Upper Ovens Licence Renewals

GMW is pleased to announce our review of the Upper Ovens Water Supply Protection Area licence term and licence renewal fee are now completed.

Licence Terms

We will be implementing an extension of the licence term from 5 to 15 years for all Take and Use Licence and Licence to Operate Works customers in the Upper Ovens River Water Supply Protection Area. This means customers will still have to pay the same fee associated with their licence renewal, however the term of the licence now covers 15 years instead of five years saving $93 a year.

The 15 year licence term is also now consistent with other licence fee structures in other Water Supply Protection Areas and/or groundwater areas.

Our fact sheet explains in more detail the background and steps GMW has taken throughout this process.

The change to the term of the licence will be made in the coming weeks. Upper Ovens customers will now be issued with a fifteen year Take and Use Licence and Licence to Operate Works, dated from 1 July 2020. If you have not yet paid your fee, you will be required to pay that by 30 June 2021.

Licence Renewal Fee

In line with our commitment to Upper Ovens customers last year, we have been through our renewal costs at the most detailed level and reviewed the timing and cost of the inspection regime and all associated administration activities.

Therefore, the outcome of the review of pricing is that the Licence Renewal Fee will not change.

Thank you to our customers and Focus Group

In August 2020 we formed the Upper Ovens Customer Focus Group to help us achieve a better outcome for our licence holders.

We would like to thank the Upper Ovens customers who raised these matters with us and partnered with us to achieve this goal. They gave up many hours, considered technical papers and contributed to robust discussions that informed our reviews and enabled us to achieve this outcome together.

Next steps

We will now issue Upper Ovens customers with a new 15 year licence. In the meantime, if you require any further information about the licence term or licence renewal fees, please contact our Customer Experience Team on 1800 013 357 or email reception@gmwater.com.au