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Department of Agriculture

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Secondary ABARES

  • Research topics
    • About my region: regional profiles
    • Agricultural outlook
      • Agricultural Commodities Report March 2025
      • Australian crop report
        • Australian Crop Report March 2025
      • Commodities and trade data
      • Historical agricultural forecast database
      • Definitions
      • Previous reports
    • Biosecurity
      • Biosecurity economics
        • Cost of established pest animals and weeds to Australian agricultural producers
        • Potential economic consequences of African swine fever in Australia
        • A benefit-cost framework for responding to Varroa
        • Benefits of increased access to minor use chemicals
        • Biosecurity control strategies for red imported fire ants
        • Biosecurity response options for black-striped mussel
        • Consequences of a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak
        • Consequences of a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak - 2022 update
        • Economic consequences of a scrapie outbreak in Australia
        • Economic impacts of Xylella fastidiosa on the Australian wine grape and wine-making industries
        • Estimating the value of Australian biosecurity arrangements for equine influenza since the 2007 outbreak
        • Farm gate value of biosecurity
        • Potential impact of the wheat steam rust strain Ug99 in Australia
        • The impacts of Xylella fastidiosa on Australian horticulture and the environment
      • Biosecurity sciences
        • Potential distribution of the invasive marine species Magallana ariakensis (Suminoe river oyster) in Australia
        • Potential distribution of the invasive marine species Didemnum vexillum (carpet sea squirt) in Australia
        • Potential distribution of the invasive marine species Potamocorbula amurensis (Amur River clam) in Australia
      • Biosecurity engagement
    • Climate and drought
      • Agricultural Data Integration Project
      • Farm performance and climate
      • Measuring drought risk
    • Fisheries
      • Fishery status reports
      • Fisheries and aquaculture statistics 2022
        • Australian fisheries and aquaculture production
        • Australia’s trade in fisheries and aquaculture products
          • Market access improvements: A case study of stone fruit exports to China
        • Seafood consumption in Australia
        • Employment in Australian fisheries and aquaculture
        • About this report
        • Other useful information
        • Economic concepts in Australian fisheries and aquaculture statistics
      • Fisheries data
      • Fisheries economics
        • Australian fisheries and aquaculture outlook
        • Australian fisheries economic indicators
      • Fisheries research
        • Commonwealth Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy and Commonwealth Fisheries Bycatch Policy Implementation Review
        • Shark Assessment Report 2022
        • Analyses to support the review of the Southern Squid Jig Fishery harvest strategy
    • Food demand in Australia
      • Trends and issues 2018
      • Trends and food security issues 2017
    • Forests
      • Forest economics
        • Australian forest and wood products statistics
        • Forest economic research
          • Australian wood volumes analysis
          • A framework for developing medium term projections of traded wood products
          • Economic potential for new plantation establishment in Australia
          • Future opportunities for using forest and sawmill residues in Australia
          • Illegal logging regulation: analysis of regulated importers by business size
          • Productivity and efficiency of the Australian sawmilling industry
          • Responsiveness of demand for structural pine to changes in timber and steel prices
          • Short-term forecasts of selected wood product sales volume: Method and assumptions
          • Upscaling the Australian softwood sawmill industry
        • Australian plantation statistics update
        • Plantation and log supply
        • National wood processing survey
      • Forest sciences
      • Forest data
      • Forests overview
    • Invasive species
      • National Feral Pig Current Distribution in Australia
      • Distribution and impacts of established pest animals and weeds
      • Exotic invasive species with environmental impacts
      • Prioritising targets for biological control of weeds
      • The National Priority List of Exotic Environmental Pests, Weeds and Diseases dataset
      • The state of weeds data collection in Australia
      • Wild dog research
    • Agricultural workforce
      • At a glance
      • Labour use surveys
      • Agricultural workforce data
      • Research
    • Land Use
      • Land use of Australia 2010–11 to 2020–21
      • Catchment scale land use of Australia and commodities - Update December 2023
      • Catchment scale land use profiles
    • Farm productivity
      • ABARES Farmland Price Indicator
      • R&D Investment
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      • Productivity drivers
      • Productivity introduction
      • Productivity publications
    • Social sciences
      • Australian marine pest network analysis
      • Biosecurity research
      • Climate research
      • Community engagement
      • Community involvement in plant biosecurity
      • Human dimensions research
      • Making general surveillance work
        • General surveillance case study overviews
        • Guidelines for general surveillance programs
        • Literature review: Understanding general surveillance as a system
        • Research report: Making general surveillance programs work
        • Stocktake of general surveillance initiatives
      • Natural resource management
      • Pest animals and weed management survey
      • Recreational boat operators’ self-management of biofouling in Australia
      • Social aspects of weed management
      • Social impact assessment
      • General surveillance program design, monitoring and evaluation guide
    • Farm performance
      • Dairy farm performance
      • Farm survey data
      • Disaggregating farm performance statistics by size
      • Previous research
    • Trade
      • Climate, sustainability & agricultural trade
      • Trade facilitation, barriers and NTMs
      • Future value chain opportunities
        • Foreign Direct Investment in Australian Agriculture
      • Dashboard (beta)
    • Water
      • Community vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the Murray Darling Basin
      • The impacts of further water recovery in the southern Murray–Darling Basin
      • 2024: Environmental water trade – Making every drop count.
    • Agricultural forecasting
      • Changes to reporting of marketing year data
      • Farm share and price spread
      • Farmers' terms of trade: Update to farm costs and prices paid
      • Forecasting national grain stocks in times of drought
      • Seasonal climate scenarios for medium-term forecasts
      • Summary of ABARES agricultural forecasting
      • The future of public sector forecasting in Australian agriculture
    • Working papers
      • Technical improvements to GTEM: Sticky livestock capital and resources costs for land sequestration and abatement technologies
      • A micro-simulation model of irrigation farms in the southern Murray-Darling Basin
      • A model of spatial and inter-temporal water trade in the southern Murray-Darling Basin

Water

Water scarcity is a persistent issue in Australia given the relatively dry and variable climate. The emergence of climate change has exacerbated this issue. Water is a valuable commodity particularly within agriculture, which accounts for around three quarters of total use. Water is also of value to other industries, households and increasingly environmental agencies.

