Changes to emergency preparation in regional Victoria

On Sunday the Victorian Government announced changes to directions applying to metropolitan Melbourne residents’ ability to leave the Restricted Area.

From 11.59pm Wednesday 21 October, metropolitan Melbourne residents will be able to undertake emergency preparation activities at properties they own in regional Victoria, after obtaining a letter of support from the relevant regional Council.

The City is working quickly to review the guidelines provided by Local Government Victorian (LGV).

Unfortunately, the application process will not be finalised or operational this week.

The City will provide an update as soon as possible, noting all updates will be published at the City’s Coronavirus Support Page.

The City encourages metropolitan Melbourne residents to engage local contractors to undertake any emergency preparation work where possible.

Metropolitan Melbourne residents who are issued with a Fire Prevention Notice are able to leave the Restricted Area under the current directions.

The new process requiring a letter of support from the City is separate to the formal Fire Prevention Notice, which is issued for relevant properties from November through to February each year.

City of Greater Geelong CEO Martin Cutter:

We appreciate there are many residents from metropolitan Melbourne that have not been able to see their regional properties for some time, and who will be wanting to undertake important emergency preparation activities for the flood or fire season.

City officers are liaising with the Victorian Government to work through the requirements as quickly as possible.

Where possible, we encourage metropolitan Melbourne residents to engage one of the many local contractors in the region to complete these preparedness tasks at their regional properties.

/Public Release. View in full here.