Environmental watering infrastructure

Victorian Murray Floodplains Restoration Project (VMFRP) governance oversight and project management activities in 2024–25 included:

• Execution of funding agreements with Mallee and North Central CMAs totalling $4.062 million to:
  • Conduct baseline monitoring, evaluation and reporting across sites to mitigate risk and demonstrate project benefit as required by the regulatory approvals (under the Environment Effects Act 1978 and Planning and Environment Act 1987); and
  • Empower and support Traditional Owners to identify floodplain aspirations and activities across the project area so that the potential Traditional Owner benefits of the VMFRP are realised.
• Development of an Aboriginal cultural heritage guidance note to enable the Mallee and North Central CMAs to meet the project’s regulatory approval conditions (under the Environment Effects Act 1978 and Planning and Environment Act 1987).

The Living Murray (TLM) activities for 2024–25 included:

• Provision of funding to Goulburn-Broken, North Central and Mallee Catchment Management Authorities and DEECA’s Arthur Rylah Institute. This was to align condition monitoring methods across TLM and VMFRP programs, ensure on-going and robust monitoring data management and oversight, and to update planning documents.

The Victorian Constraints Program (CMP) activities for 2024–25 included:

• Provision of funding to the Goulburn Broken and North East Catchment Management Authorities to deliver stand-alone projects that will prepare for the next round of works supporting Victoria’s obligations under the Murray–Darling Basin Plan for constraints.

Victorian Murray Floodplains Restoration Project (VMFRP) governance oversight and project management activities in 2025–26 included:

• Mallee and North Central Catchment Management Authorities completed ecological and socio-economic baseline monitoring programs, conducted since 2021, to enable project benefit to be measured over time, support the environmental approvals process and adaptive management.
• Mallee and North Central Catchment Management Authorities completed ongoing work with Traditional Owner groups to ensure that Traditional Owner values and aspirations are integrated into the VMFRP objectives and support the Aboriginal cultural heritage obligations as part of the Environment Management Framework for the projects.

The Living Murray (TLM) activities for 2025–26 included:

• Goulburn-Broken, North Central and Mallee Catchment Management Authorities have undertaken field sampling at all four Victorian Living Murray Icon Sites to facilitate alignment of understory and wetland vegetation condition monitoring methods across TLM and VMFRP sites.
• DEECA’s Arthur Rylah Institute is collating all TLM data and will complete data analysis to implement understory and wetland vegetation condition monitoring at Victorian Living Murray Icon Sites that is aligned to VMFRP monitoring in the final year of EC6.
• North Central and Mallee Catchment Management Authorities have commenced preparatory work to update TLM planning documents.

The Victorian Constraints Program (CMP) activities for 2025–26 included:

• Funding of up to $8.792 million was secured from the Australian Government to support priority Victorian Constraints Measures Program activities across the Goulburn, Murray and Campaspe rivers.
• Funded activities include:
  • investigation of environmental water infrastructure options at Molesworth Billabong with Taungurung Land and Waters Council
  • pre-construction investigations and approvals for the Ryans Lagoon Complex Environmental Water Delivery Infrastructure project
  • scoping requirements for the Campaspe River Increased Flows Technical Assessment.
• Contributed information and community-led insights through the Murray-Darling Basin Authority-led Constraints Relaxation Advisory Group, which supported the work of the Independent Advisory Panel on Murray-Goulburn constraints relaxation.