The community has been involved in shaping management reforms.
Consultation to date is outlined below. Future community consultation activities will be promoted through Engage Victoria.
March to April 2018: Governance of the Great Ocean Road
The co-chairs adopted an issue and opportunities-led approach to examining the current governance arrangements for the Great Ocean Road and its landscapes – including the policies, legislation and regulation, institutional arrangements, funding, infrastructure and project delivery.
An initial issues paper, Governance of the Great Ocean Road Region Issues (PDF, 4.7 MB) was developed by the taskforce in consultation with a project reference group and key stakeholders.
The governance of the Great Ocean Road Region Issues paper was publicly released on 21 March 2018 to promote discussion and seek feedback on opportunities to improve the oversight and management of the Great Ocean Road and its landscapes.
The issues paper was available for public comment for six weeks. The taskforce consulted widely (with 21 briefings, listening posts and open house sessions), and the community provided overwhelming feedback in conversations with 780 people and through 570 submissions, that a new management model and greater environmental protection is needed.
Community views one: Governance of the Great Ocean Road Region (PDF, 4.1 MB)
October 2018: Great Ocean Road Action Plan
Following the release of the Great Ocean Road Action Plan, a second phase of community engagement was undertaken with Great Ocean Road communities to outline the Great Ocean Road Action Plan and how their feedback (March-April 2018) had shaped it.
The preferences of local communities were sought on the design of future community involvement in the development of the Great Ocean Road strategic framework plan. The vast majority of people requested face-to-face and online forums, better promotion of community sessions and plenty of advance notice.
Community views 2: Great Ocean Road Action Plan October 2018 (PDF, 978.9 KB)
May to August 2019: Community aspirations for the region
The aspirations of the community for the future of the Great Ocean Road region were sought as the first step in developing a vision and long-term objectives (Action 8 in the Great Ocean Road Action Plan). The vision and objectives are to be given effect through the development of the Strategic Framework Plan.
Feedback was collected from 428 people through intercept surveys, open house sessions, online surveys, and online mapping tools. Participants desire a future with:
- stronger protection of the natural environment, beaches, distinctive characteristics of coastal towns and surrounding landscapes
- greater recognition and celebration of the local Aboriginal history and culture with greater involvement of the Traditional Owners in the storytelling process
- vibrant coastal townships along the Great Ocean Road distinguished by their own unique character and modest, thoughtful development.
- environmentally sustainable visitation with a focus on sustainable transport and energy, and building climate resilient communities.
The next step is for DELWP to work with the Traditional Owner groups and responsible entities to understand their values and objectives. A consultation draft vision and (long-term) objectives for the Great Ocean Road Region will be released in 2021.
Community views 3: Aspirations for the region May to August 2019 (PDF, 4.9 MB)
November to December 2019: Community involvement and funding options
The action plan includes actions to establish an independent statutory authority to manage coastal Crown land in the Great Ocean Road region.
To support implementation of these actions the community was asked how they would like to be involved with the new authority in the future, and for views on possible funding options to support the authority’s operations.
Consultation summarised is from the community, stakeholders were not targeted for this round of consultation.
Community views: responses and submissions
Please view the submissions and surveys of interest to you, submissions have been listed in alphabetical order by the name of the organisation.
Page last updated: 11/11/22