RE-Alliance has welcomed Victoria’s new Community Engagement and Social Value Guidelines, saying they give communities much greater say in how projects are rolled out.

The guidelines set 43 expectations that developers have to meet to access Victoria’s transmission network under the Victorian Access Regime.

RE-Alliance National Director Andrew Bray said the guidelines should help lift the standard of renewable energy development in regional communities:

“If you live in regional Victoria, and have renewable projects developing around you, this is your  check list to make sure developers are doing their due diligence.

“These guidelines matter because they set out what developers will be expected to do if they want access to the grid.

“That should help lift the floor across the sector—making stronger protections and clearer processes for landholders and neighbours the baseline, not the exception.”

Bray said the guidelines responded to concerns regional communities had been raising for years:

“Insurance, decommissioning and non-disclosure agreements are not side issues. They go directly to whether people feel protected, informed and able to make fair decisions.

“Communities need confidence that developers will have a local presence and demonstrate how local concerns have shaped the final project and these guidelines should deliver that.”

Bray said the guidelines could help shift community benefit beyond small grants or one-off payments and that coordinated planning across Renewable Energy Zones would be critical:

“Community benefit has to mean more than a cheque.

“It should mean practical, lasting benefits shaped by local priorities—things like local jobs, training, community energy, housing, shared infrastructure, local procurement and Traditional Owners Caring for Country, biodiversity and climate initiatives.

Bray said implementation would determine whether the guidelines made a real difference:

“These guidelines set a new bar for the country in terms of community engagement standards but the next test is delivering on the accountability that communities need.

“The guidelines provide the opportunity for communities to build relationships with developers and broker strong agreements for lasting local benefit.” 

The guidelines include expectations that developers:

• engage early with host landholders, neighbours, nearby landholders, Traditional Owners, councils, local businesses and communities
• show how community feedback has influenced project design and local benefit plans
• provide clear information about what can and cannot be changed through consultation
• establish clear complaints and dispute-resolution processes
• address concerns around insurance, non-disclosure agreements and decommissioning
• publish a Social Value and Economic Benefits Plan
• support local workforce development, local procurement, community energy, shared infrastructure and Traditional Owner-led Caring for Country initiatives
• coordinate engagement and benefits across Renewable Energy Zones to reduce consultation fatigue and deliver benefits at a meaningful scale
• consider co-ownership, a measure that will help empower communities and help keep benefits local. 

ENDS

Media contact:
Monica Tan
[email protected]
0425 243 750