Permanent water prices in Victoria
What permanent water — water shares, also called water entitlements — is worth across the Goulburn and Victorian Murray systems. The benchmark below is built from recorded WY25/26 entitlement transfers, adjusted for whether the season’s allocation transferred with the share, and will be updated as new-season transfers are recorded. If you are weighing up a sale, call (03) 5824 3833 for a confidential appraisal of your holding.
2025-26 season benchmark · values last updated 13 July 2026.
Permanent water
What water shares are worth.
Benchmark values for permanent water entitlements — volume-weighted average prices from recorded WY25/26 water share transfers, allocation-adjusted so wet and dry sales can be compared honestly. For an appraisal of your holding, call the desk.
Derived from recorded register transfers. Figures are indicative only and may not reflect the price your entitlement would realise. Updated 13 July 2026. Machine-readable: data.json
Water share values by system — 2025-26
The full WY25/26 benchmark in one view: permanent water entitlement values per megalitre for each Victorian system, by reliability class.
| System | Zone | HRWS (VWAP) | HRWS dry value range | WY25/26 allocation value | LRWS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goulburn / Loddon | Zone 1A | $4,350/ML | $3,950–$4,350/ML | ~$400/ML | $1,100/ML |
| Murray above the Choke | Zone 6 | $4,900/ML | $4,600–$4,900/ML | ~$300/ML | $950/ML |
| Murray below the Choke | Zone 6B/7 | $7,950/ML | $7,500–$7,950/ML | ~$450/ML | $2,350/ML |
AUD per ML of entitlement volume. HRWS ranges are allocation-adjusted — see methodology below. Machine-readable version: data.json (CC BY 4.0, attribute Integra Water Services).
Goulburn / Loddon (Zone 1A) water share value
Goulburn high-reliability water shares averaged $4,350/ML in WY25/26, with an allocation-adjusted dry value of $3,950–$4,350/ML. Low-reliability shares averaged $1,100/ML. The Goulburn is Victoria’s most liquid entitlement market, anchored by dairy and Goulburn Valley horticulture — see the Zone 1A allocation price for the temporary side of the same system.
Vic Murray above the Choke (Zone 6) water share value
Above the Barmah Choke, high-reliability entitlement averaged $4,900/ML (WY25/26 dry value $4,600–$4,900/ML), with LRWS at $950/ML. Zone 6 water shares carry Murray reliability without the below-Choke scarcity premium — temporary prices for the zone are on the Zone 6 allocation price page.
Vic Murray below the Choke (Zone 6B/7) water share value
Below the Choke, permanent water is the most valuable in Victoria: high-reliability shares averaged $7,950/ML (WY25/26 dry value $7,500–$7,950/ML), with LRWS at $2,350/ML — a premium driven by permanent horticulture demand against the Choke’s delivery constraint. The temporary market for the zone is on the Zone 7 allocation price page.
How these values are calculated
The headline HRWS figures are the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of recorded WY25/26 entitlement transfers in each system. Raw register averages have a known problem: the record does not distinguish a wet sale — where the water share transfers together with its unused seasonal allocation — from a dry sale of the bare entitlement. A wet sale’s price includes the value of the water itself, so an unadjusted average overstates what a dry share is worth.
We publish the dry value as a range instead of pretending to a precision the record doesn’t support. The bottom of each range is the conservative floor: the VWAP minus the full WY25/26 allocation value (about $400/ML in the Goulburn, $300/ML above the Choke and $450/ML below it) — what the shares would be worth if every recorded trade had carried a full season of water. The top of the range is the full VWAP — the value if every trade was dry.
Why the truth sits near the top: HRWS reached 80% in WY25/26, and most of that allocation was used or traded through the season. A share sold “wet” late in the year carried at most a small residual of unused allocation — nowhere near the full $400/$300/$450 per ML — so the true dry value in each system likely sits nearer the top of its range.
LRWS needs no range. The low-reliability seasonal determination was 0% all season, so no water transferred with the shares — recorded LRWS prices are already clean dry values: about $1,100/ML in the Goulburn / Loddon, $950/ML on the Murray above the Choke and $2,350/ML below it.
Permanent water, water entitlements and water shares
Three names, one asset. Permanent water is the everyday term; water entitlement is the generic legal term across the Murray-Darling Basin; and water share is Victoria’s name for it (NSW issues water access licences — high security and general security — and SA issues water licences). All describe the perpetual right that receives a seasonal allocation each year, so permanent water prices, water entitlement prices and water share values are the same numbers. In Victoria the entitlement comes in two reliability classes: high-reliability water shares (HRWS), filled first each season, and low-reliability water shares (LRWS), filled only after all high-reliability commitments are met — which is why HRWS trade at several times the LRWS price. See HRWS vs LRWS and entitlements vs allocations. Watching the seasonal market instead? See temporary water prices.
What drives permanent water values?
Entitlement values move more slowly than allocation prices, but they move for identifiable reasons. These are the forces to watch between updates of this page.
The allocation price cycle
Permanent water is ultimately priced off the income it produces. A run of expensive allocation seasons pulls entitlement values up as irrigators move to own rather than rent their water; cheap, wet years soften them. The multiple of entitlement price to average allocation price is the yardstick professionals watch.
