In 2004 all Australian governments signed a world’s best practice blueprint for water reform – The National Water Initiative. The NWI explicitly recognises the need to identify Aboriginal water values, their water requirements and water provision for current or future native title claims. While the NWI parties have made progress in identifying all water user requirements and values, significant opportunities remain to;

•        More effectively engage and consult with Aboriginal communities to better account for their water values and requirements in water planning; and

•        To encourage greater Aboriginal leadership in water planning and management issues.

This presentation provides an insight into how Indigenous people in NSW have engaged to build the necessary capacity to be proactively involved in water planning and management to the extent of being a key player in the water market trading. Cultural Flows have now been integrated into all water sharing plans across NSW.