board, by notice in writing served, within 12
months after the constitution of the private irrigation district, on the
landholder of any lands:
(a) that, immediately before the constitution of
the private irrigation district, were vested in the landholder as a trustee of
lands supplied with water under a single water supply work approval, and
(b) that on the
constitution of the private irrigation district formed the whole or part of the
private irrigation district,
may
require the landholder to transfer the lands so vested to the board within such
period as may be specified in the notice.
(2) If a notice is served on a landholder under this section in
respect of any land, the land is taken to be held by the landholder as a
trustee for the private irrigation board by which the notice was served.
_
161 Power
of entry
(1) A private irrigation board may, by its employees or agents, at
any reasonable time enter any lands and thereon carry out any investigation or
inspection, take levels, drill test bore-holes, make surveys and marks and fix
pegs or stakes for the purpose of determining the site of any proposed water
supply work.
(2) A private irrigation board may, by its employees or agents, enter
any lands on which is situated an authorised site for the purpose of
constructing or maintaining water supply works.
Division
5 Compensation
_
162 No
compensation for surveys on land within private irrigation district
(1) A person is not entitled to compensation by reason of:
(a) any water supply works
becoming works of which a private irrigation board has the control, use or
maintenance, or
(b) the exercise by a
private irrigation board of any of the powers of entry conferred on it by this
Part on any lands within the private irrigation district of that board.
(2) Subsection (1) (a) has effect subject to any terms and conditions
embodied in a decision of the Land and
_
163 Compensation
for surveys on lands outside private irrigation district
Compensation is
payable by a private irrigation board for all damage sustained by any person as
a result of a board's exercise of its power to carry out surveys on lands
outside its private irrigation district.
_
164 Compensation
where private irrigation board constructs or takes over works
(1) Compensation assessed in accordance with this Division is payable
if a private irrigation board exercises its powers to construct or take over
any water supply works.
(2) Compensation is not payable by a private irrigation board in respect
of the repair, operation or maintenance of any water supply work except in
relation to damage caused by negligence and except where, in repairing,
operating or maintaining any such work or works, the board causes damage to any
lands outside its private irrigation district.
(3) If immediately before the control and management of any water
supply work becomes vested in a private irrigation board under this Part there
was in force a legally binding agreement or arrangement between the person who
then had the control and management of the work and some other landholder of
land in the board's private irrigation district (being an agreement or
arrangement under which that other person was entitled to exercise any powers
in relation to that work):
(a) that agreement or
arrangement is taken to be an agreement or arrangement between that board and
that other person, and
(b) any compensation to
which that other person may be entitled under this Division must be assessed,
having regard to his or her obligations under that agreement or arrangement.
_
165 Determination
of amount of compensation
If compensation is
payable under this Division, the amount of compensation must be determined:
(a) by agreement
between the private irrigation board and the person entitled to claim
compensation, or
(b) if such an
agreement has not been reached, by the Land and
_
166 Recovery
of compensation
Any amount payable to
a claimant as compensation in accordance with this Division may be recovered
from the private irrigation board as a debt in any court of competent
jurisdiction.
Division
6 Rates and charges for water
_
167 Fixing
of rates and charges
(1) As soon as practicable after 1 July in
each year, a private irrigation board:
(a) must fix a rate per hectare, for all
holdings within its private irrigation district, so as to produce a total
amount sufficient to meet the estimated liabilities of that board during that
year and any outstanding liabilities of that board, and
(b) must fix a rate per hectare for water, or a
charge for the quantity of water, to be supplied during that year for domestic
and stock purposes to all holdings within the private irrigation district, and
(c) in the case of a
board constituted for a private water supply and irrigation district:
(i) must determine the total quantity of water that it proposes
to supply to all holdings for the purpose of irrigation during that year, and
(ii) must fix the charges
in respect of the quantities of water allocated under Division 7 for that
purpose in respect of all holdings within the district.
(2) The rates and charges referred to in subsection (1) (b) and (c)
must be fixed so as to produce in the year for which they are fixed the amount
estimated by the private irrigation board as being required in that year:
(a) to defray the cost
of constructing, maintaining and operating its water supply works, and
(b) to pay the interest
on and repay the capital of any loans raised by the board, and
(c) to meet any
outstanding liabilities of the board and the costs and expenses of
administering the private irrigation district and of doing all such things as
the board may lawfully do.
_
168 Special
rates and special charges
(1) For the purpose of raising money:
(a) for the fulfilment of any contract, or
(b) for the payment of
any debt that may be due or become due by the board, or
(c) for any other
purpose for which the board is authorised to exercise its functions,
a
private irrigation board may from time to time fix a special rate per hectare
to be paid in respect of all holdings in its private irrigation district.
(2) A private irrigation board may also fix special charges in respect
of:
(a) the quantities of
water allocated for the purpose of irrigation, or
(b) the quantities of
water determined for domestic and stock purposes,
in
respect of all holdings in its private irrigation district.
_
169 Assessment
and levying of rates and charges
(1) Rates fixed by a private irrigation board must be assessed, and
must be levied as prescribed, in respect of the area of each holding within its
private irrigation district.
(2) Charges fixed by a private irrigation board for a private water
supply and irrigation district must be assessed, and must be levied as
prescribed, in respect of:
(a) the quantity of
water allocated for irrigation by the board under Division 7, or
(b) the quantity of
water determined by the board for domestic and stock purposes,
in
respect of each holding within the district.
_
170 Assessment
of rates and charges
(1) As soon as practicable after fixing any
rates and charges, a private irrigation board must assess and levy the rates
and charges.
(2) If a private irrigation board at any time finds it has made an
error in the assessment of any rates or charges for water in respect of any
holding or landholder, the board may re-assess the rates or charges in respect
of the holding or landholder affected and if it does so:
(a) must refund any
amounts overpaid, and
(b) may levy any
additional amount found to be due.
_
171 Provision
for determining areas of holdings
For the purposes of
fixing, assessing and levying rates under this Division, a holding that has an
area equal to a number of hectares and a remaining fraction of a hectare is
taken to have an area in hectares equal to one more than that number.
_
172 Liability
for rates and charges for water
(1) All amounts due and payable under this Division in respect of
rates or charges are be payable to the private irrigation board by the
landholder of the holding in respect of which they were levied, and must be
paid whether water is or is not taken by the landholder.
(2) Rates and charges are due and payable to and recoverable by a
private irrigation board on the expiration of one month after service of notice
of the rates or charges.
(3) If more than one person is an owner of the land, the rates or
charges may be levied on any one or more of those persons, and a private
irrigation board may recover the rates or charges from any person on whom they
are so levied, but nothing in this subsection entitles the board to recover
more than the full amount of the rates or charges.
(4) If the land is owned jointly by two or more landholders, they are
jointly and severally liable to the private irrigation board for the rates or
charges, but as between themselves they are each liable only for such part of
the rates or charges as is proportionate to their interests in the land.
