WATER AMENDMENT (WATER INFORMATION) REGULATION 2016 (NO. 1) (F2016L00534) EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]

WATER AMENDMENT (WATER INFORMATION) REGULATION 2016 (NO. 1) (F2016L00534)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the Authority of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture
and Water Resources

Water Act 2007

Water Amendment (Water Information) Regulation 2016 (No. 1)

Legislative Authority

The Water Act 2007 (the Act) provides for the management of the water resources of the Murray-Darling Basin and other matters of national interest in relation to water and water information.

Section 256 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed; or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Purpose

The purpose of the Water Amendment (Water Information) Regulation 2016 (No. 1) (the Regulation) is to reduce the regulatory burden imposed on certain water information providers by changing water information requirements in the Water Regulations 2008 (the Principal Regulation).

Background

The amended water information requirements implement recommendations one and four of an Interagency working group on Commonwealth water information provision (the working group) report. The Australian Government established the working group in response to Recommendation 18 of the Independent Review of the Water Act 2007, to consider options to reduce regulatory burden on industry and water managers in respect of water information requirements.

Section 126 of the Act provides that persons specified in the Regulations must give to the Bureau of Meteorology (the Bureau) a copy of water information of a kind specified in the Regulations that is in the person's possession, custody or control.

The specified water information is described in categories in Part 7 of the Principal Regulation. Categories are made up of water information specified in subcategories.

The names of persons are grouped into categories (Person Categories) based primarily on the person's function and included in a document incorporated by reference in the Principal Regulation. Persons may be included in one or more Person Categories. The Person Category in which a person is listed, determines the subcategories of water information the Principal Regulation requires the person to provide to the Bureau.

Impact and Effect

The Regulation amends the requirements in subregulation 7.04(1) and Schedules 2 and 3 of the Principal Regulation to reduce the range of water information required from rural water utilities and to change the timeframe in which rural water utilities and certain State, Territory and Commonwealth agencies are required to provide specified water information to the Bureau.

The Principal Regulation names thirteen of the country's largest rural water utilities as well as Commonwealth, State and Territory government agencies that have a primary water resource planning, management or policy function; or that collect water information. The changes mean that the named rural water utilities will no longer provide surface water, groundwater, or meteorological observations, or water quality information to the Bureau. Additionally, the timeframe in which these utilities give water use information is relaxed, so that rather than providing water use information daily, the Principal Regulation will require the information yearly.

The altered timeframes will flow through to requirements for government agencies that give water use information to the Bureau. The timeframe for provision of information about water access rights by government agencies will also be relaxed from monthly to yearly.

The Bureau has determined that these reporting requirements can be removed and timeframes can be relaxed without unduly affecting its ability to maintain associated water information products and services.

Consultation

As part of the review of Commonwealth water information provision which took place between December 2014 and June 2015, the working group (chaired by the Bureau) sought input from water information providers in the regulated community, submitters to the independent review of the Water Act 2007 that referred to water information in their submission, and State and Territory lead water agencies.

The working group held roundtable and other meetings with rural water utilities and lead water agencies to discuss the issues and the working group's findings. It also provided these groups with an advance copy of the report's Executive Summary, including recommendations and actions. The working group received positive feedback from stakeholders in relation to the proposed reductions in reporting requirements.

During the drafting process, the Bureau gave affected organisations further opportunity for input and informed them of timelines for the changes.

The Office of Best Practice Regulation was consulted in the preparation of the Regulation (ID 19517).

Details of the Regulation are set out in Attachment A.

The Act does not specify any conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make the Regulation may be exercised.

The Regulation is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility is set out in Attachment B.

The Regulation is a Legislative Instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.

The Regulation commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Authority: Section 256 of the Water Act 2007

ATTACHMENT A

Details of the Water Amendment (Water Information) Regulation 2016 (No. 1)

Part 1 - Preliminary

Section 1 - Name

This section provides that the title of the Regulation is the Water Amendment (Water Information) Regulation 2016 (No. 1).

Section 2 - Commencement

This section provides for the Regulation to commence on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Section 3 - Authority

This section provides that the Regulation is made under the Water Act 2007 (the Act).

Section 4 - Schedule

This section provides that the Water Regulations 2008 (the Principal Regulation) is amended as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule.

Schedule 1 - Amendments

Water Regulations 2008

Item [1] - Subregulation 7.04(1) (table item 4)

The Regulation changes reporting requirements for Category E persons (rural water utilities) by:

• reducing the number of subcategories required from 37 to 10

• removing the daily frequency of reporting on Category 5 (water use information), so that all Category 5 information is reported annually. The Bureau of Meteorology (the Bureau) primarily uses Category 5 data to inform water information products that it publishes annually, such as the National Water Account and Water in Australia. This change will reduce the burden on rural water utilities without unduly affecting the Bureau's ability to maintain its products.

The change alters the subcategories specified for provision by Person Category E in table item 4 of subregulation 7.04(1) as follows:

Item	Category of persons	Subcategories of water information
4	E	5a-5ac, 5b, 5d, 5e and 6b - 6d

Item [2] - Part 1 of Schedule 2 (table)

Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Principal Regulation specifies the time in which persons listed in Person Categories A and B (lead water and other agencies of the Commonwealth or a State) are required to provide the specified subcategories of water information to the Bureau of

Meteorology (the Bureau). For example, these times may be daily, weekly, calendar monthly, yearly or when an announcement is made.

