Delivering the Murray–Darling Basin Plan

Why this is important

The health of the Murray–Darling Basin is important for Victoria's environment, industries and communities. Under the Murray–Darling Basin Plan (the Basin Plan), the Victorian Government agreed to recover 1,075 gigalitres of water per year and implement long-term environmental watering plans to restore ecosystems dependent on water in the Murray–Darling Basin.

The Victorian Government agreed to offset 266 gigalitres of its water recovery target by delivering 9 water-offsetting infrastructure projects under the Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism, which improve environmental outcomes.

As of June 2024, when the Basin Plan was due to finish, Victoria had not met its water recovery target, mostly because it has not delivered the 9 offset projects. An independent review estimated that Victoria will fail to deliver most of these projects by the Australian Government's extended target of December 2026. This means that Victoria is at risk of not meeting its obligations by the Basin Plan's revised end date of December 2026.

What we plan to examine

We plan to examine if Victoria is meeting its water recovery targets and environmental obligations under the Murray–Darling Basin Plan.

Who we plan to examine

Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action

Goulburn–Murray Water

Lower Murray Water

Victorian Environmental Water Holder

Relevant catchment management authorities (North Central, Goulburn Broken, North East, Mallee and Wimmera)