(5) If any such landholder pays to the private irrigation board more
than his or her proportionate part, the landholder may recover the excess from
the other or others.
(6) If any land in a holding reverts to the Crown during any year for
which rates or charges are or are to be assessed, the person who immediately
before the reversion was the landholder of the land is liable for payment of
only that part of the rates or charges proportionate to the part of the year
for which the land was held by the person, and any excess payment by the person
must be refunded to the person.
_
173 Charge
on land
(1) Rates and charges under this Division, and any costs awarded to a
private irrigation board by any court in proceedings for the recovery of any
such rates and charges, are a charge on the land in respect of which the rates
and charges have been levied.
(2) A charge created by subsection (1) has no effect as against a
purchaser in good faith for value who at the time of purchase made due inquiry
but had no notice of the liability.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a purchaser is not taken to
have made due inquiry unless the purchaser obtained a certificate from the private
irrigation board as to the amount, if any, due in respect of rates, charges or
costs.
_
174 Abandonment
of rates
Rates and charges may
be abandoned or written off in accordance with the by-laws made by the private
irrigation board but only on the certificate of the auditor of the board that
the abandonment or writing off is in accordance with the by-laws and on the
unanimous resolution of the board.
_
175 Assessment
book
(1) Each private irrigation board must cause to be kept a book or
record (in this Part referred to as the assessment book) in which must be
recorded the following:
(a) the name, address
and occupation of each landholder of land within the private irrigation
district,
(b) particulars of the
area of each parcel of land owned by each such landholder,
(c) particulars
identifying the separate holdings within the private irrigation district,
(d) particulars of the
total area of land owned by all landholders,
(e) in the case of a board
for a private water supply and irrigation district:
(i) particulars of the quantity of water last allocated by the
board to each irrigated holding within the district, and
(ii) particulars of the
quantity of water last determined by the board for domestic and stock purposes
in respect of each such holding,
(f) such particulars
relating to the fixing, assessing and levying of rates and charges as may be
prescribed.
(2) A private irrigation board may from time to time rectify any
errors or omissions in the assessment book.
Division
7 Supply of water
_
176 Determination
of allocation
As soon as
practicable after it is elected, the first board for a private water supply and
irrigation district must determine the quantity of water, if any, to be
allocated for irrigation to each holding within the private irrigation
district.
_
177 Supply
of water
At the times fixed by
it, a private irrigation board:
(a) must supply water
for domestic and stock purposes (in such quantities as it may determine):
(i) to the boundary of each holding within its private
irrigation district, and
(ii) to such other points
as may be agreed on by the board and the landholder of the holding, and
(b) in the case of a
board for a private water supply and irrigation district, must supply water for
irrigation (in the quantities allocated by it under this Division):
(i) to the boundary of each holding within its private
irrigation district for which an allocation of water for irrigation has been
made by the board, and
(ii) to such other points
as may be agreed on by the board and the landholder of the holding.
_
178 Discontinuance
or reduction of supply of water
(1) A private irrigation board may at any time refuse to deliver
water to any holding or may discontinue any delivery of water to a holding:
(a) in the case of a
holding for which it has made an allocation of water for irrigation:
(i) if the land to
be irrigated is not in its opinion properly prepared for irrigation or on which
the ditches or channels to be used for the distribution of water within the
holding are in the opinion of the board inadequate or in a bad state of repair,
or
(ii) if the water is for
the irrigation of grasses or pastures that are not sown grasses or improved
pastures, or
(b) if any rates or charges for water in respect
of the holding are, and have been for a period of 2 months or more after the
due date of payment, unpaid, or
(c) if the landholder
of the holding does not comply with any requirement specified in a notice given
to the landholder under this Division, or
(d) if the water is
being used for a purpose that is not authorised by a water use approval.
_
179 Circumstances
in which private irrigation board not obliged to supply water
(1) Nothing in this Part requires a private irrigation board to
supply water to any land or landholder if, by reason of drought, accident or
otherwise, the board is of the opinion that it is impracticable to do so.
(2) Unless the private irrigation board otherwise determines, any
failure to deliver water to a holding does not relieve the landholder of the
holding of any liability for payment of rates and charges, and rates and
charges continue to be leviable in respect of the holding despite any such
failure.
_
180 Landholders
may be required to provide distribution works
A private irrigation
board may, by notice in writing given to the landholder of any holding, require
the landholder:
(a) to provide on his
or her holding:
(i) water delivery
systems of such a size and capacity as will enable water to be delivered to his
or her land at not less than such rate of delivery as the board may stipulate
in the notice, and
(ii) water storage works,
in such locations and of such nature and extent as the board may stipulate in
the notice, for the water to be supplied by it for domestic and stock purposes,
and
(b) to maintain,
continuously and effectively, any water delivery systems referred to in
paragraph (a) (i) so that water may be carried or
passed at not less than the rate so stipulated.
_
181
If the full quantity
of water to be supplied under this Division has been supplied or, despite any
sales made under this section, will be supplied, a private irrigation board
may, subject to the conditions of any water supply work approval held by it,
agree to sell by measure to the landholder of any holding water from the works
of the private irrigation district subject to such terms and conditions as may
be agreed to by the board and that landholder.
Division
8 Effect of new subdivisions
_
182 Supply
of water for domestic and stock purposes to new holdings resulting from
subdivisions
(1) If a holding, whether an irrigated or non-irrigated holding, is
subdivided, a new holding resulting from the subdivision is not entitled to a
supply of water for domestic and stock purposes from a private irrigation
board's water supply works until a date determined by the board (not being a
date earlier than the date on which the board became aware of the disposition
of that new holding).
(2) If rates for a period or year ending on 30 June, being the period
or year during which the date specified by a private irrigation board under
subsection (1) occurred, have not, before the date so specified, been levied in
respect of the holding that was subdivided, the board must levy the rates for
the whole of that period or year in respect of each of the new holdings that
resulted from the subdivision, and that was disposed of.
_
183 Supply
of water for irrigation purposes to a new holding resulting from a subdivision
(1) If an irrigated holding is subdivided and any new holdings are
thereby created, the private irrigation board must, subject to subsection (2),
allocate to such of the new holdings as the landholder of the subdivided
holding nominates the whole of the quantity of water last allocated to the
holding that was subdivided.
(2) If the landholder nominates more than one new holding to which
the quantity of water is to be allocated, the private irrigation board may
allocate the water to those holdings in such proportions as it determines.
(3) A private irrigation board may allocate to such of the new
holdings as the board determines the quantity of water last allocated to the
subdivided holding if:
(a) the landholder of the subdivided holding
fails to make a nomination within the time specified by the board in a notice
sent by post to the landholder at the landholder's last known address, or
(b) a holding nominated by the landholder does
not contain land capable of being irrigated from the works of the private
irrigation district or to which, in the opinion of the board, it is
impracticable to convey water for irrigation from those works, or
(c) a holding nominated
by the landholder is too small to justify an allocation of water, or
(d) the allocation of
water in the manner nominated is otherwise detrimental to the administration of
the private irrigation district concerned.
