Frequently asked questions
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When will more up-to-date (e.g. daily/live) reports be available?
The National Water Market System project team is working with state and territory governments and the Bureau of Meteorology to ensure that up-to-date and useful information is available on this web site.
What additional reporting capabilities will be available on this web site in the future?
Release 2 of the water market reports on this website is due to go live in 2011. The scope of Release 2 is currently under review however, the following features are under consideration:
- enhanced water allocation reports
- enhanced trend reports
- export capability for reports
- advanced search
- enhanced trading process information
- introduction of additional price indices
- increased frequency of data supply
- introduction of reports for water allocation announcements.
Why are the reports given a rating?
Reports are rated so that users are aware that some reports may be incomplete, due to the data not being available. Further details on the report rating system used are provided in Report rating
Why is some of the data not available?
The data in the reports is provided by the states and territories, and by irrigation infrastructure operators (IIOs) acting on their behalf. Data for some reports may not be supplied in time, or may not meet the minimum requirements for it to be reported. The report rating indicates the completeness of the data, while the footnotes provide details as to what issues exist in a particular report.
There also may have been no trades recorded for a particular area for the given reporting period.
Sometimes data for an existing report may be provided at a later stage, at which time the report will be updated. You may wish to check a particular report again at a later time to see if any additional data has been added.
Why is no data available before 1 July 2009?
The water market reports available on this website are based on data collected from 1 July 2009. Water market reports prior to 1 July 2009 are available in the National Water Commission’s Australian Water Markets Reports
Why is the number and volume of trades different for the trade volume and trade price reports in a particular location for a given period?
Some water access entitlement and water allocation trades have a trade price of less than $1, or do not have a price supplied. These trades are excluded from the trade price report, but are represented in the trade volume report, as the missing price information has no impact on the volume report. This means that the volume reported in the trade volume report and the volume reported in the trade price report for a particular location and reporting period may not match up.
Why are the area based water access entitlements (Ha and HaIE) not included in the reports?
All volume reports are presented in megalitres, in order to present a consistent unit of measure to compare at the national level.
Area based water access entitlements (measured in units such as Ha and HaIE) are excluded from the reports, but highlighted in the footnotes.
Why is a volume weighted average price used in the trade price reports?
A weighted average is the mean value for a data set which discounts the influence of 'outliers' (i.e. data values at the extremes of the data set) by 'weighting' them. Accordingly this reduces their influence on the final calculated value and provides a more accurate representation of the data. The Australian Stock Exchange uses a weighted average to report on stock prices, where the average stock price is weighted by the volume of the stock sold.
When calculating the volume weighted average price (VWAP) for water trades, the individual contribution to the average price made by each sale is weighted proportionally by the volume of water involved in the transfer. This means that a large volume for a lower price will have more impact or 'weight' on the calculation of the average than a small volume for a higher price.
How is the volume weighted average price calculated?
The mathematical formula used to calculate the volume weighted average price (VWAP) of water access entitlement trades is:
| VWAP/ML = | Total net price of entitlement trades registered in the selected reporting period |
| Total volume of entitlement trades (in ML) registered in the selected reporting period |
The mathematical formula used to calculate the volume weighted average price (VWAP) of water allocation trades is:
| VWAP/ML = | Total net price of allocation trades approved in the selected reporting period |
| Total volume of allocation trades (in ML) approved in the selected reporting period |
Will this information help me work out what price I should pay for water in my district?
The water market reports provided on this website are intended to provide easily accessible, recent information about the water market, based on data supplied by state and territory government water departments and by IIOs acting on their behalf. This information is intended to increase market transparency and allow for more informed water trading decisions. It is, however, the responsibility of each individual trader to conduct their own market research, and to make informed trading decisions based on a range of available resources, including, but not limited to:
- this web site
- state and territory trade reports and resources
- other published water market data, including the National Water Commission's Australian Water Markets report series
- water brokers
- the media, and
- local knowledge.
How can I provide feedback about the National Water Market web site?
The National Water Market System Branch within the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC) welcomes feedback. Feedback can be lodged electronically through the Contact Us page on this web site or by emailing nwms@environment.gov.au.