Boaters can enjoy a wide range of waterways in Victoria, including large and small coastal embayment’s, coastal waters, lakes and water storages, and rivers. Always check the operating rules of a waterway before you head out.
Safe Transport Victoria assists port and waterway managers to ensure safety on Victorian waters. We are also an appointed waterway manager for some of Victoria’s waterways, as well as having oversight for unmanaged waterways.
Unmanaged waterways do not have an appointed manager to ensure navigational safety. On these waters, the state waterway rules detailed at the start of the VOZR apply.
Waterway managers
The role of waterway managers is to:
- Manage vessel activities on waters under their control
- Allocate and manage moorings and berths
- Provide and maintain navigation aids, appropriate signage of water levels, hazards and rules applying to the waters
- Control navigation and vessel movement
- Designate areas in which anchorage of vessels is, or is not, permitted
- Alter or dredge channels for navigation
- Remove or mark obstructions.
Waterway manager | >Contact | >State waters |
---|---|---|
Ararat Rural City Council | 5355 0200 ararat.vic.gov.au |
Green Hill Lake |
Ballarat City Council | 5320 5500 ballarat.vic.gov.au |
Lake Burrumbeet
Lake Learmonth Lake Wendouree |
Buloke Shire Council | 5478 0100 buloke.vic.gov.au |
Wooroonook Lakes |
Central Goldfields Shire Council | 5461 0610 centralgoldfields.vic.gov.au |
Goldfields Reservoir
Lake Victoria (in Maryborough) |
Colac Otway Shire Council | 5232 9400 colacotway.vic.gov.au |
Local Port of Apollo Bay |
Corangamite Shire Council | 5593 7100 corangamite.vic.gov.au |
Lake Tooliorook |
East Gippsland Shire Council | 5153 9500 eastgippsland.vic.gov.au |
Bemm River within the Shire of East Gippsland |
Gannawarra Shire Council | 5450 9333 gannawarra.vic.gov.au |
Gunbower Creek
Kangaroo Lake Lake Charm Lake Meering ( also known as Meran) |
Greater Bendigo City Council | 5434 6000 bendigo.vic.gov.au |
Lake Weeroona |
Greater Shepparton City Council | 5832 9700 greatershepparton.com.au |
Kialla Lake
The waters of the International Village Victoria Park Lake |
Hindmarsh Shire Council | 5391 4444 hindmarsh.vic.gov.au |
Lake Hindmarsh
The Wimmera River within the Shire of Hindmarsh |
Horsham Rural City Council | 5382 9777 hrcc.vic.gov.au |
Green Lake (near Horsham)
Lake Natimuk Lake Toolondo The Wimmera River within the boundaries of Horsham Rural City |
Indigo Shire Council | 5728 8000 indigoshire.vic.gov.au |
Lake Sambell |
Latrobe City Council | 1300 367 700 latrobe.vic.gov.au |
Lake Narracan |
Loddon Shire Council | 5494 1200 loddon.vic.gov.au |
Loddon River within the Shire of Loddon
Loddon River-at Bridgewater Little Lake Boort |
Mildura Rural City Council | 5018 8100 mildura.vic.gov.au/Mildura-Rural-City-Council |
Lake Cullulleraine |
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council | 1300 850 600 mornpen.vic.gov.au |
Balcombe Creek within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula |
Moyne Shire Council | 5568 0555 moyne.vic.gov.au |
Local Port of Port Fairy |
Northern Grampians Shire Council | 5358 8700 ngshire.vic.gov.au |
Walkers Lake |
Pyrenees Shire Council | 5349 1100 pyrenees.vic.gov.au |
Beaufort Park Lake |
Southern Grampians Shire Council | 5573 0444 sthgrampians.vic.gov.au |
Lake Hamilton |
Strathbogie Shire Council | 5795 0000 strathbogie.vic.gov.au |
The Goulburn River from Hughes Creek to Goulburn Weir including Lake Nagambie |
Swan Hill Rural City Council | 5036 2333 swanhill.vic.gov.au |
Lake Boga |
Warrnambool City Council | 5559 4800 warrnambool.vic.gov.au |
The Hopkins River between the seaward outlet and Tooram Stones
The Merri River between the seaward outlet and the Bromfield Street Weir Local Port of Warrnambool |
West Wimmera Shire Council | 5585 9900 westwimmera.vic.gov.au |
Lake Wallace |
Whitehorse City Council | 9262 6333 whitehorse.vic.gov.au |
Blackburn Lake |
Waterway managers | Contact | State waters |
---|---|---|
Barwon Region Water Corporation | 1300 656 007 barwonwater.vic.gov.au |
|
Coliban Regional Water Corporation | 1300 363 200 coliban.com.au |
|
Corangamite Catchment Management Authority | 5232 9100 ccma.vic.gov.au |
