Amendment C52pryn Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding how areas are affected by flooding is crucial to planning, making informed decisions on how land should be used and developed, ensuring properties aren’t impacted by neighbouring development and planning for emergency responses.

A few years ago, Council and the Catchment Management Authorities received state and federal government grants to complete flood studies.  The flood studies are a technical investigation of flood behaviour in a specific area, aiming to define flood depths, extents, and velocities.  The study will inform Council and government agency responsibilities like building, land use planning, community awareness, and disaster management. 

The studies recommended that Council updates flood related planning controls in the planning scheme to ensure compliance with Victorian planning and building regulations.

Flood related planning overlays are a form of flood mitigation.  An overlay uses a precautionary approach to mitigate potential impact on people, property, infrastructure and the environment through the appropriate siting and design of development.

Often planning overlays are the most appropriate form of mitigation when a cost benefit analysis is considered against expensive structural works such as constructing levees.

The 2012 Victorian Floods Review noted that land use planning and building controls were generally more cost effective than flood mitigation infrastructure, flood warning systems, education programs or emergency responses.

The studies identify several properties that are subject to flooding in the 1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP). That means there is a 1% chance of a flood of this magnitude occurring, or being exceeded, in any one year.

Properties likely to be impacted are near rivers, creeks, waterways, wetlands, drainage areas and tributaries.

Updating flood-related planning controls via an amendment to the Planning Scheme may be considered as a mitigation to future flood events.

Council has obligations under Victorian legislation, including the Planning and Environment Act 1987, Water Act 1989, Building Act 1993, Local Government Act 2020 and the Climate Change Act 2017, which place responsibility and a duty of care upon councils to appropriately plan for and manage flood risk.

This includes preparing planning scheme amendments to implement up-to-date flood mapping, zoning and overlay provisions tailored to address local circumstances.

Council has also contributed significantly, including financial, time and staff resources, to the Flood Study that informed the amendment, as well as drafting the amendment.

Floods burden significant costs to communities.  As an example, the 2022 Victorian flood caused devastating economic impacts on the Local Governments of Murrindindi, Moira, Strathbogie and Mitchell. Overall, the flood’s cost for these Councils totalled $432 million. This includes damages to public infrastructure, losses of agricultural produce, business disruptions, residential and commercial damages, and emergency response costs. The economic impact of the floods outlasts the recession of waters as infrastructure and capital can take years to be fixed or rebuilt (Deloitte, 2023).

Flood overlays ensure there’s a signal to landowners to advise them that land is flood prone, enables transparency for landowners and future landowners, and allows landowners to plan for flood resilience. When a flood overlay is recognised on a site, the site is shown on the Vendors Statement - Section 32 as flood prone.  Without the overlay, this information is not disclosed.

A planning scheme sets out how land is used and developed within a municipality, and a planning scheme amendment is a legal change to a local planning scheme.

An amendment responds to the recommendations in the flood study and consists of applying flood related overlays in flood prone areas. The proposed overlays include:

•  ‘Floodway Overlay’
• ‘Land Subject to Inundation Overlay’

The overlays will ensure any land development in these areas considers the appropriate level of flood risk, and landowners are notified that a risk is apparent.  A Floodway Overlay typically represents land that is high risk, and the Land Subject to Inundation Overlay is for land that is medium risk. 

This means any future building, works and subdivisions may require a planning permit as land included in the overlay needs to be assessed for flooding hazards before works begin.  There will also be exemptions so not all buildings and works will require a planning permit.

The flood overlays will prompt the early consideration of flood risks in the planning process. The assessment will be undertaken by the Catchment Management Authority. Landowners will have the tools to ensure how their building design can mitigate against potential flooding hazards (e.g. raising the floor level).

An overlay identifies an issue that needs to be considered when buildings and works are being developed on land e.g. flooding, bushfire, heritage.

A Flood Overlay requires that flooding hazards need to be considered when developing land.  This includes the Land Subject to Inundation Overlay (LSIO), Special Building Overlay (SBO) and Floodway Overlay (FO).

To apply a new overlay, a planning scheme amendment is required.

An overlay only relates to buildings and works, not land use.

No, there are buildings and works that do not require a permit.

If you are unsure about whether you need a permit, contact Council’s Statutory Planning team.