(4) If a private irrigation board makes an allocation under
subsection (3), it is to notify the landholder of the subdivided holding and
the landholder of each new holding of the allocation.
(5) An allocation of water to a new holding made under this section
has effect on and from a date to be specified in the instrument by which the
allocation is made (not being a date earlier than the date on which the private
irrigation board became aware of the first disposition of any of the new
holdings resulting from the subdivision).
(6) The landholder of a new holding resulting from a subdivision
referred to in subsection (1) is not entitled to an allocation of water by the
private irrigation board for irrigation purposes otherwise than in accordance
with this section.
(7) If the charges for water have not been levied for the current
year for the subdivided holding, the private irrigation board must levy the
charges for the whole of that year in respect of the new holding to which the
water previously allocated to the subdivided holding has been allocated in
accordance with this section.
_
184 Additional
works required as a result of subdivision
(1) The person who, immediately before the disposition of a new holding
resulting from a subdivision, was the landholder of the holding (the previous
landholder) must construct at his or her own cost such works as are necessary
to provide:
(a) means of conveying water to the new holding
from the private irrigation board's water supply works and, if an allocation of
water is made to the new holding for irrigation, means of measuring the water
so supplied, and
(b) means of access from roads to any works of
the private irrigation district or any works provided for the purposes of
paragraph (a) if that access would not be available except by crossing a
channel of the private irrigation district, and
(c) means of access
across a channel of the private irrigation district to the new holding if that
means of access is required by reason of the subdivision.
(2) All works to be constructed under subsection (1):
(a) in respect of the supply of water to a new
non-irrigated holding, must be constructed before the new holding is disposed
of or within such period after the disposition of the new holding as the
private irrigation board may in any particular case allow, and
(b) in respect of the
supply of water to a new irrigated holding, must be constructed within such
period as the private irrigation board may, by notice in writing, have notified
to the landholder of the holding that was subdivided.
(3) All works constructed or to be constructed under subsection (1)
must be constructed in accordance with the approval in writing of the private
irrigation board in respect of location, design, form, dimensions and
construction.
(4) At the request of the previous landholder, a private irrigation
board may undertake, at the landholder's cost, the construction of any works
required by this section.
(5) A private irrigation board may construct such works as have not
been constructed by the previous landholder, and any costs and expenses
(including any compensation paid or payable by the board under Division 5 by
reason of the construction of the works) are payable to the board either by the
previous landholder or by the new landholder, as the board may determine.
(6) If any part of the costs and expenses referred to in subsection
(5) is recovered by the private irrigation board from the new landholder, the
new landholder may recover from the previous landholder the whole or that part
of those costs or expenses, as the case may be.
(7) On their completion, the control and management of any works
constructed under this section is vested in the private irrigation board.
Division
9 Meetings of landholders
_
185 General
meeting
(1) The chairperson of a private irrigation board may, at any time,
convene a general meeting of landholders of land within the board's private
irrigation district.
(2) A private irrigation board must, within 21 days after the receipt
of a requisition signed by not less than one-fifth in number of the landholders
of the holdings in the private irrigation district, convene a general meeting
of those landholders.
(3) Seven days' notice of every general meeting must be sent to every
landholder at the address shown in the private irrigation board's assessment
book informing the landholder of the time and place of the general meeting.
_
186 Voting
rights
(1) A corporation may, by any person authorised by it in writing,
attend general meetings and vote.
(2) If there is more than one landholder of any holding, each
landholder may attend general meetings but only one of them may vote.
Division
10 Finance
_
187 Books
of account
Each private
irrigation board must cause to be kept, in relation to its funds, proper books
of account that must be audited as often as the board considers it advisable so
to do, but at least once in every year, by a registered company auditor (within
the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth).
_
188 Accounts
to be rendered
Each private
irrigation board must as soon as practicable, and in any case before 31 October
in each year, forward to the Minister a copy of the income and expenditure
account, balance sheet and rate account as last audited, together with a copy
of the certificate of audit relating to them.
_
189 Banking
of money
(1) All money received by or on account of a private irrigation board
must be paid into a bank or authorised deposit-taking institution chosen by the
board.
(2) Every payment of $2.00 or more by or on behalf of a private
irrigation board must be by cheque on the bank or authorised deposit-taking
institution drawn and countersigned as prescribed by the regulations.
(3) Payments of less than $2.00 may be made out of a petty cash fund,
replenished from time to time by cheque drawn and countersigned as prescribed
by the regulations.
_
190 Temporary
accommodation
(1) For the temporary accommodation of a private irrigation board it
may obtain advances by way of overdraft of current account in any one or more
banks or authorised deposit-taking institutions on the security of the income
of the board.
(2) The amount of any such overdraft must be limited to:
(a) one-half of the
income of the private irrigation board as shown by the last audited accounts,
or
(b) if there are no audited accounts, one-half
of the income of the private irrigation board estimated by the board in respect
of the year commencing on 1 July immediately preceding the date on which the
overdraft is proposed to be obtained.
(3) No greater amount may be borrowed under this section than the
amount stated in a certificate of the auditor of the private irrigation board
as being the sum that may be borrowed within the limits imposed by this
section.
Division
11 Miscellaneous
_
191 Delegation
A private irrigation
board may by instrument in writing delegate:
(a) to any member of the
board, or
(b) to any employee of
the board,
any
of its functions, other than this power of delegation.
_
192 Assessment
book admissible as evidence
In any legal
proceedings for the recovery of rates or charges:
(a) a private
irrigation board's assessment book, or
(b) any document purporting to contain a copy of
any part of a private irrigation board's assessment book that is certified as a
true copy by the chairperson of the private irrigation board, or by a person
authorised by the chairperson in that regard,
is
admissible in evidence.
_
193 Service
of notice of proceedings on a private irrigation board
Any document required
to be served on a private irrigation board may be served:
(a) by leaving it with
some person apparently employed by the board at the office of the board, or
(b) by posting it to
the board at its office.
_
194 Recovery
of rates
Any rates, charges or
money due to a private irrigation board under this Part may be recovered as a
debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.
_
195 Amendment
of proclamations
Any proclamation
under this Part may be amended by a further proclamation for the purpose of
correcting any error in the earlier proclamation.
