Transmission Company Victoria (TCV) would like to provide an update on the timing of landholder engagement and next steps.

Landholder engagement

This week our land team will begin conversations with landholders in a draft corridor for the VNI West transmission project.

This is an area of approximately 2kms wide that runs from the Murray River to Bulgana.

Out of respect for farmers and property owners, we want to do everything possible to contact property landholders within the draft corridor before making the details of the corridor public. This may take several weeks.

Landholders who are within the draft corridor will soon be approached by a dedicated landholder liaison to discuss VNI West.

The landholder liaison is the key contact for landholders and will help answer questions on important issues, including land access protocols, compensation, as well as easements and transmission design options to minimise the impact of the VNI West infrastructure on farm operations.

In some instances, TCV will be asking for access to properties to undertake environmental field studies such as flora and fauna surveys, but not all properties in the corridor will be required for this work.

Landholders are eligible to receive $10,000, two payments of $5,000 over two years, for entering a land access agreement for a period of two years.

This payment recognises the time commitment required to negotiate these agreements, including time that will take a farmer and their family away from their normal work and routine.

Conversations with landholders will validate data collected so far in the planning process – an important next step as we continue the work to develop a final route. This includes verifying constraints identified in the recent Environmental Constraints Summary Report and through community feedback on the interactive map.

The diagram below shows the key stages of the process underway to progressively refine the route for the new transmission.

TCV will consult closely with landholders in the draft corridor as this work continues.

Draft corridor

The draft corridor has been identified following feedback from landholders, community members, government agencies and stakeholders, as well as data from ongoing technical, engineering and environmental assessments.

A range of factors have been considered including ecology, sites of known Aboriginal cultural heritage, flooding, landscape, agricultural activities and proximity to residential areas and towns.

After we brought together all the data collected through studies and consultation, we decided to focus on a broader corridor than initially contemplated for the next phase of the project to provide more flexibility and better options to find the optimal route.

The draft corridor we have identified is approximately 2km wide along most of the route. We recognise that this is a variation from the plan we originally put forward to publish a 500m-1km corridor.

In coming months, TCV will refer a refined corridor to the Minister for Planning to consider whether an Environment Effects Statement will be required.

VNI West cannot proceed without planning approval from the State and Commonwealth Governments, which will require comprehensive environmental assessments over the next 12–18 months.

The route for VNI West will not be finalised before 2025 and the actual easement for the project will typically cover only 70m-100m within the 2km draft corridor.

Outcomes of engagement

Reports outlining the key findings of previous community engagement have been published on the TCV website. This includes a detailed report on the outcomes of community events and the interactive map.

Traditional Owner Engagement

Traditional Owner engagement has commenced and will continue as the project progresses. TCV recently participated in preliminary On Country Days with impacted Traditional Owners to further develop the project’s understanding of cultural heritage and values, and opportunities to minimise the project’s impact on Country. TCV will continue to work closely with these Traditional Owner groups as the project progresses to ensure they are able to provide input into the route refinement process and project development more broadly.

TCV greatly appreciates the insights provided by Traditional Owners to date and looks forward to continuing to build meaningful relationships to help maximise project outcomes for Traditional Owners and the broader community.

Community Reference Group (CRG)

The VNI West Community Reference Group is set to have its first meeting in mid-September to discuss the VNI West project and seek local insights for consideration in future engagement planning.

TCV would like to thank all those who applied to join the CRG and is looking forward to working closely with local community representatives.

There are still a few spots open for CRG members and as such we have extended the CRG application deadline. Applications will remain open until all spots are filled.

Get in touch

If you have a question you would like to ask, please get in contact through the details below.

Email: enquiries@transmissionvictoria.com.au

Free call: 1800 824 221

Website: transmissionvictoria.com.au

Kerang Office: Shop 15, 47 Victoria Street, Patchell Plaza, Kerang.
Open 12pm to 4:30pm on Tuesdays and 9am to 1pm on Wednesdays.