Gippsland Drought Resilience Plan

Drought is a recurring feature in the Australian landscape, and is experienced differently across the Gippsland region.

The Regional Drought Resilience Planning (RDRP) program aims to increase regional resilience to the impacts of drought. The initiative is co-funded by the Commonwealth Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Victorian Government.

The program’s vision is to enable businesses and rural communities to be prepared for, and capable of managing, drought in pursuit of a prosperous and sustainable future.

RDRP program objectives and outcomes

Objectives

Regional drought resilience plans are informed by the community.
Plans drive decisions, actions and investments to proactively manage drought risks.

Outcomes

Regional stakeholders have increased their capability to build regional drought resilience.
Regional communities have a pathway to ongoing development of resilience.

Gippsland Drought Resilience Plan

Initially developed with a focus on building drought resilience, the Gippsland Drought Resilience Plan (the Plan) identifies five themes critical to building resilience. It has been recognised that these themes may in fact apply to a range of climate risks and events, such as drought, fire, floods, and storms.

Through the process of the Plan’s development, the community has come together to ensure they are better prepared to manage and build resilience to future droughts, with an increasing focus on adaptation and readiness for change.

The implementation of the Plan is currently being coordinated by Food & Fibre Gippsland.

Vision and guiding principles of the Gippsland Drought Resilience Plan

Vision:

Gippslanders acting now to be well prepared for, and capable of managing, the known impacts of drought and severe weather.

Guiding principles that underpin resilience:

1. Self-reliance and risk mitigation: Drought and severe weather are not exceptional circumstances, but are risks to be managed along with other business threats.

2. Encourage preparedness: Focus time and investment on preparedness in good years and support community connectedness and wellbeing in challenging times.

3. Collaboration and co-design: Preparedness programs co-designed with relevant stakeholders to ensure effectiveness in addressing local priorities.

4. Improved decision making: Developing business skills, with improved access to information essential to support evidence-based decision making.

5. Integration: Foster collaboration between organisations to deliver timely, place-based, integrated services which simplify user access and reduce stress.

6. Leadership and community networks: Programs designed and delivered in partnership with established networks.

Purpose and objectives of the Gippsland Drought Resilience Implementation Governance Group

In 2024-25, the Gippsland Reference Group (the Reference Group) is working to identify and prioritise activities that build resilience with available grant funding that:

aligns with the priority actions identified in the region’s Drought Resilience Plan; and
can be achieved in a 12-month period.

The key objectives of the Reference Group are to:

Work collaboratively to prioritise activities that will build preparedness and resilience
Identify emerging risks and issues that may impact implementation
Identify and advocate for opportunities for additional funding
Support the distribution of information, collation of ideas and collaborative delivery
Build local and regional capability and capacity

The implementation of the Gippsland Drought Resilience Plan provides a pathway for focusing future efforts and guiding investment decisions to further build resilience in our region. The Plan will be used by the community, organisations, industry, the not-for-profit sector, and all levels of government to:

• coordinate investment;

• collaborate for shared outcomes;

• inform future resilience priorities;

• develop resilience programs; and

• monitor resilience to future droughts.

Next steps:

We will use our network to deepen engagement over the next eight months, at spring/summer events;
Now that there are three aligned documents to guide our resilience planning for the next five to seven years (Gippsland Drought Resilience Plan [GDRP]; Gippsland Implementation Plan [GIP]; and Gippsland Resilience Priorities Plan [GRPP]), each organisation begins aligning the following focus areas with their 2025 annual planning:
- begin implementing short-term funded and unfunded actions;
- actively pursue additional funding to complete these actions; and
- collaborate to complete actions as soon as possible (and avoid working in isolation).

Gippsland Agricultural Leadership Program

In 2025, the Gippsland Agricultural Leadership Program (GALP) will run for the first time, taking an agriculture-specific focus to equip local farmers, land managers and agricultural industry professionals with the skills to think innovatively in addressing the evolving challenges within the sector.

Participants will be empowered to drive transformative change in their businesses, communities, and the broader agricultural landscape, gaining the knowledge and confidence to lead the future of farming in our thriving region.

Led by farm management consultant Chris Mirams and futurist Dr Gary Saliba, director at management consulting company Strategic Journeys, this three-month program includes a regional tour, training, mentoring and peer-to-peer learning to strengthen leadership skills and build personal and business resilience.

Running from March through to May 2025, the program includes a two-day study tour, where participants will explore cutting-edge agricultural practices and hear from sustainable farming innovators and successful agricultural entrepreneurs.

Major funding for the course is provided by the Future Drought Fund’s Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program, with assistance from the South Gippsland Shire Council.

Download the Gippsland Agricultural Leadership Program flyer