NEWS 5 February 2026 |
The Victorian Government is dismantling the very institutions that safeguard nature. Expert advice and careful planning have never been more crucial, yet key bodies that protect our parks and wildlife are being gutted or abolished.
What’s on the chopping block?
Independent expert councils are the quiet champions of Victoria’s nature protection system. They’ve shaped millions of hectares of national parks, protected our coasts from development pressures, and made sure threatened wildlife have a voice. Now, they’re under threat.
The Victorian Environmental Assessment Council (VEAC) has been instrumental in creating our national parks and protected areas for more than 50 years. It’s being largely abolished, with its functions handed to the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, reduced to a single public servant, with no independent council of experts. Some of the requirements for community consultation will be transferred over, but some key provisions including the mandatory duty for departments to act in accordance with government accepted recommendations will be deleted. This leave hundreds of areas not yet properly implemented or gazetted in limbo.
The Victorian Marine and Coastal Council, which has overseen protection of our incredible marine life and coastline, is being cut entirely. At a time when our coasts face growing pressures from climate change, development, and illegal fishing, we’re losing the independent voice that holds government accountable.
What’s being considered for the next round of cuts?
Advisory committees that safeguard our national parks and threatened wildlife are under review, their future uncertain. The National Parks Advisory Council and the Scientific Advisory Committee could be drastically weakened or abolished.
Even fisheries officers, already cut to the bone this year, face further impacts through a proposed merger that risks leaving our marine life unprotected.
What are the consequences for nature?
These councils bring together scientists, community, and specialists who understand the complexities of protecting nature.
Independence is everything. When expert bodies are cut, nature loses its independent referee. Short-term political and economic pressures can override long-term protection. Communities lose their voice in decisions about the places they love.
In the scheme of our state budget, they’re a drop in the ocean. But their benefit to nature is immeasurable. They plan, protect, and safeguard our parks, habitats, and wildlife for generations to come.
What needs to happen?
These cuts would hollow out Victoria’s nature protection system at precisely the wrong time. Our state’s incredible diversity, from alpine peaks and lush rainforests to sandy mallee and underwater seagrass meadows, deserves better.
Nature institutions must be retained and properly funded. Independent, expert oversight and guidance is essential to protect habitats and wildlife.
Tell your elected reps, nature can’t afford these cuts.
The cuts strike at the heart of Victoria’s Nature protection framework and include the following:
What they do
For more than 50 years, VEAC and their predecessors have provided independent, science-based advice on how Victoria’s public land should be protected and managed. VEAC investigations, guided by expert panels and strong community consultation, shaped millions of hectares of national parks and protected areas across the state including: Grampians (Gariwerd), Alpine, Box –Iron Bark, Redgum and Marine national parks and new central west parks.
What the government is proposing
Abolish VEAC. Transfer its functions to the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, removing the independent council of experts. This in effect replaces the function of the council with a single staff member.
Section 26A –of the current VEAC Act will be deleted.
This is the strongest operative obligation in the Act.
It binds Ministers, Departments and public authorities to act on VEAC recommendations once they’re accepted by government.
The act states that Ministers, Departments and public authorities “must ensure that the action is undertaken to implement the recommendation to the extent that it is accepted”
What this means for nature
Nature loses an independent referee. Decisions about public land will no longer be overseen by a council of experts, but effectively assessed within government itself. This weakens transparency, reduces community input, and makes it easier for short-term political pressure to override long-term protection of landscapes.
It's will make it difficult for investigations already agreed on to still take place.
The removal of section 26 will leave hundreds of areas (usually smaller bushland reserves and conservation areas) which have not been properly legally protected yet in limbo.
What needs to happen
VEAC should be retained and properly funded. To make sure decisions about public land management and protection remain independent and involve communities.
There are still many gaps in the Victorian reserve system against agreed international national benchmarks.
Who will do a science-based assessment of the gaps? Will it be done on political whims?
What they do
VMaCC provides independent, evidence-based advice on marine and coastal policy, oversees delivery of the Marine and Coastal Strategy, and holds government accountable for how Victoria’s coasts and marine parks are managed. Their work supports responses to coastal erosion, climate impacts, and making recommendations to the Environment Minister.
What the government is proposing
Abolish the Marine and Coastal Council.
What this means for nature
The coast loses its independent voice. There will be no body dedicated to holding the Environment Minister and Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action accountable for managing and protecting our marine life and coasts. There will be no one to provide expert advice on implementing Victoria's Marine and Coastal Policy and Strategy, protecting marine national parks, responding to coastal crises, or preparing for threats like algal blooms or oil spills. Critical expertise disappears as climate impacts on the coast are accelerating.
What needs to happen
The Marine and Coastal Council should be retained and strengthened.
It's a low-cost, high-value source of expertise and oversight at a time when Victoria’s coasts are under growing pressure.
What they do
NPAC provides independent advice on the administration of the National Parks Act, including park management, developments, leases and proposed excisions from parks. It acts as a safeguard against inappropriate development and other activities in national parks.
What the government is proposing
Under assessment, with advisory committees flagged for major reductions or abolition.
What this means for nature
Without NPAC, there is far less oversight of decisions affecting national parks. Developments, leases and damaging activities could proceed with minimal independent scrutiny, increasing the risk of inappropriate development and the erosion of park values.
What needs to happen
NPAC is a critical safeguard for Victoria’s national parks and should be strengthened, not sidelined.
What they do
Provides expert advice on the protection and management of Victoria’s reference areas, which are set aside for conservation and scientific study with minimal disturbance.
What the government is proposing
Under assessment, could be abolished alongside other advisory bodies.
What this means for nature
Reduced oversight risks the quiet degradation of reference areas that are meant to be our ecological benchmarks.
What needs to happen
Independent advice for reference areas must be retained so these special places remain genuinely protected.
What they do
Advises ministers on listing threatened plants, animals and fungi, ecological communities and threatening processes under Victoria’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act. It provides a pathway for the public to nominate wildlife and threats for assessment.
What the government is proposing
Under assessment, with the potential removal of its functions.
What this means for nature
This strikes at the heart of Victoria’s nature laws. Without the SAC, there's no independent pathway to assess or list threatened wildlife or processes. Hundreds of species could be left at the mercy of under-resourced departments and political discretion.
What needs to happen
This proposal would hollow out the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act. The SAC must be retained to make sure decisions about threatened wildlife are science-led, transparent and open to community input.
What they do
Provides advice on nature in the Gippsland Lakes and oversees investment to improve the health of this internationally significant ecosystem.
What the government is proposing
Under assessment.
What this means for nature
Weakening or removing this committee risks losing coordinated oversight of one of Victoria’s most vulnerable and valuable ecosystems, at a time of ongoing water quality and climate challenges.
What needs to happen
The Gippsland Lakes need focused, expert oversight. This committee should be retained and properly supported.
What they do
Fisheries officers enforce fishing rules and protect marine life from illegal fishing. The Game Management Authority regulates hunting and shooting activities.
What the government is proposing
Merge the Victorian Fisheries Authority and the Game Management Authority into a single regulator, alongside recent cuts to fisheries officers.
What this means for nature
Fewer fisheries officers means less enforcement on illegal fishing and poaching. Marine protected areas will be left exposed, with rules on paper but no one there to enforce them.
How would a merger rectify this issue? Merging agencies while cutting staff risks leaving Victoria’s marine life unprotected.
What needs to happen
Strong, specialist enforcement is essential. Fisheries officers are the guardians of our oceans. They need more resources and staff to look after marine wildlife and habitats. It’s unclear how this merger would improve their staffing and resources.