Properties likely to be impacted are near rivers, creeks, waterways, wetlands, drainage areas and tributaries. The flood study found that specific areas during a 1% AEP flood event are flood prone. The 1% AEP is considered the ‘design event’ and that is what planning and building legislation must consider when nominating areas as flood prone in Australia.

It’s important that you identify your land on the map and understand whether your land is designated with a ‘Land Subject to Inundation Overlay’ or ‘Floodway Overlay’ or a combination.

Flood study maps and overlay maps, while both related to flood risk, serve different purposes. Flood study maps provide detailed information on flood risk, while overlays are used in planning schemes to regulate development in flood-prone areas, ensuring compatibility with flood risk through the planning permit process.

The overlays are applied to different areas having regard to factors such as flood depth, velocity, natural storage, flood duration, warning time and climate change based on a 1% AEP flood extent.

If an amendment is adopted you may need a planning permit, or development that is incompatible with risk may not be supported.

This will ensure that any future development or subdivision of your land recognises that the land may be subject to flooding.

However, there are many exemptions to needing a planning permit in a flood related overlay.  This is because Council wants to ensure buildings are flood resilient rather than apply controls to restrict land development.

A planning permit is already needed to subdivide land, and an amendment will not change this.

If an amendment is implemented, flooding issues will be considered when determining whether your land can be subdivided.

You would need to demonstrate how any proposed subdivision would ensure any new buildings and access ways are not affected by flooding.

Yes, you can still farm on your land.

A flood related overlay amendment will not impact grazing or cropping.

It may affect new built structures such as sheds and fences and works such as earthworks and mounds.

The hydrological study and hydraulic modelling as captured in the Flood Study has demonstrated that this land is subject to flooding in a 1% AEP flood event.

A 1% AEP event is a flood that has a 1% chance of occurring, or being exceeded, within one year. This is the accepted standard applied to flood management in Victoria, and nationwide.

Other events that have occurred on your site may have been less than 1% AEP event.  Places like Rochester have had floods which are larger than a 1% AEP event.

If your land is designated with a ‘Land Subject to Inundation Overlay’ or ‘Floodway Overlay’, it does not necessarily mean that your land will be flooded regularly.

It means that if there is a significant flood event, your land is likely to be subject to flooding.

A flood study nominates an 1% AEP flood event by using hydrologic and hydraulic models to simulate flood flows, levels, and velocities, often calibrated against historical data, to determine the probability of a flood of a certain size occurring in any given year.  A 1% AEP is the design standard across Australia for planning and building legislation, or the threshold frequency of flooding.

Other events that have occurred on your site may have been less than 1%AEP event.  Places like Rochester have had floods which are higher than a 1%AEP event.  You can ask us to demonstrate previous event flood study modelling for your site if we have the information for this.

The proposed overlay reflects an area which has been investigated by a flood study. The Council and CMA receive funding to undertake a study within a confined and/or nominated area.  A flood study boundary can be influenced by several things, including project budget and model sensitivity at flood study boundaries.

The flood study defines the nature of flood hazard across the floodplain by providing information on the extent, depth and velocity of floodwaters, and on the distribution of flood flows. The flood study forms the basis for subsequent management studies and needs to consider a full range of flood events up to and including the largest probable flood, however the overlays will only show the 1%AEP.

Properties that don’t have an overlay may be subject to flooding under a larger flood event; or these properties may be outside the flood study area.

Insurance providers each have their own processes for calculating premiums, so it’s best to speak directly with your insurance provider.

Insurance providers typically have access to local flood study information regardless of what flood overlay information is present in planning schemes.

For more information, visit Insurance Council of Australia:

www.insurancecouncil.com.au/resource/flood-insurance-explained/

It is difficult to determine whether an amendment will affect your property value.

There are many factors that influence property value, but the designation of an area as ‘subject to inundation’ does not cause or change the likelihood of flooding. It merely recognises the existing condition of the land its potential for future flooding.  This gives more certainty to prospective purchases rather than assumptions of flood inundation or no information at all.

A flood event, rather than floodplain designation or an overlay, is likely to have a greater effect on property values (Yeo, S, 2003). 

In previous instances where an independent planning panel has been asked to consider and report on submissions opposing the application of a flooding control, the issue of property devaluation has been considered and rejected by the panel (c205warr Panel Report).

It is noted that land values are generally not a relevant consideration in determining the merits of an Amendment (c116cola Panel Report).