_
196 By-laws
(1) A private irrigation board may, with the approval of the
Governor, make by-laws not inconsistent with this Act or the regulations for or
with respect to the following:
(a) the convening and
holding of general meetings of landholders,
(b) the appointment by
a landholder of a proxy for voting purposes,
(c) the supply of water
for domestic and stock purposes or for irrigation,
(d) the provision of
storages on holdings for water supplied from the water supply works of the
board for domestic and stock purposes,
(e) the methods of
measuring water supplied,
(f) the sale of water
to landholders,
(g) regulating the use
of the water supply works of the board,
(h) the prevention of
waste of water,
(i) the fixing,
assessing and levying of rates and charges for water,
(j) the class of case
in which, and the circumstances in which, rates and charges may be abandoned or
written off,
(k) the accounts of the
board,
(l) the collection and
banking of money, and the signing and countersigning of cheques,
(m) the books and
records of the board,
(n) the access of
members of the board to documents and books of the board,
(o) fees for any
service provided by the board,
(p) the form of any
notice or other document to be prepared, issued or received in accordance with
this Part or any regulations of the board,
(q) any matter that is
necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to
this Part.
(2) A by-law may create an offence punishable by a penalty not
exceeding 0.5 penalty units.
Chapter 7 Enforcement
Part 1 Directions to landholders and other persons
_
323 Temporary
water restrictions
(1) If satisfied that it is necessary to do so in the public interest
(such as to cope with a water shortage or threat to public health or safety),
the Minister may, by order in writing, direct that, for a specified period, the
taking of water from a specified water source is totally prohibited or is
restricted as specified in the order.
(2) As soon as practicable after making such
an order in respect of a water source, the Minister:
(a) must cause notice of the order to be
broadcast by a television or radio station transmitting to the part or parts of
the State within which the water source is situated, and
(b) must cause a copy
of the order to be published in the Gazette and in one or more local newspapers
circulating within the part or parts of the State within which the water source
is situated.
(3) An order under this section takes effect when it is first
broadcast in accordance with subsection (2) (a), or at such later time as may
be specified in the order and, unless sooner revoked, expires at the end of 7
days after it is so broadcast.
(4) Nothing in this section gives rise to a claim for compensation
under section 87.
_
324 Directions
concerning the production of information
(1) The Minister may, by order in writing served on any person:
(a) who is the
landholder of any land on which a water management work is situated, or
(b) who is involved in
the construction or use of a water management work,
direct
the person to furnish the Minister with specified information in relation to
the construction, use or ownership of that work.
(2) The Minister may, by order in writing served on any person:
(a) who is the
landholder of any land on or from which water from a water source is being
taken or used, or
(b) who is involved in
the taking or using of water from a water source,
direct
the person to furnish the Minister with specified information in relation to
the taking or using of that water.
(3) The Minister may, by order in writing served on a person who is
carrying out a controlled activity in, on or under waterfront land, direct the
person to furnish the Minister with specified information in relation to that
activity.
(4) The Minister may, by order in writing served on a person who is
carrying out an aquifer interference activity, direct the person to furnish the
Minister with specified information in relation to that activity.
(5) A person is not excused from giving information on the ground
that the information may tend to incriminate the person.
(6) Information obtained from a person under this section is not
admissible against the person in criminal proceedings, other than proceedings
for an offence under this Act with respect to the furnishing of false or
misleading information.
_
325 Directions
concerning waste of water
The Minister may, by
order in writing served on a landholder, direct the landholder to take
specified measures to ensure that:
(a) water used under the authority of a water
use approval applying to the land is beneficially used, and is not wasted or
improperly used, or
(b) water taken by
means of a water supply work situated on the land is beneficially used, and is
not wasted or improperly used.
_
326 Directions
to protect water sources
The Minister may, by
order in writing served on a landholder, direct the landholder to take
specified measures to ensure that:
(a) the use of a water
supply work situated on the land does not impair any water source, or
(b) the use of a
drainage work situated on the land does not impair any water source into which
water is discharged by the work, or
(c) the use of a flood
work situated on the land does not impair any water source into or from which
water is diverted by the work, or
(d) the carrying out of
a controlled activity on the land does not impair any water source in the
vicinity of the work, or
(e) the carrying out of
an aquifer interference activity does not impair any aquifer.
_
327 Directions
to stop work where unlawful activity occurring
(1) The Minister may, by order in writing served on:
(a) a landholder on
whose land is situated a water management work:
(i) that
is being constructed or used, or is about to be constructed or used, in
contravention of the provisions of this Act, or
(ii) that is being
constructed or used in a manner that threatens to impair a water source, or
(b) any person having
the control and management of such a work,
direct
the landholder or person to take specified measures to prevent its construction
or use.
(2) The Minister may, by order in writing served on any person:
(a) who is carrying out
a controlled activity in contravention of the provisions of this Act, or
(b) who is carrying out
a controlled activity in a manner that threatens to impair a water source,
direct
the person to cease carrying out that activity.
_
328 Directions
to holders of basic landholder rights
The Minister may, by
order in writing served on:
(a) a landholder on
whose land is situated a water supply work:
(i) that
is being used to take water from a water source pursuant to the landholder's
domestic and stock rights, or
(ii) that is being
used to capture rainwater run-off pursuant to the landholder's harvestable
rights, or
(b) any person having
the control and management of such a work,
direct
the landholder or person to take specified measures to protect the environment,
to preserve basic landholder rights or to overcome a threat to public health.
_
329 Temporary
stop work order
The Minister may, by
order in writing served on:
(a) any landholder on
whose land is situated a water supply work or drainage work, or
(b) any person having
the control or management of such a work, or
(c) any person by whom
a controlled activity is being carried out,
direct
the landholder or person to cease using the work, or to cease the activity, in
any circumstances in which the Minister considers that the public interest
requires such a direction to be given.
_
330 Directions
concerning unusable water management works
(1) The Minister may, by order in writing served on:
(a) a landholder on
whose land is situated a water management work whose construction or use is not
authorised by this Act, or
(b) any person having
the control or management of that work,
direct
the landholder or person to take specified measures to remove or modify it or
render it inoperable.
(2) Such a direction may be given even if the water management work
is not being used or is not capable of being used.
_
331 Directions
concerning damage caused by straying stock
The Minister may, by
order in writing served on any landholder, direct the landholder to take
specified measures:
(a) to prevent stock
from straying from the landholder's land into or onto a water management work
that is owned by, or is under the control or management of, the Ministerial
Corporation, or
(b) to repair any
damage caused to any such water management work as a consequence of stock
having strayed from the landholder's land.
_
332 Measures
that may be specified in directions
(1) The measures that may be specified in a direction under this Part
are as follows:
(a) measures to clean,
maintain, alter, reconstruct or add to a water management work or otherwise
render it effective,
(b) measures to
demolish, remove, dismantle or block a water management work or otherwise
render it ineffective,
(c) measures to replace
any material that has been taken from waterfront land or to remove any material
that has been deposited in, on or under waterfront land,
(d) measures to restore
or enhance the condition of any water source that has been harmed by:
(i) the use, misuse, lack of use or lack of maintenance of a
water management work, or
(ii) the carrying out of
a controlled activity or aquifer interference activity,
(e) measures to repair any
damage caused by:
(i) the use, misuse, lack of use or lack of maintenance of a
water management work, or
(ii) the carrying out of
a controlled activity or aquifer interference activity,
including any damage caused to any specified land, structure
or vegetation, or to the environment,
(f) measures to ensure
that any specified land, structure or vegetation, or the environment, will not
be harmed by:
(i) the use, misuse, lack of use or lack of maintenance of a
water management work, or
(ii) the carrying out of
a controlled activity or aquifer interference activity,
(g) measures to correct
or restore any alteration caused by:
(i) the use, misuse, lack of use or lack of maintenance of a
water management work, or
(ii) the carrying out of
a controlled activity or aquifer interference activity,
to the flow of water in, to or from, or the quantity of
water contained in, any specified water source,
(h) any ancillary
measures that the Minister considers to be necessary or expedient.
