Current Assessments & Advice

Assessment of the values of State forests in eastern Victoria

On 25 October 2024, VEAC was requested by the Minister for the Environment Steve Dimopoulos MP to carry out an assessment of the values of State forests within eastern Victoria. The assessment will inform the work of the Great Outdoors Taskforce in its provision of advice and recommendations to the Minister on the future use and management of state forest areas. VEAC is not required to undertake public consultation or make recommendations. The purpose of the assessment is to identify:

• the biodiversity, ecological, geological and geomorphological values of the specified area
• the historic heritage, social and economic values of the specified area
• the current and likely future threats to those values, including climate change.

Assessment of the values of Immediate Protection Areas in the Strathbogie Ranges and Mirboo North

VEAC’s final report on its assessment of the values of state forests in the Immediate Protection Areas (IPAs) in the Strathbogie Ranges and Mirboo North has now been released. The report was submitted to the Minister on 31 July 2022. It updates the reports published in March 2022 and includes an assessment of the potential economic implications of proposed land use changes recommended by the Eminent Panel for Community Engagement EPCE and provided to the Council.

Advice on Aspects of Public Land Use Information

Two reports were submitted to the Minister for Environment Ingrid Stitt MP on 28 April 2023 providing VEAC's completed advice on aspects of public land use information. The advice was requested by the previous Minister the Hon Lily D'Ambrosio MP on 30 November 2020. Separate reports were provided on (a) data on recreational activities on Victoria's public land and (b) improving the VEACRecs25 dataset on agreed public land use.

Assessment of early government-accepted Land Conservation Council recommendations

VEAC was requested on 5 September 2022 by the previous Minister, the Hon Lily D’Ambrosio MP, to assess the status of government-accepted public land use category recommendations, in relation to particular areas of land, made by the LCC between 1973 and 1983, and which have not been subsequently reviewed. The Council provided its completed advice to the Minister for Environment Ingrid Stitt MP on 5 June 2023.

Assessment of the values of state forests in the Central Highlands

Please note that VEAC is not undertaking public consultation or making recommendations to Government during this assessment. These roles are the responsibility of the Eminent Panel for Community Engagement. On 20 March 2023, VEAC was requested by the then Minister for Environment to assess the values of Immediate Protection Areas in the Central Highlands and East Gippsland, and in adjacent state forests. The Terms of Reference were amended on 11 September 2023 to focus on all the state forests in the Central Highlands Regional Forest Agreement area and VEAC’s interim report addressing those Terms of Reference was published in December 2023. On 31 July 2024, Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos MP extended the date for VEAC to submit its final report to one month after the Government publicly releases the Eminent Panel on Community Engagement’s report on Central Highlands state forest.