The Regulation replaces the table to change the time in which persons listed in Person Categories A and B are required to give certain subcategories of water information. The items subject to the change are as follows:

Subcategories of water information affected by the Regulation	Current time for giving the subcategories	New time for giving the subcategories
5a, 5aa, 5ab, 5ac, 5b	Daily	Yearly
6a	Calendar monthly	Yearly

The change in time means that all Category 5 (water use) information is reported annually. The Bureau primarily uses Category 5 data to inform water information products that it publishes annually, such as the National Water Account and Water in Australia. This change will reduce the burden on Commonwealth, State and Territory agencies without unduly affecting the Bureau's ability to maintain its products.

Subcategory 6a is water access rights. These are fairly stable over time and are not subject to frequent change. A yearly timeframe for provision will ease the burden of providing the water information without unduly affecting the Bureau's ability to maintain associated water information products.

Item [3] - Part 4 of Schedule 2 (table)

Part 4 of Schedule 2 of the Principal Regulation specifies the time in which persons listed in Person Category E (rural water utilities) are required to provide the specified subcategories of water information to the Bureau. For example, these times may be daily, weekly, calendar monthly, yearly, or when an announcement is made.

The Regulation replaces the table to change the time in which persons listed in Person Category E are required to give certain subcategories of water information. The items subject to the change are as follows:

Subcategories of water information affected by the Regulation	Current time for giving the subcategories	New time for giving the subcategories
5a, 5aa, 5ab, 5ac, 5b	Daily	Yearly

The Bureau primarily uses Category 5 data to inform water information products that it publishes annually, such as the National Water Account and Water in Australia. This change reduces the burden on rural water utilities without unduly affecting the Bureau's ability to maintain its products.

Item [4] - Part 7 of Schedule 3 (table item dealing with subcategory number 6a)

For the purposes of Regulation 7.03, Schedule 3 of the Principal Regulation describes water information in categories made up of subcategories.

Subcategory 6a was described in Part 7 of Schedule 3 of the Principal Regulation as 'Water access rights and irrigation rights'. Information about irrigation rights is held by persons listed in Person Category E, but not by persons listed in Person Categories A or B. The Regulation removed the requirement for persons listed in Person Category E to provide subcategory 6a to the Bureau and consequently, there was no need to include irrigation rights in the subcategory description.

The Regulation amends Part 7 of Schedule 3 to change the subcategory 6a description to read as follows:

Subcategory number	Description of subcategory information
6a	Water access rights

ATTACHMENT B

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Water Amendment (Water Information) Regulation 2016 (No.1)

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

The Legislative Instrument amends the Water Regulations 2008 (Principal Regulation) to reduce water information requirements on certain organisations named in the Principal Regulation.

Human rights implications

Right to privacy and reputation

The Legislative Instrument deals with the provision of water information to the Bureau of Meteorology (the Bureau). Water information is defined in section 125 of the Water Act 2007 (the Act). The Principal Regulation does not require provision of personal information. The Legislative Instrument does not impact on the human rights referred to in Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Right to an adequate standard of living and the right to health

The Legislative Instrument engages the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to health in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The right to an adequate standard of living is protected in Article 11 of the ICESCR and the right to physical and mental health is protected in article 12 of the ICESCR. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, established to oversee the implementation of the ICESCR, has interpreted these articles as including a human right to water which encompasses an entitlement to 'sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses'.

The human rights implications of the Legislative Instrument must be considered in the context of the Act. The overall framework of the Act supports access to sufficient, safe, acceptable and physically accessible water for personal and domestic uses. This is reflected in the Act by section 20 which sets out the purpose of the Basin Plan and is supported through subsection 22(1) which sets out the specific content required to be included in the Basin Plan, such as a water quality and salinity management plan (Item 10). These sections together with subparagraph 86A(1)(a) which requires regard to be given to critical human water needs and water quality in the preparation of the Basin Plan support this right.

Part 7 of the Act gives the Bureau specific water information powers and obligations relating to collection, interpretation and dissemination of water information aimed at enhancing understanding of Australia's water resources. This part of the Act and Part 7 of the Principal Regulation, support policy makers to make decisions in relation to access to sufficient, safe and acceptable water.

The Legislative Instrument amends the Principal Regulation to make minor reductions in water information provision to the Bureau.

The amended Principal Regulation will continue to support access to sufficient, safe, acceptable and physically accessible water for personal and domestic uses. The Legislative Instrument does not change the Basin Plan, which in accordance with the Act, was prepared having regard to the fact that the Commonwealth and the Basin States have agreed that critical human water needs are the highest priority water use for communities who are dependent on Basin water resources (the Act paragraph 86A(1)(a)). The Legislative Instrument also does not affect the Chapter 9 water quality and salinity management plan in the Basin Plan.

The amendments to the existing water information provisions in the Principal Regulation, which support water information collection, are minor changes which will not affect the Bureau continuing to provide support to water policy makers.

Conclusion

The Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights because it supports the human right to water.

The Hon. Barnaby Joyce MP

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources