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Today, we have released the first progress update on our preparations for the 2026 Basin Plan Review.

You can now get all your information from the one place, instead of going to many different websites.

The Roadmap helps you understand the work we have planned. It shows how we’ll approach the next 3 years and tells how you can get involved.

The Barmah Choke has a default trade restriction in place. This is necessary to protect water delivery to existing water entitlement holders and maintain the river environment in the Choke.

The Barmah Choke is a naturally occurring narrow stretch of the River Murray. A default trade restriction is in place at the Choke to protect water delivery to existing entitlement holders and for environmental reasons.

A large number of water access rights are traded throughout the Basin. These rights all have different characteristics including priority, reliability and form of take.

To continue to support the efficient functioning of water markets in the River Murray system, the Murray–Darling Basin Authority and water agencies and authorities from New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have been investigating better ways to make trade adjustments.

The operation of the Barmah Choke trade restriction is specified in the Permissible Transfers between Trading Zones Protocol 2010. The opening balance for the Choke water account on 1 July is based on the Snowy water savings that were realised downstream of the Choke in the previous water year and reflected in allocations against the Entitlement Record.

Water trade allows water holders to decide whether they need to buy or sell water at a particular time.

Basin state governments create the majority of rules governing water trade in the Basin. They are responsible for developing and maintaining the rules around water access and use.