Do you use bore water in your business?
If you rely on bore water to operate your business, whether it’s for farming, cultural activities, or to support other commercial uses such as tourism operations, nurseries, cafes, pubs, and other businesses that use water for daily operations and amenities – you may need a water extraction licence.
A water extraction licence is required if your property is located in the Adelaide River Catchment of the Darwin Rural Adelaide River Water Control District, and you extract more than 5 megalitres per year.
You do not need a water licence if you are using groundwater or surface water for stock and domestic purposes.
Stock and domestic includes using water for your home needs, maintaining a garden connected to your house (less than 0.5ha in total) and giving drinking water to grazing stock.
Apply
Right now, there’s a simplified application process in place to help water users make the transition to licensing. But this won’t be available for long – the streamlined process will close on 31 July 2026.
After that, applications will move to the standard process, which includes public advertising and a comment period.
Learn more
If you are not sure if this applies to you, it’s worth checking with the Water Resources team.
To find out whether your property is in the Darwin Rural Adelaide River Water Control District, or to discuss your situation, call Water Resources on 08 8999 4455 or email water.licensing@nt.gov.au.
To read more about water extraction licences, go to the Northern Territory Government website.
