Read about the latest news, events and research from VicWater, and your colleagues around the Victorian water sector.
VicWater Update October 2024
Last month was a busy one for the VicWater team, with our Annual Conference taking place at the Langham in Melbourne. We were delighted to welcome a sell-out crowd to help us explore our conference theme of ‘Environmental Stewardship: Caring for Country and advancing sustainability in the Victorian water sector’.
Day One keynote speaker Professor Tim Flannery set the scene with an overview of the impacts of climate change, pointing out that our water systems were built for a climate that no longer exists – which brings much uncertainty, but also a lot of opportunity for our sector.
Day Two keynote speaker Victor Steffensen gave a heartfelt presentation about how we can learn from Indigenous knowledge systems to restore and maintain a healthy environment, or to quote him directly, “let the landscape lead us forward”.
Other conference sessions covered topics including the impact of extreme weather events on the Victorian economy, the latest advancements in PFAS removal, how the sector is tackling climate adaptation and corporate sustainability, key lessons on achieving environmental compliance, and how Integrated Water Management (IWM) can support thriving communities.
A particular highlight for me was the panel discussion on Traditional Owner water governance, facilitated by Dr Erin O’Donnell and featuring Jackson Chatfield, Executive Director of Birrarung Council and Dr Sarina Loo, CEO of the Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH). It was great to hear about the work these organisations are doing to give effect to the Water is Life roadmap through their partnerships with Traditional Owner groups.
This year we were especially thrilled to introduce our new Emerging Leaders initiative to recognise and support emerging leaders, nominated by their organisation, with a complimentary ticket to attend the conference. We were so pleased to provide a cohort of 20 emerging leaders with this opportunity to spend time with their peers and expand their industry knowledge and professional network – plus a photo op with Minister Shing at dinner! The feedback we received at the conference and afterwards was overwhelmingly positive, and we will definitely make this an ongoing feature of our Annual Conference from now on.
The Build Phase of the project is now complete. This phase of the project has included:
Undertaking an Expression of Interest (EOI) process in the carbon market to gain an understanding of organisations who may wish to partner with the water sector as well as indicative costs.
Obtaining advice on key legal elements of forming the proposed Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) as well as preparing key documents for the SPV, e.g. members agreement, governance charter, etc.
One of the great parts of my job is supporting WaterAble as a program of VicWater. They recently held their fourth AGM which celebrated a very successful year. Their annual achievements report can be found on the WaterAble website.
The AGM welcomed the incoming committee of Anita McKenzie (South East Water), Clare Gibson (South Gippsland Water), Kimberlee Pithers (SEQ Water), Llewellyn Prain (Greater Western Water) and Tania Beer (Coliban Water). This also proved an opportune time to acknowledge outgoing committee member Matt Iverson (Greater Western Water) and award our inaugural life membership to Donald Hughan (Goulburn Murray Water).
In November, join Clearwater for online training in ‘Understanding and Applying Victoria’s Stormwater Planning Requirements’.
The Victorian Government expanded state-wide stormwater planning controls in October 2018 to help protect our waterways, prevent flooding and divert more rainfall and stormwater to our parks and reserves. This course is designed to help planners and engineers understand the links between water and cities, learn about the role and scope of the state-wide controls, and gain confidence in assessing planning applications in a way that best achieves our stormwater objectives.
Join expert facilitators from E2Designlab, Tract Consulting and DEECA for this online training course on Wednesday 13th November, from 9.30 am to 4.30pm.
For more details and to register your interest, visit the event page.
The long-term benefits of contributing to your super
Since 1 July 2024, you may have noticed an increase in your take-home pay. This is because the tax cuts legislated by the Australian Government to help provide cost of living relief came into effect at the start of the new financial year, with a person on the average wage of $73,000 getting an annual tax cut of $1,504.
At Vision Super, we value what you think and use your feedback to help understand what’s important to you. To help get a better understanding of your opinions on superannuation, we’re asking if you could complete a short survey that we’ve prepared. This should take less than 10 minutes to complete and will be open for one week.
Vision Super engage Luma Research to conduct this research on their behalf, and they are not provided with any member information. Your answers will remain strictly confidential and will not be analysed on an individual level. Please click the button below to commence the survey.
Photo caption: South East Water Managing Director, Lara Olsen, with the organisation’s second year graduates.
Walking for WaterAid to support healthy communities
South East Water employees got active from 30 September to 4 October to support WaterAid Australia’s annual initiative Walk for Water.
Participants nationwide walked, ran, rode or swam to raise much-needed funds and awareness for the 703 million people worldwide – 1 in 10 – who lack access to safe water close to home.
The event aims to shed light on the daily struggles of millions who endure long journeys to access clean water, a hardship that affects their health, education and quality of life.
Victorians are calling for the acceptance of American Express as cost-of-living pressures grow
Research commissioned by American Express shows 71% of Australians say they feel stressed by all the bills they need to pay 4. Separate research conducted by ASIC shows 52% of insolvent businesses in Australia report inadequate cash flow as a leading cause.5
As cost-of-living pressures mount, American Express data shows that Victorians and Victorian small businesses are asking to be allowed to pay with their preferred payment method to pay essential bills, including water and utility bills. For many of them, that’s American Express.
Central Highlands Water named a Wurreker Awards finalist
Central Highlands Water (CHW) was humbled to be named as a finalist in the Government Employer category of this year’s Wurreker Awards.
The Wurreker Awards, hosted by The Victorian Aboriginal Education Association (VAEAI), celebrates people and organisations who passionately contribute to First Nations training, education, and employment.
CrowdStrike, a leading cyber security firm, experienced a significant outage in July 2024 that impacted a wide range of organisations relying on its services globally. This event provided critical lessons for organisations emphasizing the importance of robust contingency planning measures.
Key Lessons:
1. Incident Response Planning
The incident highlighted the importance of well-defined incident response plans, including clearly documented and tested protocols across people, technology and processes.
Yarra Valley Water is investing over $2.6 billion as part of its five-year plan to provide essential water and sewerage services for a growing Melbourne.
Victoria remains the fastest-growing state in the country with the Victorian Government’s Victoria in Future 2023 report, predicting its population will reach 10.3 million by 2051.
Yarra Valley Water’s General Manager Growth and Distribution, Bridie Fennessy, said it’s crucial that we continue to build infrastructure to service this growing community for generations to come.
How Melbourne Water can help you save your local creek
On the outskirts of the township of Riddells Creek in Macedon Ranges, a dedicated group of volunteers have for more than a decade worked to improve the health of a 5-kilometre stretch of Sandy Creek.
The volunteers, who are neighbours with sections of the creek that flow through their property, are being supported by Melbourne Water through the Liveable Communities, Liveable Waterways (LCLW) grant program.
Do you have a water sector event you'd like to promote? Maybe an announcement you'd like us to share on behalf of your organisation? VicWater Update has opened the news and events section of the monthly update to promote visibility of things that are happening within the water sector.
If you'd like something included email Lauren Vines with your request for consideration in our next edition.
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