Policy context

The Regional Catchment Strategy is the primary integrated planning framework for land, water and biodiversity in each of Victoria’s ten catchment management authority regions.

The Victorian Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (CaLP Act) promotes and enables integrated catchment management (ICM) across Victoria. The CaLP Act establishes Victoria’s ten catchment management regions, Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) and the requirement for CMAs to prepare a Regional Catchment Strategy (RCS) for their region.

This is the fourth iteration of the strategy since 1997. Each successive RCS has built on previous strategies, evolving over time.

The RCS supports, reinforces and integrates Australian Government and Victorian Government legislative and policy frameworks, and the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Appendix 1 below). Figure 4 shows the RCS’s relationship to Australian Government, Victorian Government, regional and local strategies and plans. A detailed list is included in Appendix 1 (see below).

Figure 4 shows that the RCS:

  • Is informed by a suite of Victorian and Federal Government legislation, policies and strategies,
  • Gives regional context to state and federal legislation and policy,
  • Complements, supports and informs local and regional strategies and plans related to economic, social, cultural and environmental wellbeing,
  • Is an overarching succinct and high-level strategy, with reference to more comprehensive, targeted and detailed supporting information found elsewhere, including regional sub-strategies and action plans.
Diagram showing that the RCS: Is informed by a suite of Victorian and Federal Government legislation, policies and strategies, Gives regional context to state and federal legislation and policy, Complements, supports and informs local and regional strategies and plans related to economic, social, cultural and environmental wellbeing, Is an overarching succinct and high-level strategy, with reference to more comprehensive, targeted and detailed supporting information found elsewhere, including regional sub-strategies and action plans.

Figure 4: Policy context for the Wimmera Regional Catchment Strategy