Permanent plantings and development
New almond, citrus and viticulture development — overwhelmingly below the Barmah Choke — adds demand for high-reliability entitlement that cannot be deferred. This is the structural force behind the below-Choke premium.
Delivery constraints and trade limits
The Barmah Choke caps how much water can be delivered downstream, and trade restrictions limit how much entitlement can move between zones. Water shares in constrained destinations carry scarcity value that upstream shares do not.
Policy and environmental recovery
Government purchase programs and changes to basin plan settings remove entitlement from the consumptive pool or change expectations about future supply, repricing what remains in private hands.
Capital conditions
Water shares compete with other rural assets for capital. Interest rates, farmland values and institutional investor appetite all feed into what buyers will pay for a reliable water income stream.
Permanent water
Thinking of selling permanent water?
Watching allocation prices is often the first step in a bigger decision. Integra also brokers permanent water entitlement sales — high- and low-reliability water shares across the southern Murray-Darling Basin — appraised against recorded register transfers, not list prices.
An appraisal is confidential, obligation-free, and tells you what your entitlement would realise in today’s market — so the decision to sell (or hold) is made on numbers, not guesswork. Start with our current permanent water prices — allocation-adjusted HRWS and LRWS values by system — then see how a permanent entitlement sale works, or the difference between entitlements and allocations.
Permanent water prices — FAQs
Are permanent water, a water entitlement and a water share the same thing?
Yes — they are three names for the same asset. "Permanent water" is the everyday term, "water entitlement" is the generic legal term used across the Murray-Darling Basin, and "water share" is the Victorian name for it (NSW calls them water access licences, SA calls them water licences). All refer to the ongoing right that receives a seasonal allocation each year, as distinct from temporary water — the allocation itself. So permanent water prices, water entitlement prices and water share values all describe the figures on this page.
How much is permanent water worth in Victoria right now?
High-reliability water shares (HRWS) traded in the WY25/26 season at volume-weighted averages of around $4,350/ML in the Goulburn / Loddon (Zone 1A), $4,900/ML in the Murray above the Choke (Zone 6), $7,950/ML in the Murray below the Choke (Zone 6B/7). Low-reliability water shares (LRWS) traded at roughly $1,100/ML (Zone 1A), $950/ML (Zone 6), $2,350/ML (Zone 6B/7). These are allocation-adjusted entitlement values from recorded register transfers — for what your specific water shares would realise, call (03) 5824 3833 for a confidential appraisal.
What does "allocation-adjusted" mean for a water share price?
Register records do not distinguish a "wet" sale — where the season's unused allocation transfers with the water share — from a "dry" sale of the bare entitlement. A wet sale's price includes the value of the water itself, so quoting the raw average would overstate what a dry share is worth. We express the dry value as a range: the floor assumes every recorded trade was wet (VWAP minus the season's full allocation value), and the ceiling is the full VWAP (every trade dry). Because HRWS reached 80% in WY25/26, a share sold wet late in the season carried at most a small residual of unused allocation — so the true dry value likely sits near the top of each range.
What is a high-reliability water share (HRWS) worth?
In WY25/26, HRWS volume-weighted average prices were about $4,350/ML in the Goulburn / Loddon (Zone 1A), $4,900/ML in the Murray above the Choke (Zone 6), $7,950/ML in the Murray below the Choke (Zone 6B/7). Allowing for entitlement transfers that included the season's allocation, the underlying dry values sit in the ranges $3,950–$4,350 (Goulburn), $4,600–$4,900 (Zone 6) and $7,500–$7,950 (Zone 6B/7) — most likely toward the top of each range.
What is a low-reliability water share (LRWS) worth?
LRWS traded at roughly $1,100/ML in the Goulburn / Loddon, $950/ML on the Murray above the Choke and $2,350/ML below the Choke in WY25/26. No allocation adjustment is needed for these figures: the LRWS seasonal determination was 0% all season, so no water transferred with the shares — recorded prices are clean dry entitlement values.
Why is permanent water below the Barmah Choke so much more expensive?
The Murray below the Choke (Zone 6B/7) supplies the largest concentration of permanent horticulture in the southern basin — almonds, citrus, wine grapes — whose demand for reliable water cannot be deferred. At the same time, the Barmah Choke limits how much water can physically be delivered from upstream, and trade restrictions cap how much entitlement and allocation can move below it. Structurally strong demand against constrained supply keeps below-Choke water share values well above the upstream zones.
Do these prices include the season’s water allocation?
The headline HRWS figures are volume-weighted averages of all recorded entitlement transfers, some of which included unused allocation. The dry-value range underneath each figure strips that out: the bottom of the range is the conservative floor if every trade carried a full season of allocation, and the top is the value if every trade was a bare, dry share. LRWS figures need no adjustment because LRWS received 0% allocation during the season.
How do I find out what my water shares are worth?
The values on this page are system-wide averages — an individual entitlement can be worth more or less depending on volume, zone, delivery share linkage, encumbrances and how it is taken to market. Integra appraises water shares confidentially against recent recorded register transfers, not list prices. Call (03) 5824 3833 or request a callback for an obligation-free appraisal before you decide to sell or hold.
Liz Johnston
Senior Water Broker
Indicative only. Not financial advice. Water trade involves risk of principal loss. Values are derived from recorded register transfers and may not reflect the price a specific entitlement would realise. All trades subject to Victorian Water Register rules and MDBA water trading rules.