Australia has a number of well-developed water markets, where water rights are freely traded between end users. Water markets allow Australia’s scarce water resources to be efficiently allocated between competing uses in response to fluctuations in supply and demand.

A key focus of ABARES water research is the analysis of water markets in the southern Murray–Darling Basin. ABARES undertakes modelling on water policy issues, especially in regards to the implementation and effects of the Murray–Darling Basin Plan.

A summary of ABARES research outputs on water is provided below. For access to all ABARES past water research, visit the ABARES publications library.

2024: The impacts of further water recovery in the southern Murray–Darling Basin

2024: Community vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the Murray Darling Basin

2024: Environmental water trade – Making every drop count

2023: An Economic Model of Spatial and Temporal Water Trade in the Australian Southern Murray-Darling Basin

2021: The benefits of carryover in the southern Murray-Darling Basin

2020: Options for water market reform: ABARES submission to the ACCC Murray-Darling Basin water markets inquiry

2020: ABARES Insights: Analysis of water recovery in the Murray-Darling Basin

2020: Future scenarios for the southern Murray-Darling Basin – report to the Independent Assessment of Social and Economic Conditions in the Basin

2018: Future scenarios for the southern Murray–Darling Basin water market

2018: A model of water trade and irrigation activity in the southern Murray-Darling Basin

2016: Lessons from the water market: the southern MDB water allocation market 2000-01 to 2015-16

2013: Meeting environmental objectives in the Murray-Darling Basin

2011: The economic and social effects of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan: recent research and steps

2010: Indicators of community vulnerability and adaptive capacity across the Murray-Darling Basin - a focus on irrigation in agriculture

2021: Trends in water entitlement holdings and trade: Analysis of ABARES survey data

2021: MDB water market dataset

2020: Murray-Darling Basin water markets: trends and drivers 2002-03 to 2018-19

2019: Measuring water market prices

2013: Storage rights and water allocation arrangements in the Murray-Darling Basin

2010: Defining property rights to surface water in complex regulated river systems: generalising the capacity sharing concept

2009: Management of irrigation water storages: carryover rights and capacity sharing

2009: Capacity sharing in the St George and Macintyre Brook irrigation schemes in southern Queensland

Water market outlook – April 2023

Cotton farms in the Murray-Darling Basin

Horticulture farms in the Murray-Darling Basin

Rice farms in the Murray-Darling Basin

Dairy farms in the Murray-Darling Basin

Irrigated agriculture in the Murray-Darling Basin: an economic survey of irrigators, 2013-14 to 2015-16

Grape farms in the Murray-Darling Basin

The Australian Water Markets Reports were produced by ABARES from 2013-14 to 2016-17 and are available on this page. This report is now produced by the Bureau of Meteorology.

Australian Water Markets Report 2016-17

Australian Water Markets Report 2016-17 (PDF 9.2 MB)

Australian Water Markets Report 2015-16

National overview chapter (PDF 4.3 MB)
Southern Murray-Darling Basin chapter (PDF 7.4 MB)
Northern Murray-Darling Basin chapter (PDF 2.5 MB)
Rest of Australia chapter (PDF 5.0 MB)
Data and Methods appendix (PDF 1.0 MB)
Charts and tables (XLSX 11.6 MB)
Water Markets Database (ZIP 5.7 MB)

Australian Water Markets Report 2014-15 

Australian water markets report 2014-15 - Report in full (PDF 21.3 MB)
Australian water markets report 2014-15 - data tables (XLSX 19.8 MB)
Australian water markets report 2014-15 - Water Markets Database (ZIP 5.7 MB)

Australian Water Markets Report 2013-14

Australian water markets report 2013-14 - Report (revised 2016-01-12) (PDF 2.4 MB)
Data tables (XLSX 0.4 MB)
Water Markets Database (ZIP 6.3 MB)

Recent publications

2024: The impacts of further water recovery in the southern Murray–Darling Basin

2024 UPDATE - Community vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the Murray Darling Basin report – a focus on irrigation in agriculture

2024: Environmental water trade – Making every drop count

2023: An Economic Model of Spatial and Temporal Water Trade in the Australian Southern Murray-Darling Basin

The benefits of carryover in the southern Murray-Darling Basin

Water market outlook – April 2023

Options for water market reform: ABARES submission to the ACCC Murray-Darling Basin water markets inquiry

ABARES Insights: Analysis of water recovery in the Murray-Darling Basin

MDB water market dataset

Links

Bureau of Meteorology – Water

Murray-Darling Basin Authority

NSW Department of Primary Industries – Water

Victorian Water Register

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Page last updated: 12 December 2024

We acknowledge the continuous connection of First Nations Traditional Owners and Custodians to the lands, seas and waters of Australia. We recognise their care for and cultivation of Country. We pay respect to Elders past and present, and recognise their knowledge and contribution to the productivity, innovation and sustainability of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.

Artwork: Protecting our Country, Growing our Future
© Amy Allerton, contemporary Aboriginal Artist of the Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung and Gamilaroi nations.

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