Australian Water Information Dictionary

Standards: Water Accounting Conceptual Framework

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accountability

Includes but is not limited to, responsibilities under legislation, regulations or operational plans. It also means the responsibility to provide information that enable users to make informed judgements about the management of water resources.

This definition applies to:

accrual basis of water accounting

Recording and reporting the effects of transactions, transformations and other events when the decision or commitments that give rise to them occur. This may not necessarily be the time at which water is physically transacted, transferred or transformed. Accrual water accounting ensures that transactions, transformations and other events are recorded in and reported in the reporting periods to which they relate.

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assurance

To provide independent attestation that the reports have been prepared in accordance with approved water accounting standards and other approved pronouncements governing the content of the reports and are consistent with the concepts in the Water Accounting Conceptual Framework. Assurance reduces the risk that the information provided is incorrect.

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claims to water

A right to water or an interest or claim associated with a right to water.

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compliance

Adherence to relevant externally-imposed requirements, or with broader notions of best practice relevant to water reporting entities, such as statutory requirements, regulations, rules, ordinances, or directives, in respect of which non-compliance may have, or may have had, an economic, environmental or social effect.

This definition applies to:

general purpose water accounting report

A water accounting report intended to meet the information needs common to users who are unable to command the preparation of water accounting reports tailored to satisfy their information needs. A general purpose water accounting report is prepared in accordance with Australian Water Accounting Standards and comprises a Contextual Statement, an Accountability Statement, water accounting statements and accompanying note disclosures.

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groundwater

Subsurface water in soils and geological formations that are fully saturated.

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group water accounting report

The water accounting report of a group water report entity presented as a single water entity.

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group water report entity

A water report entity comprising individual water entities and for which a group water accounting report is required to be prepared under a regulation, statute or directive.

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legal obligation

An obligation that derives from: (a) a contract, (b) legislation, or (c) other operation of law.

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net water assets

The excess of the water assets of the water report entity after deducting all of its water liabilities.

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reporting date

The end of the last day of the reporting period.

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reporting period

The period for which a water accounting report is prepared.

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rights to water

Include a broad array of rights, with associated obligations, to access and use water or to have access to water infrastructure and may arise from common or statute law. Such rights include but are not limited to: riparian rights to water in a stream, water access licence or entitlements, annual water allocations, the right to a water supply service that may be subject to restrictions, shares in water distribution infrastructure capacity, the right to trade water entitlement or annual water allocation.

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special purpose water accounting report

A water accounting report tailored to the information needs of a user able to command this information.

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surface water

Water that flows over or is stored on the surface of the earth.

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water

The liquid that descends from clouds as rain and forms streams, lakes, groundwater aquifers and seas. Water is a chemical compound comprising two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. Water may exist in solid, liquid or gaseous form.

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water accounting

A systematic process of identifying, recognising, quantifying, reporting and assuring information about water, the rights or other claims to that water and the obligations against that water.

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water accounting report

May be either a general purpose water accounting report or a special purpose water accounting report.

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water accounting statements

Comprise the Statement of Water Assets and Water Liabilities, the Statement of Changes in Water Assets and Water Liabilities, and the Statement of Water Flows.

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water asset

Water, or the rights or other claims to water, which the water report entity holds or transfers, and from which the water report entity, or stakeholders of the water report entity, derive future benefits.

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water entity

An entity that:

(a) holds or transfers water; or

(b) holds or transfers rights or other direct or indirect claims to water; or

(c) has inflows and/or outflows of water.

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water liability

A present obligation of the water report entity, the discharge of which is expected to result in a decrease in the water report entity’s water assets or an increase in another water liability.

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water report entity

A water entity in respect of which it is reasonable to expect the existence of users who depend on general purpose water accounting reports for information about water, or rights or other claims to water, which will be useful to them for making and evaluating decisions about the allocation of resources.

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water storage

The total water in water assets.

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