Water Allocations for Sale

Water Allocations for Sale

Sale of medium priority permanent water allocations – Upper Burnett Water Supply Scheme

Sunwater has 363 ML of medium priority water allocations in the Upper Burnett Water Supply Scheme (UBWSS) available for permanent trade through an auction on the Water Exchange platform. The water allocations are Burnett Water Pty Ltd (BWPL) allocations available from the Jones Weir sub-scheme in zone NC:

Sub-scheme Upper Burnett Zones Volume Auction closing dates 
Jones Weir Zone NC 363ML Thursday 19 February 2026 

The 363ML represents the last of Sunwater’s allocations available for permanent sale in the UBWSS. 

BWPL water allocations in the UBWSS were created following construction of Kirar Weir. BWPL allocations have separate tariffs and charging arrangements compared to the regulated irrigation tariffs set by the Queensland Government in the Rural Water Pricing Direction Notice for the UBWSS. Refer the fees and charges section on page 4. 

Water sold from Kirar Weir within the UBWSS is separate to water currently quarantined within the nearby Bundaberg Water Supply Scheme for Paradise Dam. 

The BWPL water allocations will be auctioned as per the details outlined in the tables below. 

Table 1 – Jones Weir sub-scheme (Zones NC) 

Reference Number Volume (ML) Priority Zone Closing Date Closing Time 
103743 Medium NC Thursday 19 February 2026 9.00 am 
10378 25 Medium NC 9.30 am 
1037525 Medium NC 10.00 am 
1037950 Medium NC 10.30 am 
1037750 Medium NC 11.00 am 
1038050 Medium NC 11.30 am 
10376 60 Medium NC 12.00 am 
10381100 Medium NC 1.00 am 

Please note

  • The above auction links will go live on the Water Exchange website with varied closing times on Thursday 19 February 2026. 
  • If a bid is received in the last minute of the auction, it will be extended for an additional two minutes. 
  • Sunwater is setting a starting bid price of $1000 per megalitre. 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 $5 increments. 
  • Buyers are encouraged to register an account with Water Exchange by Thursday 12 February 2026 if they wish to participate. Customers can register via the Water Exchange website. For assistance with registration, please contact Lincoln Parr on 0419 473 153 or lparr@ruralcowater.com.au.  
  • Where possible, Sunwater is auctioning parcel sizes based on the nominal water volumes listed on the Water Allocation Titles held by BWPL.   
  • Any subdivision of the allocations held by Sunwater required as part of the Auction process will be submitted to the Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers (DLGWV) and Titles Queensland for processing by Sunwater before any volumes are transferred to the successful bidders.  
  • Transaction finalisation timing will be dependent upon subdivision /amalgamation processing times (if required), contracting and title transfer processing times. Any AA’s attributed to the allocations at the time of transaction finalisation will be attributed to the successful bidders’ account(s).  
  • Water Allocation Titles may have a defined purpose as either “Any” or “Agriculture”.   A change of purpose is a permitted change under the Burnett Basin Water Management Protocol for allocations with purpose “Any” or “Agriculture” provided the change in purpose results in the allocation being “Any” or “Agriculture”.  
  • Temporary and permanent trading is permitted in the UBWSS subject to Zone Caps – refer zone cap factsheet. 
  • Buyers may apply to DLGWV to change the location of the volumes after the completion of the sale process. Sunwater is not involved in the approval of such applications nor will 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 water allocations in the UBWSS on their website, where “capped out” zones can be identified subject to the Burnett Basin Water Management Protocol. 
  • Interested buyers who don’t have access to the internet can contact Ruralco so that alternative bidding arrangements can be made. 
  • Buyers who do not have a water offtake can contact Sunwater on 13 15 89, Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm to work through the water offtake requirements. 
  • The sale terms and conditions that apply to parcels purchased are contained in the Contract of Sale of Water Allocation. The ongoing supply terms and conditions are contained in the River Supply Contract. 
  • Where applicable, security equivalent to six months charges is required with the purchase of an allocation. Security is required for purchases in Companies and Trusts with Corporate Trustees. 
  • For irrigation customers, security requirements are referred to in the River Supply contract (linked above). For non-irrigation customers, please contact the Sunwater Customer Support team to discuss security requirements.  

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: 

  • all business or entity customers will be required to supply an ASIC search completed within the last six months. 
  • submit to Sunwater the completed original forms 1 and 24 for execution. 
  • sign (if required) and return the River Supply Contract/s provided by Sunwater. 
  • arrange for the Contract of Sale and the original Forms 1 & 24 to be assessed for transfer duty and for the transfer duty to be paid  
  • 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 bidder 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 sale 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 customers to engage a solicitor to assist in the sales and final transfer process, for greater accuracy of documentation and to reduce processing times.  

Purchase price, fees and charges 

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

The River Supply Contract refers to the fees and charges, however, the Queensland Government has introduced a discount for irrigators. The 15% discount will be applied to Part A and B charges for irrigation customers.  

For non-irrigation customers, or customers unsure of their water usage classification, please contact 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) 

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