Freedom of Information

Photograph of two GMW employees out in the field having a discussion

You can request access to documents held by Goulburn-Murray Water by applying under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

How to access documents under Freedom of Information (FOI)

A request for access to documents must be in writing and include payment of a $31.80 application fee. Applicants may elect to use the Goulburn Murray Water FOI Application Form.

All requests should be addressed to:

Freedom of Information Officer
Goulburn-Murray Water
PO Box 165
TATURA  VIC  3616

What to include in a request

You need to provide enough information for the documents you seek to be identified.

Requests should be specific and as clear as possible.

If you write your request too broadly access to the documents sought may be refused or you may be charged for documents which you do not intend to receive.

Fees and charges

In addition to the application fee, additional charges may be payable for photocopying, search time and other forms of access. You will be notified if these charges are likely to exceed $50 and asked if you wish to proceed.

You can ask for the application fee to be waived if payment of the fee would cause you financial hardship.

Response

In most cases, Goulburn-Murray Water is required to provide you with a response 30 days after receiving a valid request.

If your request is unclear you may be asked to resubmit it so that the documents you wish to access can be identified.

If a decision is made to deny access to part or all of a document sought, you will be provided with reasons and notified how a review of the decision may be sought.

Further information

Contact the Freedom of Information Officer by telephone (03) 5826 3500 or by email on  foi@gmwater.com.au 

Further FOI information can also be obtained by visiting www.foi.vic.gov.au, opens in a new window

Part II statement

We aim to make our information and documents easily accessible by members of the public. The statements listed in this part outline the functions of Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) and provide a non-exhaustive list of the types of information and documents we hold in relation to our functions.

If you cannot find the information you are searching for after reviewing these statements and conducting a search of our website, we encourage you to phone 1800 012 357 or email  reception@gmwater.com.au and ask if the information or document you are seeking is available. In many instances we will be able to provide you with the information you are seeking without requiring you to make a formal request for access.

GMW is a statutory Corporation constituted by Ministerial Order under the provisions of the Water Act 1989 (the Act). An Independent Board of Directors (the Board) governs GMW. The Board operates under part 6 of the Act and reports annually to the Minister for Water and the Treasurer.

We are ultimately accountable to the Minister for Water and have functions and powers under the Act to provide, manage and operate an irrigation district (pursuant to section 221 of the Act), a water district (pursuant to section 163 of the Act) and a waterway management district (pursuant to section 189 of the Act).

We are Australia’s largest rural water corporation and manage Australia’s largest irrigation delivery network. The irrigated agriculture sector in northern Victoria alone generates more than $6 billion of production value annually and directly supports over 10,000 jobs in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District (GMID).

GMW manages water related services in a region of 68,000 square kilometres, bordered by the Great Dividing Range in the south and the River Murray in the north, stretching from Corryong in the east down river to Nyah. We have more than 20,000 customers using over 39,000 services in northern Victoria. We manage 24 water storages that can hold approximately 11 million ML of water and also have responsibility for managing more than 100,000 hectares of public land surrounding our storages. GMW is the northern Victorian Resource Manager appointed by the Minister for Water and is responsible for making the seasonal determination for all northern Victorian declared water systems. GMW is a partner in the Victorian Water Register which manages more than $7 billion of water entitlements and over $300 million in water share and allocation trade for Victoria.

We are Victoria’s largest inland boating authority and manage boating and recreational activities across the majority of our storages. In addition, we service and supply a diverse range of urban Water Authorities, Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) and the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA).

GMW maintains recreational infrastructure and services and manages safe boating access at 14 of its 24 storages. The non-prescribed management portfolio includes 722 houseboat licences, 11 caravan park leases and 63 clubs. To varying degrees, all the dams managed by GMW are available to the public for recreational use such as boating, fishing and swimming. The 71 recreation reserves located around GMW and MDBA storages are funded by GMW, the MDBA and partly or fully by local Government.

We are also delivering the $2 billion Connections Project (the Project), funded by the Victorian and Commonwealth governments. This is the most significant upgrade to the region’s irrigation infrastructure in its 100-year history and is the largest irrigation modernisation project in Australia.

The Project will automate much of the water delivery network, replace ageing irrigation infrastructure, meet measurement compliance requirements and ensure equitable access to maintain the true value of water. The Project will also reduce the GMID footprint and make water use sustainable by preparing us for future challenges and opportunities. The project has created hundreds of jobs for local contractors, designers, manufacturers and other irrigation industry businesses.

You can also review the following pages which provide further information about our functions:

GMW creates and stores a broad range of electronic and hard copy documents.

Document types

The types of documents that we have in our possession include:

  • policies, procedures and standards;
  • briefings and reports;
  • correspondence;
  • meeting minutes and records;
  • financial records;
  • training and education material;
  • employee records;
  • operational records;
  • images and videos;
  • contracts; and
  • registers.

Document categories

Documents are organised under the following categories:

  • Administrative;
  • Business planning;
  • Training and education;
  • Financial management;
  • Human resources;
  • Legal;
  • Policy; and
  • Operational.

The  Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) (FOI Act) provides you with the right to request access to documents held by GMW. The object of the FOI Act is to extend as far as possible the right of the community to access information in the possession of the Government and other bodies constituted under the law of Victoria.

Before you make a request for access

You are encouraged to check if the information or document you are seeking is already publicly available such as in our annual report, policies and procedures, or other resources available on our website.

Where you cannot find the information or document you are seeking, we encourage you to contact us and ask if the information or document you are seeking is available or can be provided to you. 

Making a request for access

You can make formal request for access by emailing  foi@gmwater.com.au or by sending a request to:

Freedom of Information Officer
Goulburn-Murray Water
PO Box 165
TATURA  VIC  3616

A request must be made in writing, and clearly describe the information or document you are seeking access to. If we cannot clearly identify the information or documents you are requesting, we will contact you to clarify your request.

Processing your request

Once we understand what information or document you are seeking, we will process your request and provide you with a decision as soon as possible but no later than 30 days after the date of your request. Note that we may extend the 30 day period by up to an additional 15 days if consultation with third parties is required.  

GMW produces a number of publications which can be accessed and downloaded from our website.

You can search all our resources which includes reports, Corporate Plans, Water Plans, Customer Charter, Statements of Obligations, policies and other tools.

If you need assistance finding a publication please contact us on 1800 013 357.

We have a range of policies and procedures that govern our daily operations and support the functions of GMW. These include:

  • Asset Management Policy
  • Business Continuity Policy
  • Complaint Handling Policy
  • Compliance Policy
  • Dam Safety Management Policy
  • Diversity Policy, opens in a new window
  • Drone Usage Policy
  • Engagement and Media Policy
  • Environment Policy
  • Family Violence policy
  • Fraud Prevention Policy
  • Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Policy
  • Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy
  • Information Management Policy
  • Information Security Policy
  • Information, Communications and Technology Policy
  • Media Policy
  • People Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Procurement Policy
  • Project Management Policy
  • Protected Disclosure Policy
  • Risk Management Policy
  • Seasonal Determination Policy
  • Social Media Policy
  • Training and Development Policy
  • Treasury Policy
  • Water Trading Policy

GMW publishes an annual report each year. These reports can be viewed and downloaded at our Annual Reports page.