Birrarung Council is pleased to see ongoing improvement in the way responsible public entities are caring for Birrarung.
We commend all responsible public entities for their engagement with Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo so far, and we look forward to seeing greater collaboration between them, genuine partnerships with Traditional Owners, and embedded, operationalised understandings of the River as a living entity. This is the work of all responsible public entities.
The Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, co-developed by Birrarung Council and Melbourne Water, specifies key outcomes expected at intervals of 2 years, 5 years, and 8 years (Appendix 4).
These outcomes have informed our Yarning Circles with responsible public entities over the past 3 years. Each of our Annual Reports has provided an overview of progress against these outcomes and highlighted where we have seen gaps or a need for more progress.
Our recommendations for 2026 are again focused on these gaps and on enabling an effective evaluation of progress at the half-way point for Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo. This evaluation can inform any major shifts that are required in the second half of the ten-year plan and laying the groundwork for the next iteration of Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo.
In the fifth year of implementation, the Birrarung Council would like to see increased attention given to:
1. Improved awareness, understanding and appreciation of the River as a living entity.
All responsible public entities are encouraged to continue developing their relationship with the River by sharing their relationship statements and embedding this work in their equivalent Council Plans or strategic documents.
We will continue exploring relationship statements and their operationalisation in Yarning Circles in 2026, and we will increasingly expect to see how responsible public entities are using these statements to bring themselves into good relations with Birrarung and improve community awareness.
2. Proactive engagement with the principle of net gain, including a clear definition and methods for achieving a net gain for the River.
Net gain remains critical to meet the outcomes of Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo. All Protection Principles listed in the Birrarung Act are now active as decision making criteria for planning scheme amendments and for planning applications.
In 2026 we should see an explicit definition of net gain for the River, and significant progress on guidance for how this can be achieved. We consider this should be led by the Lead Agency and DEECA and supported by the YCC.
Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong Traditional Owner groups will be critical partners for this work, and we note that resourcing will need to be increased to support their ongoing involvement.
3. Appropriately resourcing Traditional Owners and engaging early on all projects to enable genuine partnerships to develop.
This remains a core priority for the Birrarung Council and is essential to implement Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo and meet the goals of the Birrarung Act.
4. Improved guidance for strategic and statutory land use planning.
The Birrarung Council commends the developments within the land use planning space and urges responsible public entities (through their planning authority responsibilities) to continue the important work of implementing amendment VC281.
We recognise the importance of guidance to be provided by the DTP’s dedicated Birrarung planning team. In 2026, we should start to see evidence of how these planning reforms are being implemented by responsible public entities.
5. Improved reporting that would support an evaluation of Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo.
It will be important to see how outcomes described in the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework are being achieved, and if not, what the barriers to this achievement are.
Page last updated: 20/11/25