Floodplain management and the environment
Draft Victorian Floodplain Management Strategy
The Victorian Government is seeking public feedback on the Draft Victorian Floodplain
Management Strategy.
The proposed policies, actions and accountabilities set the policy direction for floodplain
management in Victoria.
Information in this handout sets out the proposals in the draft strategy that relate to floodplain
management and the environment.
The draft strategy aims to better prepare Victoria for severe flooding by improving the
evaluation and communication of flood risks. In this way it aims to enable communities and
relevant agencies to take better-informed actions to manage floods.
The draft strategy builds on important lessons from the 2010, 2011 and 2012 floods. It also
integrates the outcomes of the subsequent review into the effectiveness of flood warning and
response systems, and the inquiry into flood mitigation infrastructure.
Linking with Victorian Waterway Management Strategy
The Victorian Waterway Management Strategy (VWMS) provides the framework for
maintaining and improving the condition of Victoria’s rivers, estuaries and wetlands. It aims to
ensure that waterways continue to support environmental, social, cultural and economic values
for all Victorians.
Regional floodplain management strategies must also align as closely as practicable with the
policies and objectives of relevant regional waterway management strategies. For example, the
policies and actions for engagement with Aboriginal groups in regional waterway strategies also
apply to regional floodplain management strategies.
The Draft Victorian Floodplain Management Strategy stipulates that flood mitigation activities
on waterways (such as clearing vegetation, and removal of debris and sediment) must be
carried out in ways that are consistent with the VWMS. It proposes to prepare guidelines that
will consider the risks of any proposed activities relating to flood mitigation on waterways.
The strategy proposes to streamline environmental approvals processes in relation to
floodplain management and provide practical advice on how applicants can meet their
obligations to protect environmental values.
Image deleted showing Tyrell Creek North of Culgoa Source: Mallee Catchment Management
Authority
Incorporating environmental values into floodplain management
Floodplains are valuable places for communities, farmers and Aboriginal groups; they are also
valuable for the environment.
When we act to protect urban and rural areas from flood risk, it is important that we do not
diminish the cultural heritage or environmental values of floodplains. We also need to take into
account the benefits that flooding provides to the environment.
The links between river channels and their natural floodplains are important for the overall
health of river systems. For example, floods transfer carbon and nutrients between rivers and
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floodplains. This is important for the health of plants, fish and other animal populations. It also
helps to prevent water quality problems.
The Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH) was been set up in recognition of the need
to maintain and improve environmental values in waterways. It has the explicit objective of
returning some flows back to river systems to achieve environmental outcomes. Primarily, the
VEWH’s focus is on providing flows solely within the river channel, well below levels that pose a
risk to private land or infrastructure. However, in some instances, it is possible to actively
deliver environmental water to the floodplain. This occurs mainly on public land, such as
National Parks and State Forests, but may also occur on private land with the consent of the
landholder.
Considering the environmental benefits of flood mitigation activities
Victoria protects environmental values through a number of Acts of Parliament, each requiring
different approval processes. The segmentation of these approvals can make individuals
hesitant about taking action to protect themselves against flood risks. For this reason, the
Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) is working to streamline
environmental approvals in relation to floodplain management.
The Draft Victorian Floodplain Management Strategy incorporates a framework to address flood
risk by making individuals and organisations more accountable for their actions and by
requiring them to consider the impacts of what they propose on the environment. For example,
maintenance activities on Crown land will still need to comply with the legal obligations that
protect Aboriginal, cultural heritage and environmental values.
Under the strategy, DEPI will prepare guidelines on how to apply for permits to maintain levees
on Crown land. This will include practical advice on how the applicants for these permits can
meet their obligations to protect environmental values.
Image deleted of In stream debris after 2011 flood at Hepburn Regional Park Source: DEPI
Permitting flood mitigation activities on waterways
Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) and Melbourne Water (MW) have an important
role, under the Water Act 1989, in authorising individuals and organisations to carry out
activities on waterways. The Draft Floodplain Management Strategy proposes a framework to
authorise individuals, infrastructure managers, councils and other authorities to carry out flood
mitigation activities on waterways. The framework will deal with large-scale flood mitigation
projects, which typically benefit urban communities, as well as small-scale activities that may
benefit individual landholders.
The beneficiaries of flood mitigation activities must be willing to cover the ongoing costs of such
activities. Authorisation for these activities will be given where it is cost effective, that is, have
demonstrable benefits in terms of reduced average annual damage (AAD) and those benefits are
greater than any costs to waterway health. .
Streamlining environmental approvals to maintain levees on Crown land
Changes to the Water Act 1989 propose a new permit system that will enable CMAs to issue
individuals with permits to maintain existing levees on Crown land. They will be able to
maintain existing levees at their current heights (including scope to restore sunken or eroded
sections) and their current lengths, but they will not be able to increase their heights or lengths.
It is also proposed that a person holding a levee maintenance permit will not require a permit
under the relevant Municipal Planning Scheme. However, their maintenance activities will have
to comply with legal obligations that protect Aboriginal, cultural heritage and environmental
values.
Detailed information on the environment and floodplain management and a range of matters
relating to floodplain management in Victoria can be found in the Draft Victorian Floodplain
Management Strategy, available at www.vic.gov.au/floodplainmanagementstrategy or by
calling the Department of Environment and Primary Industries customer service centre on 136
186.
Your chance to have a say
The Victorian Government welcomes feedback on the Draft Victorian Floodplain Management
Strategy. Submissions must be in writing and may be emailed to VMFS.Inquiry@depi.vic.gov.au
or sent to:
Victorian Floodplain Management Strategy
PO Box 500
East Melbourne VIC 3002
The closing date for submissions is Monday 11 August 2014.
You need to know

The information you provide in your submission, or in any other response, will only be used
by DEPI and the Interdepartmental Stakeholder Reference Group to consider as part of the
development of the final strategy. However, it may be disclosed to other relevant agencies as
part of the consultation process.

All submissions will be treated as public documents and will also be published on the
internet for public access.

All addresses, phone numbers and email details will be removed before submissions are
published on the internet. Formal requests for confidentiality will be honoured but freedom
of information access requirements will apply to submissions treated as confidential.
If you wish to access information in your submission once it is lodged with DEPI, you may
contact the project team at the above address. © The State of Victoria Department of Environment and
Primary Industries 2014
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. You are free to re-use the work
under that licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria as author. The licence does not apply to
any images, photographs or branding, including the Victorian Coat of Arms, the Victorian Government logo and
the Department of Environment and Primary Industries logo. To view a copy of this licence, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en
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ISBN 978-1-74146-071-1 (Print) 978-1-74146-072-8 (pdf)
Accessibility
If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format, please telephone the DEPI Customer Service
Centre on 136186, email customer.service@depi.vic.gov.au or via the National Relay Service on 133 677
www.relayservice.com.au. This document is also available on the internet at www.depi.vic.gov.au
Disclaimer
This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the
publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims
all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this
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