Members of South Australia’s state government environmental departments have set out the criteria for irrigation funding.

Primary Industries and Regions SA say the new $240 million package is aimed at returning water to the Murray-Darling Basin, with improved criteria to better the outcome of the Irrigation Industry Improvements program.

Funding has been divided across three prongs; each carrying separate investments, aims and requirements. Group executive director Andrew Johnson says applicants will have to conform to the criteria in one of the three streams.

“At a particular point in time, we will release the guidelines so that no-one has a competitive advantage anywhere along the river and what we're looking for are projects which can be a mixture of all three components, so water efficiency, a water buyback at market rates and then an adjustment support mechanism,” he said.

The goal is to get the dual benefit of returning water to the environment while helping irrigators bolster their business.

“Our position is how does industry actually adjust to the provision of that water, what does it mean and how can they accommodate that in a way which doesn't mean that they are competitively disadvantaged compared to other irrigators in the basin?” he said.