6 months until new water trading rules: ACCC

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chief Graeme Samuel says there is now political will to bring about free and efficient water markets.

The consumer watchdog is drawing up new water market rules which are designed to free up trading of water access rights in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Mr Samuel says he believes governments would have liked to have addressed the issue a long time ago, but a number of factors have delayed it, including one of the worst droughts in Australia's history.

He says the new regulations should be in place in the next six months.

"We'll establish those in the near future towards the latter part of this year and then we will take on the role of administering those. That's been done by agreement of the COAG governments," he said.