Water licensing rules
The Northern Territory's (NT) water resources are managed and protected under the Water Act 1992 and the Water Regulations 1992.
Certain activities need a water licence or a permit.
It's a crime to take or use water without a licence when required.
When you don't need a licence
Exemptions apply in some cases where you don’t need a permit or water extraction licence.
For example, if you want to take water from a river or an aquifer for:
- stock and domestic use
- road construction or maintenance.
You may also be exempt if the total volume of water you take doesn’t exceed 5 megalitres per year from your bore.
This depends on the area you plan to take water from. You must check the area's declared beneficial uses.
Read more about the exempted activities.
When you need a licence
You must have a licence or a permit to:
- drill for water and carry out bore works - apply for a bore work permit
- extract water from the ground or surface water - apply for a water extraction licence
- interfere with a waterway.
You also need a licence for any activity that results in waste coming into contact with water. Apply for a waste discharge licence.
The petroleum and mining industry, including onshore shale gas also need a licence or permit to access water in the Territory. Read about changes to water rules.
Conditions
Permits and licences have conditions that you must meet.
These conditions are regulated under the Water Act 1992 and its regulations.
Compliance and enforcement
To ensure licence holders comply with the Act and regulations, a compliance and enforcement policy is in place.
The policy:
- sets out how the government regulates compliance and
- ensures regulatory action achieves the protection and fair allocation of water resources for the benefit of all Territorians.
Every year, a compliance plan is also published to highlight what compliance and enforcement priorities will be delivered.
How the NTG performed them is in published in a report card.
Get the compliance and enforcement policy PDF (598.4 KB), compliance plan PDF (224.8 KB) or report cards:
Policies
Read about licensing policies and guidelines.