(2) A direction under this Part may specify the manner in which, and
the time within which, any such measures are to be taken.
_
333 Prior
notice of direction not required
The Minister is not
required to notify any person who may be affected by a direction under this
Part before giving the direction.
_
334 Remedial
measures may be taken by Minister
(1) If a person fails to take the measures specified in a direction
under this Part, the Minister may authorise any other
person to take those measures.
(2) The amount of any costs and expenses incurred by the authorised
person as a result of the taking of those measures is recoverable in a court of
competent jurisdiction as a debt due to the Ministerial Corporation from the
person on whom the direction was served.
_
335 Land
and
On the application of
the Minister, the Land and
_
336 Restraint
of breaches of this Act
(1) Any person may bring proceedings in the Land and
(2) Any such proceedings may be brought whether or not proceedings
have been instituted for an offence against this Act or the regulations.
(3) Any such proceedings may be brought whether or not any right of
the person has been or may be infringed by or as a consequence of the breach.
(4) Any such proceedings may be brought by a person on the person's
own behalf or on behalf of another person (with their consent), or of a body
corporate or unincorporate (with the consent of its
committee or other controlling body), having like or common interests in those
proceedings.
(5) Any person on whose behalf proceedings are brought is entitled to
contribute to or provide for the payment of the legal costs and expenses
incurred by the person bringing the proceedings.
(6) If the Court is satisfied that a breach has been committed or
that a breach will, unless restrained by the order of the Court, be committed,
it may make such orders as it thinks fit to remedy or restrain the breach.
(7) In this section, breach includes a threatened or apprehended
breach.
Part 2 Powers of entry
_
337 Powers
of entry generally
(1) An authorised officer may enter any premises:
(a) for the purpose of carrying out on those
premises any work that by this Act the authorised officer is authorised to
carry out on those premises, or
(b) for the purpose of
inspecting any water management works situated on the premises, or
(c) for the purpose of
monitoring the use of water on the premises, or
(d) for the purpose of
monitoring any controlled activity or aquifer interference activity occurring
on the premises, or
(e) for the purpose of
carrying out any surveys for the purposes of this Act, or
(f) for the purpose of taking
measurements of any matter, or for reading any meter, for the purposes of this
Act, or
(g) for the purpose of
investigating any alleged contravention of this Act or the regulations.
(2) Reasonable force may be used for the purpose of effecting entry.
(3) At all times while on premises under the power conferred by this
section, an authorised officer must carry, and produce on demand, evidence of
his or her authority to be on the premises.
(4) This section does not apply to any part of premises that are used
exclusively for residential purposes.
_
338 Search
warrants
(1) An authorised officer may apply to an authorised justice for the
issue of a search warrant if the authorised officer believes on reasonable
grounds that a provision of this Act or the regulations is being or has been
contravened at any premises.
(2) An authorised justice to whom such an application is made may, if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for
doing so, issue a search warrant authorising a named
authorised officer to enter the premises and to exercise any of the authorised
officer's functions under this Part.
(3) Part 3 of the Search Warrants Act 1985 applies to a search
warrant issued under this section.
(4) In this section, authorised justice has the same meaning as it
has in the Search Warrants Act 1985.
_
339 Powers
exercisable following lawful entry to land
(1) While on any premises lawfully entered, an authorised officer may
do anything that the authorised officer considers necessary to be done for the
purposes of this Act, including:
(a) inspecting any
water management works situated on the premises, and
(b) observing any
controlled activities being carried out on the premises, and
(c) measuring or
sampling any water in any water management works or water source situated on
the premises.
(2) An authorised officer may disassemble a water management work for
the purpose of inspecting it but, in that event, must ensure that it is
properly reassembled immediately after the inspection is completed.
(3) While on any premises lawfully entered, a person authorised by
the Minister to take measures on the Minister's behalf for the purpose of
giving effect to a direction under this Act may do anything that the person
considers necessary to be done for that purpose.
_
340 Duty
of care
(1) In exercising a power under this Part, a person must do as little
damage as possible.
(2) The Ministerial Corporation must compensate all interested
parties for any damage caused by a person's exercise of a power to enter
premises for the purposes of this Part (but not for any damage caused by a
person's exercise of any other power) unless the occupier of the premises
obstructed or hindered the person in the exercise of the power of entry.
Part 3 Offences
Division
1 Major offences
_
341 Unlawful
taking of water
(1) A person must not take an amount of water from any water source
otherwise than in accordance with an access licence and any relevant available
water determination.
(2) This section does not prevent a landholder from exercising a
basic landholder right in accordance with this Act.
(3) In this section, a reference to an access licence includes a
reference to any licence of a similar nature (however described):
(a) that is granted under the law of another
State or Territory, and
(b) that is declared by the regulations to have
the same effect as an access licence for the purposes of this section.
(4) A person is not guilty of an offence under this section as a consequence
of having taken water in contravention of an available water determination if
the person establishes that he or she took all reasonable steps to ascertain
the terms of the determination but was unable to do so.
_
342 Using
water without a water use approval
(1) A person must not use water on any land for any purpose otherwise
than in accordance with a water use approval that authorises the use of water
on that land for that purpose.
(2) This section does not prevent a person from exercising a basic
landholder right in accordance with this Act.
(3) This section does not apply to water that is supplied to a person
by a major utility, local water utility or irrigation
corporation or by a private irrigation board holding a water use
approval for the use concerned.
_
343 Constructing
or using water management work without a water management work approval
(1) A person must not:
(a) construct or use a water supply work
otherwise than in accordance with a water supply work approval, or
(b) construct or use a
drainage work otherwise than in accordance with a drainage work approval, or
(c) construct or use a
flood work in or in the vicinity of a river or lake, or within a floodplain,
otherwise than in accordance with a flood work approval.
(2) Subsection (1) (a) does not prevent a person from exercising a
basic landholder right in accordance with this Act.
(3) Subsection (1) (c) does not prevent a person from constructing or
using a water supply work or drainage work in accordance with a drainage work
approval or flood work approval.
_
344 Unlawful
carrying out of certain activities
(1) A person must not:
(a) carry out a
controlled activity in, on or under waterfront land otherwise than in
accordance with a controlled activity approval, or
(b) carry out an
aquifer interference activity, otherwise than in accordance with an aquifer
interference approval.
