Water Allocations for Sale

Water Allocations for Sale

Sale of medium priority permanent water allocations — Mareeba-Dimbulah Water Supply Scheme

Following the completion of the Mareeba Dimbulah Water Supply Scheme Efficiency Improvement Project (EIP), 11,508ML of Medium Priority (MP) water allocations were made available for permanent sale.  In 2024, Sunwater took all available water allocations to market via auction with a total of 5,898ML sold.

Sunwater has 5,610 ML of medium priority (MP) Barron Zone D water allocations in the Mareeba Dimbulah Water Supply Scheme (MDWSS) available for permanent trade through an auction on the Water Exchange platform. This volume is the last of Sunwater’s available water allocations in the MDWSS.

Sunwater is providing this advance notice for interested buyers to prepare for the auction.

The water will be auctioned over a two-week period with closing dates from 17 November to 27 November 2025 as outlined below. 

Week 1

Closing Monday 17 November 2025

Reference #Nominal Volume (ML)PriorityZoneClosing time
5MediumD9:00am
5MediumD9:30am
5MediumD10:00am
5MediumD10:30am
10MediumD11:00am
10MediumD11:30am
10MediumD12:00pm
10MediumD12:30pm
20MediumD1:00pm
20MediumD1:30pm
20MediumD2:00pm
50MediumD2:30pm
50MediumD3:00pm

Closing Tuesday 18 November 2025

Reference #Nominal Volume (ML)PriorityZoneClosing time
5MediumD9:00am
5MediumD9:30am
5MediumD10:00am
10MediumD10:30am
10MediumD11:00am
10MediumD11:30am
10MediumD12:00am
20MediumD12:30pm
20MediumD1:00pm
20MediumD1:30pm
50MediumD2:00pm
50MediumD2:30pm
100MediumD3:00pm

Closing Wednesday 19 November 2025

Reference #Nominal Volume (ML)PriorityZoneClosing time
5MediumD9:00am
5MediumD9:30am
5MediumD10:00am
10MediumD10:30am
10MediumD11:00am
10MediumD11:30am
10MediumD12:00pm
20MediumD12:30pm
20MediumD1:00pm
20MediumD1:30pm
50MediumD2:00pm
50MediumD2:30pm
100MediumD3:00pm

Closing Thursday 20 November 2025

Reference #Nominal Volume (ML)PriorityZoneClosing time
10MediumD9:00am
10MediumD9:30am
10MediumD10:00am
20MediumD10:30am
20MediumD11:00am
20MediumD11:30am
20MediumD12:00pm
50MediumD12:30pm
50MediumD1:00pm
50MediumD1:30pm
50MediumD2:00pm
100MediumD2:30pm
100MediumD3:00pm

Closing Friday 21 November 2025

Reference #Nominal Volume (ML)PriorityZoneClosing time
10MediumD9:00am
10MediumD9:30am
20MediumD10:00am
20MediumD10:30am
50MediumD11:00am
50MediumD11:30am
50MediumD12:00pm
50MediumD12:30pm
50MediumD1:00pm
100MediumD1:30pm
100MediumD2:00pm
100MediumD2:30pm
200MediumD3:00pm

Week 2

Closing Monday 24 November 2025

Reference #Nominal Volume (ML)PriorityZoneClosing time
10MediumD9:00am
10MediumD9:30am
10MediumD10:00am
20MediumD10:30am
20MediumD11:00am
50MediumD11:30am
50MediumD12:00pm
50MediumD12:30pm
100MediumD1:00pm
100MediumD1:30pm
 100MediumD2:00pm
100MediumD2:30pm
200MediumD3:00pm

Closing Tuesday 25 November 2025

Reference #Nominal Volume (ML)PriorityZoneClosing time
20MediumD9:00am
20MediumD9:30am
20MediumD10:00am
20MediumD10:30am
50MediumD11:00am
50MediumD11:30am
50MediumD12:00pm
50MediumD12:30pm
100MediumD1:00pm
100MediumD1:30pm
 100MediumD2:00pm
100MediumD2:30pm
200MediumD3:00pm

Closing Wednesday 26 November 2025

Reference #Nominal Volume (ML)PriorityZoneClosing time
20MediumD9:00am
20MediumD9:30am
20MediumD10:00am
50MediumD10:30am
50MediumD11:00am
50MediumD11:30am
50MediumD12:00pm
100MediumD12:30pm
100MediumD1:00pm
100MediumD1:30pm
100MediumD2:00pm
100MediumD2:30pm
200MediumD3:00pm

Closing Thursday 27 November 2025

Reference #Nominal Volume (ML)PriorityZoneClosing time
20MediumD9:00am
20MediumD9:30am
20MediumD10:00am
20MediumD10:30am
50MediumD11:00am
50MediumD11:30am
50MediumD12:00pm
50MediumD12:30pm
50MediumD1:00pm
50MediumD1:30pm
100MediumD2:00pm
100MediumD2:30pm
200MediumD3:00pm