Where the amendment recommends the application of a flood overlay upon a property, the overlay seeks to protect the site and surrounding sites from future development that can make flood impacts on those properties worse. It is a responsibility of Council to plan to reduce the impacts of development occurring in areas potentially prone to natural disasters such as flood and bushfire. For example, State policy in Clause 13 Environmental Risks and Amenity identifies that planning should strengthen the resilience and safety of communities, and should identify, prevent and minimise the risk of harm to the environment, human health and amenity by applying effective controls to prevent or mitigate significant impacts.

The designation of an area as ‘subject to flooding’ does not cause or change the likelihood of flooding but recognises the existing condition of land and its potential to flood. As a result, the outcome of the study or application of overlays has not changed the conditions of the land and does not result in compensation consideration.

Property valuations are generally conducted every few years, meaning they might not account for recent changes in the property market or significant improvements made to your home. Because of this, the council valuation can be quite different from the market value of your property, or the highest and best use estimated at the last valuation.

Council has legal obligations to the community under various acts including the Local Government Act, Planning and Environment Act and Building Act to undertake planning for reducing risk and harm for constituents.

State planning policy identifies that planning should strengthen the resilience and safety of communities, and should identify, prevent and minimise the risk of harm to the environment, human health and amenity by applying effective controls to prevent or mitigate significant impacts, like flooding.

At this stage, the most practical and economical solution to manage flood prone land in these areas is to manage new development, such as new houses, shed, extensions, fences, and walls. The proposed buildings and works are considered by the relevant authority, who might request modifications to the buildings such as floor levels or moving the building away from flood risk.

These building standards will not only protect new development from flood damage, but also protect neighbouring properties from the issues when flood waters are diverted or changed. Without flood overlays, landowners may unknowingly construct buildings in flood areas which can make flooding worse for existing buildings and property.

Implementing engineering mitigation works such as levees, walls or drainage management is the responsibility for Council subject to budget, design and cost-benefit analysis. The flood study has prioritized a planning scheme amendment as the most cost-effective mitigation option. The study has nominated overlays based upon an examination of current land conditions and how potential flood events affect land and properties.

Undertaking works to reduce flood impacts on properties can be undertaken by landowners if they can demonstrate the works won’t make flooding worse for neighbouring properties. The Department of Energy Environment and Climate Change hold land management responsibility for the Crown Land areas and can carry out mitigation and vegetation management activities across the region according to available budget, resourcing and priority risk areas. For those parts of the creek under private ownership, it is the responsibility of landowners to carry out vegetation management on their land. This work may be subject to permits from Council and the Catchment Management Authority.

This is a matter outside the scope of the Flood Study, and outside the scope of the planning scheme amendment.

The water in some reservoirs is owned by a water corporation and particular arrangements apply to managing and sharing this resource. Typically, waterways in the upper catchments are unregulated and not influenced by dams and reservoirs.

You can find more information, including the flood study and maps via Councils webpage:
Flood Studies - Pyrenees Shire Council

You can read the Planning Scheme Ordinance and mapping at Pyrenees Planning Scheme:
Planning Scheme Amendment C52pryn

You can also speak to our Planning team by calling 1300 797 363 or emailing pyrenees@pyrenees.vic.gov.au

You can make a submission on the draft planning scheme amendment by contacting Council:

• Phone: 1300 797 363 and ask to speak to the planning team.
• Email: pyrenees@pyrenees.vic.gov.au
• Post: 5 Lawrence Street, Beaufort VIC 3373

All submissions must be submitted in writing, either by letter or email.

Your submission must include the following:
• Your reasons for making a submission
• Suggestions that would help Council resolve your objections
• Your postal address
• Your phone number

Unresolved submissions may be:
•  Referred to a Standing Advisory Committee for Flood Related Overlays
•  Contacted directly by the Minister for Planning

The SAC will only consider submissions relevant to land use planning, or to the purpose and content of Draft Planning Scheme Amendment C52pyr. The SAC is not required to consider the technical methodology used to prepare flood studies or flood mapping.

Please note that information contained in your submission, excluding personal information, may be published in Council reports, Panel or Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) reports, or provided to the Minister for Planning. Submissions may also be made available for public viewing at Council offices, libraries, and on Council’s website. The Minister for Planning’s office may contact submitters directly.