National Skills Standards for Navigating Australia’s Water Markets Now Published 01/09/2021, 2022 & 2023

Water catchments and systems are a vital resource that need to be preserved and managed for the long-term to support the interests of all Australians. For farmers and irrigators, skills to navigate water markets can help improve farm productivity, provide greater choice and flexibility in business decision-making, and help inform risk management.
Over a 12 month period, industry experts with experience in the water trading sector have participated in a project to develop national VET skills standards for water allocations and entitlements.

Three units and two skills sets were created to capture the practical skills required to trade water and understand the intricacies of Australia’s complex trading market. This will support the next generation of farmers and others with water entitlements to effectively navigate Australia’s various water markets. The new units and skill sets are now published on the national training register (training.gov.au).

General Manager Donna Mulcahy endorsed the project stating, “Providing education to irrigation users is a core value for Water Partners, which made this a worthy opportunity to work with you, your team and the other SMEs to produce units which could be utilised across all areas of Irrigated Agriculture. I believe that this will be particularly relevant to both this, and the next generation of young farmers and hope that we may continue to be part of future development.”