Please note

  • The above auction links will go live on the Water Exchange website with varied closing times and days. If a bid is received in the last minute of the auction, it will be extended for an additional two minutes.
  • Sunwater will set a reserve price of $3,200 per ML. If a bid is received at or above the starting bid price, the parcel will sell at the highest priced bid.  Bids are made in minimum $5 increments.
  • Buyers are encouraged to register an account with Water Exchange by Thursday 6 November 2025 if they wish to participate. Registration can be done via the Water Exchange website. For assistance with registration, please contact Lincoln Parr on 0419 473 153 or lparr@ruralcowater.com.au.
  • The 5,610 ML is located in the MDWSS Barron Zone D and as such, all water will be sold from Barron Zone D.
  • All available water and capacity in East Barron following the EIP was sold in the 2024 auction.  Therefore, East Barron offtake customers are NOT permitted to participate in this auction.
  • The purpose of the allocations being sold is “Any”, meaning there is no condition for the intended purpose of use.
  • Buyers may choose to submit an application with the Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers (DLGWV) to change the location of the available volumes after the completion of the sale process. Sunwater is not involved in the approval of such applications and will not be responsible for additional costs incurred for this step. Any requested change to location will be subject to scheme zone caps. The Queensland Government publishes the current location of MDWSS water allocations on their website, where “capped out” zones can be identified.
  • Temporary and permanent trading is permitted in the MDWSS, subject to zone caps – refer zone cap factsheet.
  • Sunwater’s allocation is the 5,610 ML in its entirety therefore, subdivision of the allocation into parcels will be required as part of the auction process.  Sunwater will facilitate the process with DLGWV before any volumes are transferred to the successful buyers.
  • Finalisation of transactions will be dependent upon subdivision processing, contracting and title transfer processing times.
  • MDWSS announced allocations for the relevant water year will be attributed to the successful buyers’ account(s) at the time of transaction finalisation. Announced allocations for the MDWSS can be viewed here.
  • All customers are required to adhere to working supply flow rates to share the channel capacity during periods where demand for water exceeds the system’s capacity to deliver. If you do not have a record of your working supply flow rate, please contact Sunwater Customer Support. Please refer to Sunwater’s MDWSS Water Supply Arrangements and Scheme Targets here.
  • Sunwater strongly encourages buyers to engage a solicitor to assist in the sales process, and to reduce errors and processing times.
  • Interested buyers who don’t have access to the internet can contact Water Exchange so that alternative bidding arrangements can be made.
  • Security is applicable for all purchases in Companies and Trusts.

Permanent trade purchase process

Following auction closing, Sunwater will complete the Contract of Sale with the particulars of the sale and will send to the buyer(s) for signing as well as an invoice for the deposit amount of ten per cent of the purchase price. The buyer will need to return to Sunwater the signed Contract of Sale together with payment of the deposit.

The buyer will also be required to:

  • Complete and return a Sunwater customer profile form.
  • New business/entity customers will be required to supply an ASIC search completed within the last six months.
  • Complete a Titles Registry Form 1 Transfer and Form 24 Property information (Transfer).
  • Submit to Sunwater the completed original forms 1 and 24 for execution.
  • Complete and return a Sunwater Application to Supply Contract form.
  • Sign (if required) and return the River Supply Contract/s provided by Sunwater.
  • Submit to Titles Queensland the required lodgement forms (executed and stamped forms 1 and 24) and Notice to Registrar, issued by Sunwater, upon receipt of payment for remaining allocation purchase price.
  • Supply to Sunwater the Registration Confirmation Statement (RCS).
  • Based on parcel(s) purchased the successful buyer may choose to complete a separate subdivision or amalgamation process. For more information, please contact Sunwater customer support on 13 15 89.

Once Sunwater executes and returns the supply contracts to the buyer, the buyer is responsible for submitting all executed transfer forms to Titles Queensland. After the buyer receives the completed RCS from Titles Queensland and provides the RCS to Sunwater, water supply can commence.

Buyers are advised to allow up to 75 working days from the close of the auction to water supply commencement for this process to be completed. This timeframe may be extended if a subdivision or amalgamation is requested and is inclusive of the 30-day settlement period. Sunwater will endeavour to reduce these timeframes where possible.

Sunwater strongly encourages buyers to engage a solicitor to assist in the sales and transfer processes and to reduce processing times. Sunwater can also liaise directly with solicitors on your behalf during the sales process.

Purchase price, fees and charges

Buyers purchasing water allocations should note that ongoing fixed and usage charges apply every year and are payable on a quarterly basis. The 2025-26 customer fees and charges for MDWSS allocations are available on the Sunwater website.

For non-irrigation buyers, or buyers unsure of their water usage classification, please contact Sunwater customer support on 13 15 89 for more information and to confirm the applicable supply charges.

The fees and charges applicable to the sale process include:

  • Titles fees are available for calculation on the Titles Queensland website, titlesqld.com.au and searching ‘Fee calculator’.
  • Stamp duties, where applicable (varies) – buyers are responsible for determining stamp duty requirements and arranging payment.

Further information

For further information regarding the water sale process or to progress registration of a Water Exchange trading account, please contact Sunwater’s Ruralco water broker, Lincoln Parr on 0419 473 153 or lparr@ruralcowater.com.au.

More information

Sunwater Customer Support
Phone: 13 15 89
Email: customersupport@sunwater.com.au