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Bancoora Coastal Adaptation Plan

Published on 21 August 2024

About the Project

Bancoora Beach and Breamlea foreshore is treasured for its cultural values, natural beauty and as a place to unwind and get away from it all.

This area has a dynamic coastline shaped by the natural processes of shifting sand. The coast will continue to shift and change in response to rising seas and greater storms in the coming years. These changes may include parts of the coast being inundated and other areas being eroded and reshaped by sand movement.

Barwon Coast has been working, alongside Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, to understand these dynamic changes, how they may impact on the important cultural, environmental and social values of the foreshore, and what we can do to adapt and plan for these changes.

Final Bancoora Coastal Adaptation Plan feedback released

Thank you to all those who took the time to review the draft Plan, attend a community engagement event or provide feedback – your voices informed the finalisation of the Bancoora Coastal Adaptation Plan.

Following a review of the community and stakeholder feedback, it was decided that we should release the Bancoora Coastal Adaptation Technical Report alongside the Bancoora Coastal Adaptation Plan.

Please find links to the Bancoora Coastal Adaptation Plan, and the Technical Report, below:

Bancoora Coastal Adaptation Plan

Bancoora Coastal Adaptation Plan Technical Report

We have also updated the Bancoora CAP Frequently Asked Questions.

Community engagement

Community input was sought between August and October 2025 to understand what is valued in the area. This included a public online survey which received 55 responses and six targeted interviews with residents and a member of the Bancoora Surf Life Saving Club.

The consultation period aiming to get public feedback on draft Bancoora Coastal Adaptation Plan was open from Thursday, 26 March to Sunday, 3 May, 2026, and included a community drop-in session on Saturday 18 April, a survey, email submissions and a pop-up information session at the One Planet festival. More detail can be found in the Closing the Loop report below:

Closing the Loop Report

We thank everyone who took the time to review the draft Plan and provide feedback.

What happens next?

The Bancoora Coastal Adaptation Plan followed Victoria’s Coastal Hazard Risk Management and Adaptation Planning Framework and covers Stages 1–5 of the process. These stages focus on understanding coastal hazards, identifying the values that may be affected, assessing risks, and developing adaptation pathways and actions to respond to future coastal change.

Barwon Coast will complete stages Stage 6 (Plan and implement) and Stage 7 (Ongoing monitoring and review) in a separate process.

Detailed decisions about priorities, timing, funding, design, approvals and delivery of adaptation options will be considered during these later stages. Community members, stakeholders and land managers will be consulted as adaptation actions are planned and implemented.

Implementation will also be guided by Barwon Coast’s broader planning framework, including the Corporate Plan, annual operational plans, the Coastal and Marine Management Plan (CMMP) and other relevant strategies. Progress, coastal conditions and emerging information will continue to be monitored over time to ensure management approaches remain appropriate and effective.

Project Stages

This project followed the statewide Victoria’s Resilient Coast Adapting for 2100+ Framework and Guidelines. This project is funded to complete stages 1 to 5 of the Framework. Stages 6 and 7 (implement and monitoring) will be undertaken in future years.

Stage 1: Scope and project preparation.

Stage 2: Understanding the cultural, environmental and social values of the beach and foreshore (includes community engagement).

Stage 3: Identify the extent of coastal hazards (erosion and inundation) in the study area.

Stage 4: Consider the impact of the coastal hazards on the values of the area (includes community engagement).

Stage 5: Develop a plan for how we respond and adapt to these future impacts (includes community engagement).

Related documents

More information