A water access entitlement and a pot of beer - a dictionary of water terms
Terminology used to describe water entitlements, allocations and transactions can be confusing, with different water products having the same name across jurisdictions, or the same term being used for different products.
Just as 285 ml of beer is called a 'pot' (in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania), a 'middy' (in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia), a 'schooner' (in South Australia), and a 'handle' (in the Northern Territory), there are a variety of terms used throughout Australia for the various water entitlements and transactions in each jurisdiction.
For example, a 'water access entitlement' (defined in the National Water Initiative as 'a perpetual or ongoing entitlement to exclusive access to a share of water from a specified consumptive pool as defined in the relevant water plan') may actually be described as a 'water share' in Victoria, a 'water access licence' in New South Wales or a 'water allocation' in Queensland.
The confusion isn't limited to similar water products having different names, but extends to different products being given the same name in different states-even though they may have very different characteristics. By way of example, the term 'water allocation' has a different meaning in each of the states and territories, aside from 'the specific volume of water allocated to water access entitlements in a given season'; the agreed definition in the National Water Initiative.
To ease some of the confusion, the National Water Commission and states and territories Working Group on Compatible Registers has developed a Dictionary of Terms for Water Access Entitlements and Transactions. This document helps readers to understand the different terms and concepts that describe water access entitlements and transactions used in the various jurisdictions (with a particular emphasis on supporting water trading).