Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure Program

​​​​​​​​The Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure Program (SRWUIP) is a national programme investing in rural water use, management and efficiency, including improved water knowledge and market reform, and water purchase for the environment.

SRWUIP is the key mechanism to ‘bridge the gap’ to the sustainable diversion limits (SDLs) under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and consists of 3 main components:

• irrigation infrastructure projects
• water purchase measures
• supply measures.

The majority of SRWUIP infrastructure funds are committed to projects in the Murray-Darling Basin for improving the operation of off-farm delivery systems and helping irrigators improve on-farm water use efficiency. The water savings generated from these projects are shared between the Australian governments for environmental use, and irrigators for consumptive use.

SRWUIP investments include:

• planning, investigations and project design
• works on off-farm irrigation systems
• works on farms to improve water use efficiency
• works to improve ecological health and restore natural flows
• water saving municipal projects
• water purchase through the Commonwealth purchasing program
• environmental works and changes to river operations that enable the same environmental outcomes to be achieved with less water.​

Current projects funded or partly funded under the program

Infrastructure projects in the Murray-Darling Basin

State Priority projects

• ACT Healthy Waterways project
  
• Goulburn Murray Water Connections project Stage 2 (formerly Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal project Stage 2)
  
• NVIRP 2—On-Farm project (Vic)
  
• Sunraysia Modernisation project (Vic)
  
• Irrigation Farm Modernisation project (NSW)
  
• Healthy Floodplains project (NSW)
  
• Metering Scheme project (NSW)
  
• Basin Pipes project (NSW)
  
• Nimmie-Caira Enhanced Environmental Outcomes project (NSW)
  
• Private Irrigation Infrastructure Operators Program in New South Wales
  
• Healthy HeadWaters Water Use Efficiency project (Qld)
  
• Coal Seam Gas Water Feasibility study (Qld)
  
• Private Irrigation Infrastructure Program in South Australia
  
• Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Recovery project (SA)
  
• Riverine Recovery project (SA)
  
• Flows for the Future project (SA)
• Integrated Pipelines project (SA)​
  

On-Farm Irrigation Efficiency Program

Victorian Farm Modernisation project

Irrigator Led Group Proposals

Menindee Lakes project

Murray-Darling Basin Regional Economic Diversification Program

Water purchase in the Murray-Darling Basin

Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin

Supply measures in the Murray-Darling Basin

Environmental Works and Measures Feasibility Programme

Other projects

Great Artesian Basin water infrastructure interim arrangements​

Supporting more efficient irrigation in Tasmania

Environmental Water Knowledge and Research project

Upgrade of meter test facilities for non-urban water metering

See also:

• Water programmes in the Murray-Darling Basin
• SRWUIP infrastructure projects and their location is available from the SRWUIP interactive map.
• SRWUIP 'gap bridging' water recovery progress: Progress towards meeting environmental needs under the Basin Plan.

Taxation of Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure grants

Amendments to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 commenced on 28 June 2013.

The amendments to the Act allow recipients of payments from eligible SRWUIP projects, to choose to make water infrastructure improvement payments non-assessable non-exempt (NANE) income, with expenditures matched by those payments non-deductible and to disregard any capital gain or loss from related transfers of water ​rights.

SRWUIP recipients should seek professional legal or accounting advice in applying the amendments to their individual circumstances. For more information relating to this tax measure, see the ATO website.

Whether or not taxpayers can make a choice affecting the tax treatment of amounts derived and expenditure incurred for a particular program depends on whether the programme is listed under SRWUIP.

See also water programmes in:

• Basin-wide programmes
• Australian Capital Territory programmes
• New South Wales programmes
• Queensland programmes
• South Australian programmes
• Victorian programmes