(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent a person from constructing and
using a water management work in accordance with a water management work
approval.
(3) Subsection (1) (a) does not prevent a person:
(a) from carrying out a
controlled activity in accordance with a controlled activity approval, or
(b) from using a
building or work that has been erected or carried out in accordance with a
controlled activity approval.
_
345 Contravention
of certain directions
A person on whom a
direction under Part 1 is served must not fail to comply with the direction.
_
346 Destruction,
damage and interference with certain works
(1) A person must not destroy, damage or
interfere with:
(a) any work that is owned by, or is under the
control and management of, the Minister, the Ministerial Corporation, a water
supply authority, an irrigation corporation, a private irrigation board, a
private drainage board or a private water trust, or
(b) any meter (regardless of who owns it or has
the control and management of it) that is used for measuring the quantity or
quality of water in, or passing through, a water supply work or drainage work,
or
(c) any mark, peg,
stake or level fixed for the purposes of this Act.
(2) A person must not deposit anything in any work that is owned by,
or is under the control and management of, the Minister, the Ministerial
Corporation, a water supply authority, an irrigation corporation, a private
irrigation board, a private drainage board or a private water trust.
(3) A person is not guilty of an offence against this section if the
person establishes that the act giving rise to the alleged offence was done
with lawful authority.
_
347 Taking
water from public or private works
(1) A person must not take water from any water supply work that is
owned by, or is under the control and management of, the Minister, the
Ministerial Corporation, a water supply authority, an irrigation corporation, a
private irrigation board, a private drainage board or a private water trust,
except with the authority of the Minister, that corporation, board or trust.
(2) A person is not guilty of an offence against this section if the
person establishes that the act giving rise to the alleged offence was done
with lawful authority.
_
348 Maximum
penalty for offences under this Division
A person who is guilty
of an offence under this Division is liable, on conviction:
(a) in the case of a corporation, to a penalty
not exceeding 2,500 penalty units and, in the case of a continuing offence, to
a further penalty not exceeding 1,200 penalty units for each day the offence
continues, or
(b) in the case of an
individual, to a penalty not exceeding 1,200 penalty units and, in the case of
a continuing offence, to a further penalty not exceeding 600 penalty units for
each day the offence continues.
Division
2 Other offences
_
349 Unlicensed
bore drilling
A person must not
construct a water bore of any kind otherwise than in accordance with a bore
driller's licence that is held by that person and that authorises the person to
construct water bores of that kind.
Maximum penalty: 200
penalty units.
_
350 Exposure
of underground pipes
A person must not, by
opening any ground, expose any pipe or other work of a water supply authority:
(a) without lawful
excuse, or
(b) without having given
the water supply authority at least 2 days' written notice of intention to open
the ground.
Maximum penalty: 100
penalty units in the case of a corporation or 20 penalty units in any other
case.
_
351 Work
done by unqualified person
A person must not do
any kind of work of water supply, sewerage or drainage intended for direct or
indirect connection with the pipes, sewers or drains of a water supply
authority unless the person:
(a) holds an endorsed licence or a supervisor
certificate in force under the Home Building Act 1989 authorising
the holder to do that kind of work, or
(b) does the work under
the immediate supervision of the holder of such a licence or certificate, or
(c) holds a
registration certificate in force under the Home Building Act 1989 authorising the holder to do that work under supervision,
and does that work under the general supervision of the holder of a licence or
certificate referred to in paragraph (a).
Maximum penalty: 100
penalty units.
_
352 Obstruction
(1) A person must not obstruct or hinder an authorised officer in the
exercise of the authorised officer's functions under this Act.
Maximum penalty: 20
penalty units.
(2) A person must not obstruct or hinder an authorised person within
the meaning of section 120 in the exercise of the authorised person's functions
under that section.
Maximum penalty: 20
penalty units.
_
353 False
or misleading information
A person must not, in
or in connection with any application under this Act, make a statement that the
person knows to be false or misleading in a material particular.
Maximum penalty: 10
penalty units.
Part 4 Recovery of rates and charges
_
354 Definition
In this Part,
charging authority means the Minister, an irrigation corporation, a private
irrigation board, a private drainage board, a private water trust or a water
supply authority.
_
355 Certain
rates and charges to be a charge on land
(1) A rate or charge imposed on the owner of any land is a charge on
the land to which the charge relates.
(2) A charge imposed for a service or thing supplied or provided in
connection with a specific parcel of land is a charge on the land.
_
356 Interest
on rates and charges
A charging authority
may charge interest on overdue rates and charges at a rate not exceeding the
rate of interest payable for the time being on an unpaid judgment of the
Supreme Court.
_
357 Recovery
of rates, charges and other money
(1) Any rate or charge or other money due to a charging authority
under this Act may be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction as if it
were a debt due to the charging authority.
(2) An unsatisfied judgment or order of any court for the recovery of
any rate or charge from any person is not a bar to its recovery from any other
person who is liable under this Act for its payment.
_
358 Joint
owners
(1) If land is owned or held jointly by two or more persons, such
persons are jointly and severally liable to the charging authority for the
rate, but as between themselves each are only be liable for such part of the
rate as is proportionate to his or her interest in the land.
(2) If any of such persons pays to the charging authority more than
his or her proportionate part, he or she may recover the excess by way of
contribution from the others.
_
359
(1) This section applies to rates and charges imposed under this Act
by the Minister or by a water supply authority.
(2) The provisions of Division 5 of Part 2 of Chapter 17 of the Local
Government Act 1993 apply to land in respect of which a rate or charge (being a
rate or charge that is, by virtue of this Part, a charge on land) remains
unpaid in the same way as they apply to land in respect of which rates and
charges under that Act remain unpaid.
(3) For the purpose of applying the provisions of Division 5 of Part
2 of Chapter 17 of the Local Government Act 1993 to land in respect of which a
rate or charge remains unpaid:
(a) a reference in those provisions to a council
is to be read as a reference to the Minister or to a water supply authority, as
the case requires, and
(b) a reference to a general manager or public
officer is to be read as a reference to the Director-General or to the
principal officer of a water supply authority, as the case requires, and
(c) a reference to a member of staff of a
council is to be read as a reference to a member of staff of the Department or
to an employee of a water supply authority, as the case requires, and
(d) a reference to a
rating authority is to be read as including a reference to a council.
_
360 Certificate
as to amount due
(1) A charging authority must, on written application being made to
it and payment of the fee determined by it, issue to the applicant a
certificate:
(a) containing
particulars of any amounts payable to the authority in respect of a parcel of
separately assessed land, or
(b) to the effect that
there are no such amounts.
(2) An application for a certificate must:
(a) specify the name
and address of the applicant, and
(b) identify the land
to which the application relates.
(3) Such a certificate is conclusive proof, in favour of a purchaser
in good faith and for value of the land to which the certificate relates that,
at the date of its issue, no amounts were payable to the charging authority in
respect of that land other than such amounts as are specified in the certificate.
