NSW is the leading state in implementing standardised water resource accounting. The General Purpose Water Accounting Reports (GPWAR) adopt the Australian Water Accounting Standard 1 (AWAS 1). The annual GPWAR is prepared for all major regulated NSW inland valleys. The reports are published following the closure of the water year. The annual reports provide stakeholders with consistent and transparent water resource accounting information.

Included in the GPWAR are:

• a contextual statement summarising the climatic conditions, water resources, environmental holdings, water trading market and water resource management in the water source for the reporting period

• a physical flow diagram illustrating changes in storage volumes and the associated inflows and outflows

• water accounting statements presenting the opening and closing balances, and itemised changes to these balances for available water resources (water assets), licenced allocation accounts (water liabilities) and planned environmental water accounts (water liabilities)

• disclosure notes (linked to the figures within the water accounting statements) providing detailed information of accounting components including:

      (i)   access licence account balances planned and held environmental, 
      (ii)  water account balance, 
      (iii) detailed available water determination report,
      (iv)  temporary trading by licence category,
      (v)   supplementary announcements and usage by river reach,
      (vi)  physical inflows and outflows to the system for the water year.

• while groundwater has not been directly included in this GPWAR (aside from those processes that directly affect the regulated river), annual groundwater summary reports by water source are published separately and accessible via the department’s website.