The Coastal Climate Change Advisory Committee (CCCAC) has been charged with considering how planning on the coast in Victoria currently operates, and whether it can meet our needs into the future as impacts increase in rate and intensity. This  project is complementary to the Victorian Government’s flagship coastal program, Future Coasts, being undertaken by the Department of Sustainability and Environment.

The CCCAC has been established under Section 151 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. The Committee will advise the Minister for Planning how Victoria’s land-use planning and development controls can best support the Victorian Government’s policy for managing the coastal impacts of climate change. This policy was outlined in the Victorian Coastal Strategy released in December 2008.

Key areas for consideration by the CCCAC include:

• The operation and appropriateness of existing Victoria Planning Provisions (VPP) for example, policy, zones and overlays, in considering coastal climate change impacts.
• The form of new or amended VPP provisions to facilitate the use of emerging vulnerability information from the Government’s Future Coasts program.
• Consideration of international and national approaches, frameworks etc and relevant case studies within Australia which are relevant to the Victorian context.
• The use and application of appropriate coastal hazard assessment methods and information within current or proposed planning and development control provisions of the VPP.
• Relevant regulatory and legislative arrangements which interact with Victoria’s land-use planning system.

The Issues and Options Paper has been prepared to provide background for the Committee’s views at this point in time and as an important input to its development of final recommendations to the Minister for Planning late in 2010. It is hoped it will help generate new ideas and stimulate debate about how the Victorian planning system may respond to the challenges of climate change on the coast.

Read more about the CCCAC Issues and Options Paper on Department Planning and Community Development Website