_
361 Liability
where an estate or interest is transferred
(1) A person who disposes of his or her estate or interest in any
land in respect of which any rates or charges have been or may be levied
remains liable for rates or charges to the same extent as if the person had not
disposed of his or her estate or interest in the land, if the rates or charges
are levied either:
(a) before the person
disposed of his or her estate or interest in the land, or
(b) before the person
has given to the charging authority the prescribed notice of disposal.
(2) If any person who disposes of land to another person pays any
amount to the charging authority in respect of rates or charges levied after
the land disposed of but before the prescribed notice is given to the
authority, the person by whom the amount was paid may recover the amount from
the person to whom the land was disposed.
(3) As between an owner of land and any other person from or to whom
the owner derives or disposes of his or her estate or interest in the land,
rates or charges under this Act are to be considered as accruing from day to
day and are apportionable accordingly.
_
362 Liability
where a person becomes entitled to an estate or interest
(1) An owner of land is liable for all arrears of rates and charges
owing by any previous owner of the land, despite the fact that the new owner
acquired the land after the rates or charges were levied.
(2) If any person who becomes an owner of land pays to the charging
authority any rates or charges in respect of that land that were levied before
the person became the owner, the person may recover from the previous owner
such part of the rates or charges as was levied in respect of the period during
which the previous owner was the owner of the land.
Part 5 Legal proceedings and appeals
Division
1 Legal proceedings
_
363 Offences
by corporations
(1) If a corporation commits an offence against this Act or the
regulations:
(a) each person who is
a director of the corporation, and
(b) each person who is
concerned in the management of the corporation,
is
taken to have committed the same offence if the person knowingly authorised or
permitted the act or omission constituting the offence.
(2) A person may be proceeded against and convicted under this
section whether or not the corporation has been proceeded against or convicted.
(3) Nothing in this section affects any liability imposed on a
corporation for an offence committed by the corporation.
_
364 Proceedings
for offences
(1) Proceedings for an offence against this Act or the regulations
are to be disposed of summarily:
(a) by a
(b) by the Land and
(2) Proceedings for an offence against this Act may be commenced:
(a) in the case of an
offence prescribed by the regulations, within (but not later than) 3 years
after the date of the alleged commission of the offence, and
(b) in the case of any
other offence, within (but not later than) 12 months after the date of the
alleged commission of the offence.
Note. Subsection (2) overrides section 56 of the
Justices Act 1902 in relation to offences against this Act, but not in relation
to offences against the regulations. By operation of that section, proceedings
for an offence against the regulations may not be commenced more than 6 months
after the date on which the offence was allegedly committed.
(3) The maximum monetary penalty that may be imposed by a
(a) 100 penalty units for an offence committed
by a corporation, or
(b) 50 penalty units in any other case,
or
the maximum monetary penalty specified in respect of the offence, whichever is
the lesser.
(4) The maximum penalty that may be imposed by the Land and
_
365 Penalty
notices for certain offences
(1) In this section:
penalty
notice means a notice to the effect that, if the person served with the notice
does not wish to have an alleged offence dealt with by a court, the person may
pay, in accordance with the notice, the penalty specified in the notice.
penalty
notice offence means an offence against this Act or the regulations that is
declared by the regulations to be a penalty notice offence.
(2) An authorised officer may serve a penalty notice on a person who
appears to the authorised officer to have committed a penalty notice offence.
(3) The amount of the penalty to be specified in a penalty notice is
the amount prescribed by the regulations for the alleged offence, being an
amount not exceeding the maximum penalty which could be imposed for the offence
by a court.
(4) A penalty notice may be served personally or by post.
(5) If the amount of the penalty prescribed by the regulations for an
alleged offence is paid under this section, no person is liable to any further
proceedings for the alleged offence.
(6) Payment of a penalty under this section is not to be regarded as
an admission of liability for the purposes of, nor is in any way to affect or prejudice, any civil claim, action or proceeding arising out
of the same occurrence.
(7) The Ministerial Corporation may withdraw a penalty notice at any
time within 28 days after the date on which it was served and, in that event:
(a) the amount payable
under the notice ceases to be payable, and
(b) any amount that has
been paid under the notice is repayable to the person by whom it was paid, and
(c) further proceedings
for the offence in respect of which the notice was served may be taken against
any person (including the person on whom the notice was served) as if the
notice had never been served.
(8) This section does not limit the operation of any other provision
of this or any other Act or law in relation to proceedings that may be taken in
respect of offences.
_
366 Legal
proceedings do not affect, and are unaffected by, other action under this Act
The prosecution of a
person for an offence against this Act or the regulations, or the issue of a penalty
notice in respect of such an offence, does not affect, and is unaffected by,
any other action taken under this Act in relation to the act or omission giving
rise to the offence.
_
367 Evidentiary
certificates
(1) A certificate that is issued by the Ministerial Corporation and
that states that, on a date or during a period specified in the certificate:
(a) a specified person
was or was not the holder of a specified access licence or specified approval,
or
(b) specified land was
or was not the subject of a specified approval, or
(c) a specified water
management work was or was not the subject of a specified water management work
approval, or
(d) the conditions of a
specified access licence or approval were or were not as so specified, or
(e) the terms of an
available water determination were or were not as so specified,
is
admissible in any legal proceedings and is evidence of the fact or facts so
stated.
(2) In proceedings for an offence against this Act or the regulations:
(a) evidence that a water management work was
constructed or used on specified land is evidence that the work was constructed
or used by the person who was the landholder of the land at the time the work
was constructed or used, and
(b) evidence that water was taken from a water
source by means of a water supply work situated on specified land is evidence
that the water was taken from the water source by the person who was the
landholder of the land at the time the water was taken, and
(c) evidence that water was discharged into a
water source by means of a drainage work situated on specified land is evidence
that the water was discharged into the water source by the person who was the
landholder of the land at the time the water was discharged, and
(d) evidence that water
was used on specified land is evidence that the water was used by the person
who was the landholder of the land at the time the water was used.
Division
2 Appeals
_
368 Appeals
to Land and
(1) An appeal lies to the Land and
(a) a decision refusing
to grant an access licence,
(b) a decision granting
a designated access licence, if the appellant was an objector to the granting
of the licence,
(c) a decision imposing
a discretionary condition on an access licence,
(d) a decision fixing
the term of an access licence,
(e) a decision refusing
consent to the transfer of an access licence,
(f) a decision suspending
or cancelling an access licence,
(g) a decision refusing
to grant an approval, other than a decision refusing to accept an application
for an approval,
(h) a decision granting
a designated approval, if the appellant was an objector to the granting of the
approval,
(i) a decision imposing
a discretionary condition on an approval,
(j) a decision fixing
the term of an approval,
(k) a decision refusing
to amend an approval in accordance with an application made by its holder,
(l) a decision
suspending or cancelling an approval,
(m) a decision ordering
a major utility to pay a civil penalty to the Minister,
(n) a decision to give
a direction to a person under Part 1,
(o) a decision as to a
person's entitlement to compensation for damage arising from the exercise of a
power of entry under Part 2.
