Flood overlay building in Gippsland: what an overlay is
A planning overlay is a control in the council planning scheme that can add a planning permit step to work on a property. The pages we found do not say whether house restumping triggers an overlay permit in any named town, and no town-level extent is verified here. These notes were checked 6 November 2026, and two flood amendments below are in progress, so dates may change.
| Shire | What the pages we found say | Status checked 6 November 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Wellington | Land Subject to Inundation Overlay and Floodway Overlay currently apply; amendment C125well updates them. | In progress, dates may change. |
| East Gippsland | SES local flood guides; a bushfire overlay planning guide. No flood overlay extents found. | Overlay extents not found. |
| South Gippsland | Draft amendment C135 applies the same two overlays from ten flood studies. | In progress, dates may change. |
| Bass Coast | SES history of flooding; Inverloch dune loss. No overlay extents found. | Overlay extents not found. |
To check your own property, ask a registered building surveyor, the council and the catchment authority. The property information certificate and the council's overlay maps are the places to look. Do not rely on any page of ours for a street or a lot.
Wellington Shire: current overlays and amendment C125well
Wellington Shire's planning scheme currently applies the Land Subject to Inundation Overlay and the Floodway Overlay, and the Council relies on the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority as floodplain manager (Wellington flood page). The authority's advice "typically sets requirements such as building floor heights", and it offers free flood advice before you lodge. The Council says there are "extensive areas of the municipality which are subject to riverine and coastal flooding". The page names no towns and gives no levels. Council's planning enquiries line, on its pages, is 1300 366 244.
Amendment C125well, in progress, updates both overlays "across the municipality", "most notably in riverine and coastal areas", including land "predicted to be inundated by future sea-level rise". It rests on 22 supporting studies, and a ministerial decision is expected in mid to late 2027 (C125well page). The Council's own pages give conflicting consultation dates, so check them. Its coastal communities page says councils must plan for a minimum 0.8 m sea level rise, and that "Homes that have already been built or are nearing completion will not be affected" (coastal communities page).
On heritage, the Council says "A Planning Permit is usually required for external buildings and works to a place listed in the Heritage Overlay", that interior works usually are not, and to speak to its Heritage Advisor (heritage page). Restumping is not mentioned. The SES lists local flood guides for Sale, Maffra, Riverslea, Bundalaguah, Stratford and the Gippsland Lakes (SES Wellington page). See the Sale and Maffra page.
East Gippsland: flood guides and the bushfire planning guide
The SES lists local flood guides for Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, Paynesville, other East Gippsland towns and the Gippsland Lakes, and says the lakes rose 1.3 m above normal in June 2007 (SES East Gippsland page). Its Bairnsdale guide lists floods in 1990, 1998, 2007, 2016 and October 2023, when the Mitchell River reached 6.48 m. In June 1998 it reached 7.75 m and caused over $78 million damage. The gauge levels are 5.6 m minor, 6.5 m moderate and 6.8 m major. The guide says to check the property on Digital Twin Victoria and to ask the East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority for flood levels (Bairnsdale flood guide).
The Council's bushfire overlay guide says to discuss buildings and works in a Bushfire Management Overlay with a development officer and the CFA, and that applications need a Bushfire Management Statement. It does not say whether house restumping triggers a permit. It adds that "Building permits must come from a private building surveyor, not Council" (East Gippsland bushfire guide). We found no East Gippsland flood or heritage overlay extents. See the Bairnsdale, Paynesville and Lakes Entrance page.
South Gippsland: draft amendment C135 and heritage precincts
Draft amendment C135, in progress, applies the Floodway Overlay and the Land Subject to Inundation Overlay from ten flood studies. The areas named include Hedley, Welshpool, the Inverloch region, Foster, the Tarwin River, Fish Creek and the Corner Inlet storm tide. Submissions closed on 6 July 2026, and a Standing Advisory Committee hearing starts on 16 November 2026 at the Council Chambers in Leongatha. The online maps are the exhibited maps, "not the most up-to-date", and the page does not explain the effect on building permits (C135 page). Dates may change.
The Council's heritage FAQ covers four proposed precincts only, and says routine maintenance and repairs that do not change the appearance of the building need no heritage permit (heritage precinct FAQ). Restumping is not mentioned. A Council landslip update dated 20 March 2023 concerns road slips, not house sites (landslip update). See the Leongatha, Korumburra and Mirboo North page.
Bass Coast, Inverloch and the Gippsland Lakes
The SES says Bass Coast has a history of flooding, with events in July 2007 and May 2012 affecting Wonthaggi and nearby communities, and lists local flood guides for Inverloch, the Lower Powlett River and Wonthaggi (SES Bass Coast page). It lists no Phillip Island guide, and says coastal areas can flood when high tides combine with storm surge and onshore winds (SES local guides page). At Inverloch, Surf Beach has lost over 70 metres of foreshore dunes since 2012, and sandbag wall works were funded at $700,000 by the state (Bass Coast Inverloch page). A news report of one Phillip Island planning matter relied mainly on a state amendment that requires planning for at least 0.8 m of sea level rise by 2100, and says nothing about restumping (news report of the matter).
A 2014 department report on the Gippsland Lakes found flood levels rise about 0.65 times the sea level rise on most lakes and about 0.9 at Lakes Entrance. It names the Lake Wellington shore, Lake Reeve, Lake King between Paynesville and the Nicolson River, Reeve Channel and Lakes Entrance as most affected for shoreline erosion, and says shoreline protection "depends on those structures being maintained". It is "not a full flood study" (Gippsland Lakes report). See the Wonthaggi and Inverloch page and the Cowes and Phillip Island page.
What to do next
Ask a registered building surveyor whether your house needs an overlay check before work starts, and read the council and catchment authority pages for the current position. The permit page explains who appoints the surveyor, and the soils and subfloor guide covers ventilation for wet ground. To ask a builder about your house, send your town and what you have noticed.
What this page cannot do
This page cannot tell you whether your house is under a flood, coastal, bushfire or heritage overlay, or whether any overlay affects house restumping. We found no town-level extent and no statement on restumping, and we name no street or lot. The two flood amendments are in progress and their dates may change. We are a referral service: we pass your enquiry to a local builder, who holds any registration or insurance that applies. A registered building surveyor, your council and the catchment authority can tell you what applies to your property.
Check the current rules before you rely on this
This page describes what the council, SES and department pages we found say about flood, coastal, bushfire and heritage controls in Gippsland. It describes the rules in general terms as they stood in November 2026, checked 6 November 2026. Standards, forms, thresholds and fees change.
The authoritative sources are Wellington Shire Council, land subject to flooding, Wellington Shire Council, Amendment C125well, updated flood provisions (the Council's own pages give conflicting consultation dates), South Gippsland Shire Council, Amendment C135 (flood overlays; hearing from 16 November 2026), Victoria SES, Bairnsdale local flood guide (April 2024) and Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Gippsland Lakes and 90 Mile Beach coastal hazard assessment summary (April 2014; not a full flood study). Where anything here differs from those sources, they are right and we are not.
We are not builders, building surveyors, regulators or lawyers. For what applies to your job, ask the builder which registration they hold and check it on the Building and Plumbing Commission register, then ask a registered building surveyor and your council what is needed. Contract, deposit and payment rules change by 1 December 2026.
Accurate at the time of writing, November 2026. Always check the source before relying on it.