Apply for a water extraction licence: Darwin Rural Adelaide River

In June 2024, the Darwin Rural Area water control district was extended to include the Adelaide River catchment.

It is now called the Darwin Rural Adelaide River water control district.

Water resources in this district are in high demand so it has unique licensing rules.

Who needs a licence

You must have a water extraction licence if you:

have been extracting water for commercial purposes in the:
- former Darwin Rural Area water control district at least once a year since July 2015
- current Darwin Rural Adelaide River water control district before 1 July 2024
want to take groundwater or surface water for business use
are watering gardens larger than 0.5ha, whether for business or personal use.

The application is free and streamlined. You can only apply until 31 July 2025 (former district) or 30 July 2026 (current district).

For all other commercial and domestic water extraction, use the standard application.

Find out how to apply for a water extraction licence.

Exemptions

You don't need a licence for:

using water for your home needs
maintaining a garden connected to your house (less than 0.5ha in total)
giving drinking water to your animals.

Adelaide River catchment area

If you are located in the Adelaide River catchment area PDF (1.2 MB), you can take up to 5ML a year without a licence. This is also referred to as outside the former Darwin Rural water district.

Read more about water permit and licence exemptions.

How to apply

To apply, follow these steps:

Step 1. Fill in the relevant form

Fill in the form relevant to you.

Step 2. Prepare your supporting documents

If your application includes commercially confidential information, you can request for it to be withheld from the public register by filling in the form below:

Commercially confidential information form PDF (571.4 KB)
Commercially confidential information form DOCX (67.6 KB).