Water extraction licences
Licence responsibilities
As a licence holder you must do all of the following:
- install and maintain a water meter
- report your monthly pumpage
- use no more than your monthly water limit
- apply for an increase in your water limit if needed
- seek approval before using inline chemigation or fertigation systems
- apply to renew your licence before it expires.
Renew your licence
Renew your licence to either:
- take water from a bore
- take or use surface water.
Step 1. Fill in the form
Fill in the form below that meets your needs.
Take water from a bore
To renew your licence you need to fill in the below form.
Renew a licence to take water from a bore form PDF (252.0 KB)
Renew a licence to take water from a bore form DOCX (179.7 KB)
If you will be changing your water use
You must tell the Water Resources office if you will be changing how you use bore water under your licence.
To do this fill in the water use form. This form should be submitted with your renewal application.
Change water use under a current licence form PDF (221.7 KB)
Change water use under a current licence form DOCX (191.3 KB)
Take or use surface water
To renew your licence you need to fill in the below form.
Renew a licence to take or use surface water form PDF (188.5 KB)
Renew a licence to take or use surface water form DOC (113.0 KB)
Step 2. Submit
Submit the application to your local Water Resources office at least six months before your licence expires.
Applications received after the expiry date will be treated as a new application.
Transfer a licence
If the interest in the land has been transferred, you should notify the department to update the public register for water licences.
This includes changes in land ownership and properties that are under a lease agreement.
How to notify
Fill in the transfer of water extraction licence form.
Transfer of water extraction licence form PDF (184.6 KB)
Transfer of water extraction licence form DOCX (180.8 KB)
Submit the application to your local Water Resources office.
Amend your licence
You will need to amend your licence if you do any of the following:
- add or remove a bore
- change the land on which the water will be used.
The licence will generally be reissued if the requested change will not result in:
- a change in security level or water source or
- an increase in the maximum water entitlements of the licence.
To amend your licence send an email to water.licensing@nt.gov.au.
Withhold commercially confidential information
If your application has information that you believe is commercially confidential, you can apply for this information to be withheld from the public register.
To apply you must fill in the commercially confidential information form.
Commercially confidential information form PDF (162.8 KB)
Commercially confidential information form DOCX (171.9 KB)
Submit the application to:
Water Licensing and Regulation Branch
PO Box 496
Palmerston, NT 0831
water.licensing@nt.gov.au
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Last updated: 13 November 2019