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Reviews of the Snowy Water Licence

The licence is subject to mandatory reviews under the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997 (the Act), initially after five years and then at intervals of 10 years. A five-year review was commenced in 2007 and completed in 2009.

The first 10-year mandatory review of the licence was commenced on 28 June 2017 and completed in December 2018.

Ten-year review

The NSW Government released its final report on the 10-year review of the Snowy water licence in December 2018.

The review received 40 submissions from stakeholders including Snowy Hydro Limited (SHL); a range of community, environmental and agricultural groups; government agencies; and individuals from across south-east Australia. An independent expert panel also reviewed the performance of SHL and the department in meeting the conditions of the licence.

In response, the review identified 10 actions for administrative amendments to the licence and 13 actions relating to further investigating options to better manage environmental flows and improve current water release rules.

Licence Review Implementation Program

Through the Licence Review Implementation Program, the department is overseeing the implementation of the actions with the support of Snowy Hydro and other government agencies and committees with a direct interest in water regulated and released from the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

A summary of the actions and status of implementation is provided in the table below.

We will continue engaging and consulting with stakeholders and the community through formal project groups and public exhibition of proposed variations to the licence.

Actions Status of implementationTiming
Administrative licence amendments The department amended the Snowy water licence to increase transparency, simplify provisions, secure current practice and fix known errors. Completed 2020
Best Practice Licence ManagementThe department re-established the Snowy Water Government Officials Committee and is developing regulatory policies and procedures to ensure best practice management of the licence. 2023
Environmental water delivery investigations The department and key stakeholders are investigating better ways to deliver Snowy River and Snowy Montane Rivers increased flows. 2023
Water release investigations The department and key stakeholders are investigating inefficient water use, reviewing the effectiveness of amendments made to the licence in 2011 and removing licence ambiguities. 2023
Second round of licence amendments The Snowy water licence will be varied to implement the recommendations arising from the investigations. 2023

Annual Water Operating Plan

A significant amendment to the Snowy Water Licence in 2020 resulted in the public availability of the Snowy Hydro Annual Water Operating Plan (AWOP) for the first time.

Improving transparency was a priority for stakeholders. Ensuring transparency in how water is shared, allocated and managed is also a key goal outlined in the NSW Government water reform action plan.

Publishing the AWOP increases transparency around the management of the Snowy Mountains Scheme and provides information that helps downstream water authorities and water users plan their water use for the upcoming year.

The Annual Water Operating Plan is available on the Snowy Hydro website.

More information

Submissions received

The views expressed in the submissions are the views of the respondents. While the department seeks to ensure that defamatory material is not published, the department is not responsible for the views expressed in the submissions.

The following submissions were received during the first round in 2017.

The following submissions were received on the draft report in 2018.

Supporting documents

Snowy Scientific Committee reports

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