Policy development

Our purpose is to design and deliver government policies and programs that enable Victoria's primary and energy industries to sustainably maximise the wealth and wellbeing they generate.

We are developing a comprehensive, integrated and long-term strategic policy framework to build the productivity, competitiveness and sustainability of Victoria's primary and energy industries.

This in turn requires us to strengthen our strategy and policy capacity and place a higher priority on larger and long-term policy challenges. This includes whole-of-Victorian-Government and national policies that are central to primary and energy industries - particularly those relating to innovation, planning and regulatory reform, water reform and climate change. 

National policy development

We play a lead role in national policy development and reform, and have contributed to:

• National water policy through participation on the Murray Darling Basin Commission and the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) working groups.
• The design of the Commonwealth's proposed national emissions trading scheme (ETS) through a lead role in the States and Territories' National Emissions Trading Taskforce.
• A review of climate change policies and implementation mechanisms of the United Nations, New Zealand, Brazil, China and Australia. This research informs our efforts to develop policy responses to enable primary industries to adapt to climate change.
• A review of national drought policy to help prepare farmers, rural communities and the nations primary industries for a changing climate.
• A work program to review a national framework for the regulation and management of onshore and offshore carbon capture and storage.

Through our participation on the Primary Industries Ministerial Council (PIMC), we also led the national reform agenda to build capability in agriculture, fisheries and forestry for research, development and practice change - achieving collaboration and PIMC endorsement of a national research, development and practice change framework.

We have also worked to ensure that key successes that have been achieved from energy market reform in Victoria are incorporated into reforms nationally through our contributions to the Ministerial Council on Energy.

Primary and energy industry policies

Some of our industry policy work has included:

• A Future Farming strategy that outlines the future direction of the Government's services to farmers and further drives growth and innovation in agriculture in the face of climate change and other global challenges.
• A new Timber Industry Strategy to set the future direction for all government and industry planning decisions and provide the industry with a commercially and environmentally sustainable footing for the long term. The draft strategy is now available for public consultation.
• A new Industry Transition Taskforce to help timber industries and communities address the challenges ahead in East Gippsland and the Otways.
• A Strategic Policy Framework for Near Zero Emissions from Victoria's Fossil Fuels to gain further economic value from brown coal while achieving deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions through carbon capture and storage.
• A Regulatory Framework for the Long-Term Underground Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide for public consultation and developed Victorian legislation in consultation with industry.
• Development of the Governments Sustainable Transport Energy policy.
• Community Engagement Guidelines for Mining in Victoria to provide clear direction on the duty to consult, community engagement plans and models of community engagement, and the Code of Practice for Minerals Exploration - providing practical advice on how to meet legislative requirements.

Read our Annual Report for more information about these policy development activities.

You can also find information in the industry sections of our website, or on the economic and policy research page.