The wettest month on record in Victoria had devastating consequences for many communities across the state. The flood event in October 2022 was a significant natural disaster. This Inquiry was an important way to give a voice to those who had lost so much because of these floods, and to help recommend ways that communities and government could better prepare for, respond to, and recover from, future flood disasters.

This report follows an inquiry into the state’s preparedness for and response to Victoria’s major flooding event of the Flood Event, including but not limited to the -

1. causes of and contributors to the Flood Event; 

2. adequacy and effectiveness of early warning systems;

3. resourcing of the State Emergency Service, the adequacy of its response to the Flood Event and the adequacy of its resourcing to deal with increasing floods and natural disasters in the future;

4. implementation and effectiveness of the 2016 Victorian Floodplain Management Strategy in relation to the Flood Event;

5. location, funding, maintenance and effectiveness of engineered structures, such as floodwalls, rural levees and culverts, as a flood mitigation strategy;

6. Flood Event as a whole, including but not limited to, the catchments and floodplains of the —

a. Avoca River; b. Barwon River; c. Broken River; d. Campaspe River; e. Goulburn River; f. Loddon River; g. Maribyrnong River; h. Murray River;

7. the 2007 decision of the Minister for Planning to approve the construction of a flood wall around Flemington Racecourse and whether the growing impacts of climate change were considered; 

8. the implications for future planning decisions including — 

• a. how the Victorian planning framework can ensure climate mitigation is a consideration in future planning decisions; 
• b. how corporate interests may influence decision-making at the expense of communities and climate change preparedness.

Findings and recommendations relate to:

• Victoria’s flood governance arrangements
• Planning and flood risk
• Flood mitigation infrastructure
• Flood emergency warnings
• Resourcing and response of the Victoria State Emergency Service
• Flood recovery

The Government has six months to respond in writing to any recommendations made in this report.