(2) Despite subsection (1):
(a) no appeal lies
against any decision made by the Minister on an application to which an
objection has been made if:
(i) in the case of
the applicant, the Minister has dismissed the application as a consequence of
the applicant having failed to participate in mediation or neutral evaluation
proceedings, or
(ii) in the case of the objector, the Minister has
dismissed the objection as a consequence of the objector having failed to
participate in mediation or neutral evaluation proceedings, and
(b) no appeal lies
against any decision made by the Minister pursuant to a report from a
Commission of Inquiry under section 119 of the Environmental Planning and
Assessment Act 1979.
(3) An appeal is to be made in accordance with rules of court, but
may not be made more than 28 days after the date on which the decision was
made.
(4) In addition to the appellant and the Minister, the parties to an
appeal against a decision to grant a designated access licence or designated
approval include any objector to the granting of the licence or approval who,
in accordance with rules of court, gives notice to the Land and Environment
Court of the objector's wish to be a party to the appeal.
(5) The lodging of an appeal does not operate to stay action on the
decision appealed against, except to the extent that the Land and
(6) In this section:
designated
access licence means an access licence to which a person has a right of
objection under section 62.
designated
approval means an approval to which a person has a right of objection under
section 93.
Chapter 9 Miscellaneous
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392 State's
water rights
(1) For the purposes of this Act, the rights to the control, use and
flow of:
(a) all water in
rivers, lakes and aquifers, and
(b) all water conserved
by any works that are under the control or management of the Minister, and
(c) all water occurring
naturally on or below the surface of the ground,
are
the State's water rights.
(2) The State's water rights are vested in the Crown, except to the
extent to which they are divested from the Crown by or under this or any other
Act.
(3) The State's water rights prevail over any authority conferred by
or under any other Act or law, except to the extent to which this or any other Act
expressly so provides.
(4) The State's water rights are not to be exercised in contravention
of:
(a) the powers conferred by section 15 of the
Fire Brigades Act 1989 and section 26 of the Rural Fires Act 1997 on an officer
in charge at a fire or hazardous material incident, or
(b) the rights and obligations of the Snowy
Hydro Company under a Snowy water licence within the meaning of the Snowy Hydro
Corporatisation Act 1997, or
(c) the rights conferred by the Rural Lands
Protection Act 1989 with respect to the watering of stock at stock watering
places within the meaning of that Act.
_
393 Abolition
of common law riparian rights
Any right that the
owner of riparian land would, but for this section, have at common law with
respect to the flow of any river, estuary or lake through or past the land, or
to the taking or using of water from any such river, estuary or lake, is hereby
abolished.
_
394 Service
of documents
(1) A document may be served on a person:
(a) personally, or
(b) by leaving it at,
or by sending it by post to, the person's residential address or, in the case
of a corporation, the address of the corporation's registered office, or
(c) if it is
impracticable for the document to be served on a landholder of land in the
manner referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), by affixing the document in a
conspicuous position on the land.
(2) In the case of land that is owned or occupied by more than one
person or of an approval that is held by more than one person, service of a
document on any one of them, or on any person duly appointed by them for the
purpose of accepting service of documents, is taken to be service on all of
them.
(3) This section does not limit any other manner in which a document
may be served.
_
395 Unpaid
fees and charges
Any fee or charge
imposed by the Minister under this Act that remains unpaid is recoverable in
any court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to the Crown.
_
396 Act
binds Crown
This Act binds the
Crown in right of
_
397 Exclusion
of personal liability
(1) An act or omission of:
(a) the Minister or the
Director-General, or
(b) a prescribed authority,
or a member of a prescribed authority, or
(c) a member of staff
of the Department or of a prescribed authority, or
(d) a person acting
under the direction of a person referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c),
does
not subject the Minister, Director-General, member of staff or person so acting
personally to any action, liability, claim or demand if the act or omission was
done, or omitted to be done, in good faith for the purpose of executing this
Act.
(2) In this section, prescribed authority means:
(a) the Ministerial
Corporation, or
(b) the Water Advisory
Council, or
(c) the Water
Investment Trust, or the Board of Trustees of the Water Investment Trust, or
(d) a management
committee, or
(e) a water supply
authority, or
(f) a private
irrigation board, or
(g) a private drainage
board, or
(h) a private water
trust.
_
398 Exclusion
of Crown liability
(1) Neither the Crown nor any other person is subject to any action,
liability, claim or demand arising:
(a) from the
unavailability of water, or
(b) from any failure in
the quantity or quality of water,
as
a consequence of anything done or omitted to be done in good faith by the
Minister, by a prescribed authority or by any person acting on behalf of the
Minister or a prescribed authority, in the exercise any functions under this
Act.
(2) Neither the Crown nor any other person is subject to any action,
liability, claim or demand arising as a consequence of:
(a) the use in good
faith of any water management work, or
(b) the release in good
faith of water from any water management work,
by
the Minister, by a prescribed authority or by any person acting on behalf of
the Minister or a prescribed authority, in the exercise any functions under
this Act.
(3) In this section, prescribed authority means:
(a) the Ministerial
Corporation, or
(b) a water supply
authority.
_
399 Annual
report of Department
The annual report
prepared for the Department under the Annual Reports (Departments) Act 1985 is
to include a report on the Minister's work and activities under this Act for
the period to which that report relates, and may also include the annual report
prepared for the Ministerial Corporation under the Annual Reports (Statutory
Bodies) Act 1984.
_
400 Regulations
(1) The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this
Act, for or with respect to any matter that by this Act is required or
permitted to be prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to be prescribed
for carrying out or giving effect to this Act and, in particular, for or with
respect to:
(a) the forms to be
used in connection with the administration of this Act, and
(b) the fees and charges to be imposed in
connection with the administration of this Act, and the circumstances under
which fees and charges may be waived, reduced and remitted, and
(c) the requirement for security deposits, the
circumstances in which security deposits are to be forfeited and the
application of money arising from the forfeiture of security deposits, and
(d) the regulation and
control of bore drilling and the licensing of bore drillers, and
(e) the information to be
provided to the Minister by the holder of any approval under this Act,
including the circumstances in which any such information must be verified by
statutory declaration.
(2) A regulation may make provision for or with respect to the
exemption of any person, matter or thing from the operation of this Act or any
specified provision of this Act, either unconditionally or subject to
conditions.
(3) A regulation may create an offence punishable by a penalty not
exceeding 20 penalty units.
(4) A regulation may apply, adopt or incorporate any publication as
in force from time to time.
_
401 Repeals
The Acts listed in
Schedule 7 are repealed.
_
402 Amendment
of other Acts