The Barwon River between the Lower Breakwater and Orana Road |
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
(formerly Department of Sustainability and Environment) |
136 186 delwp.vic.gov.au |
|
Gippsland and Southern Rural Water Corporation | 5139 3100 www.srw.com.au |
|
Goulburn-Murray Water | 5833 5500 g-mwater.com.au |
|
Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water Corporation | 5382 4611 gwmwater.org.au |
|
Parks Victoria | 131 963 parks.vic.gov.au |
|
Director, Transport Safety | 1800 223 022 transportsafety.vic.gov.au/msv |
|
Waterway managers | State waters |
---|---|
The Committee of Management of Allans Flat Recreation Reserve Inc. | Allans Flat Lake |
Barwon Coast Committee of Management Inc. | Local Port of Barwon Heads |
The Lake Bolac Foreshore Committee Inc. | Lake Bolac |
The Lake Charlegrark Recreation Reserve Committee Inc. | Lake Charlegrark |
Lake Lascalles and Corrong Committee of Management Inc. |
|
Curdies Inlet and Recreation Reserve Committee of Management. | Curdies River and Curdies Inlet between French’s Bridge and the Great Ocean Road Bridge at Peterborough |
Gippsland Ports Committee of Management Inc. |
|
Nhill Lake Reserve Committee of Management. | Nhill Lake |
Lake Marma Public Park & Gardens Reserve Committee of Management | Lake Marma |
The Lake Purrumbete Frontage Reserve Committee of Management Inc. | Lake Purrumbete |
Tchum Lake Aquatic Club Incorporated | Tchum Lake South |
Winton Wetlands Committee of Management. | Winton Wetlands |
Waterway managers | Contact | State waters |
---|---|---|
AGL Hydro Partnership | 5754 3220 agl.com.au |
Junction Dam at Bogong, Clover Dam, Mount Beauty Regulating Pondage, Rubicon Dam, Royston Dam and Rubicon Falls Dam |
Resources for port and waterway managers
As a waterway manager, port management body or local port manager, you can apply for rules to be made for waterways under your control.
If you intent to make a permanent waterway rule or change please get in touch with us first at waterways@safetransport.vic.gov.au
To propose or amend a permanent waterway rule, waterway managers must first complete the Notice of intention to request a waterway rule form.
Following acknowledgement from Safe Transport Victoria, the waterway manager will need to:
- Publish a notice of the proposal to request the making of the rule
- Conduct a minimum of four weeks’ public consultation, inviting comments from the public
- Consider every submission and provide a list and summary of submissions received during consultation
- Complete the Request to make a waterway rule form.
The waterway manager will need to explain:
- How the rule will minimise risks
- Any alternative ways to address the matter
- The expected benefits and costs of the proposed rule.
Requests for emergency or urgent waterway rules should be made to the Waterway Safety team: waterways@safetransport.vic.gov.au
Waterway managers, port management bodies and local port managers prepare and publish their own boating activity exemption declarations in newspapers, and boating activity exclusion zone and works notices in the Victoria Government Gazette.
Before publishing, a draft declaration and/or notice must be provided to us for review. This must accompany one of the following application notice forms.
Online forms:
- Notification of boating activity exemptions and exclusions zones online form
- Notification of works notice online form
Downloadable forms:
We will direct the waterway manager to publish or not publish the declaration or notice.
For waterways where we are the waterway manager, or where no waterway manager is appointed, organisations or clubs can apply to us for:
- temporary exemptions or exclusion zones for on-water events and boating activities
- temporary rules for vessel navigation or movement in the vicinity of works on, over or under water.
Online forms:
- Application for Boating Activity Exemptions and Exclusion Zones online form
- Works application online form
Downloadable forms:
For us to be able to meet the requirements under the Marine Safety Act, including assessment, government gazette and newspaper notices, we recommend you submit your application six weeks before an event.