Pre-development advice

Before you commence on your development, our Pre-Development Application Service may assist in providing you with some information and guidance.

We can provide flood level data, flood extents, and levels to help you understand flood-related considerations for your site. Additionally, we provide information about Melbourne Water assets, waterways, reserves, and easements that may impact your proposal.

Pre-development advice applications involve responding to requests related to:

• Flood level information: Basic flood level information for development related enquiries
• Flood extent and levels: Known flood extents and related flood level information
• Asset and easement locations: Information about Melbourne Water assets, waterways, reserves and easements that may affect a development proposal 
• Design requirements: General design requirements for the development of the site
• Development Services Scheme (DSS) Information: Intent and property-specific information within the DSS when relevant that includes approximate flows, sizing and asset ownership information
• Preliminary planning advice: Providing preliminary advice on a proposed planning permit application, prior to submission to the Responsible Authority 
• Development Services Scheme (DSS) models: Providing a copy of the DSS models (RORB and/or MUSIC) to help you create site-specific models for stormwater management strategies (SWMS). 

For sites within a Development Services Scheme (DSS):

• General information related to DSS
• Information on what a DSS is
• Finding which DSS the site of interest may be within 
• What the current contribution rates are for the specific DSS  

The above information can be found on the Drainage Schemes and Contribution Rates pages. For specific property advice, a pre-development advice application can be made via our website.

For information on our development requirements, read our Planning for sea level rise page and our guidelines:

Application process

To ensure a comprehensive assessment of the pre-development advice request, please provide the following information:

• Site address: to help us locate your property
• Site and location plan: including property boundaries and relevant measurements 
• Proposal/request description: Please provide a detailed written description of your proposal request. Include as many details as possible (e.g. contemplated buildings, works, use and other factors) to help Melbourne Water understand your request and provide an appropriate response. When requesting information from Melbourne Water, include all available details related to your inquiry, along with the reasons for your request (if applicable). This additional context will assist us in providing a more accurate and relevant response. 
• Development Proposal Plan or Subdivision Concept Plan (optional and if relevant to the request): To give us a clearer understanding of the proposed changes, if available, please include any relevant and available information at the time of your request, such as technical details, project information, development proposal plans (including elevation and flood plans), and subdivision concept plans.  

Any plans that indicate levels are to be provided in metres to Australian Height Datum 1971 (AHD71).

All applications must be submitted online via our website and ensure they are prepared in conjunction with the relevant section of the Developer Minimum Application Requirements Guideline (478.38 KB, PDF).

Timeframe

We are currently receiving a high volume of applications due to growth in demand for our services, which has unfortunately created significant delays. We acknowledge your patience and will make every effort to process your applications as soon as we can. View our current processing times.

Fees

There are no fees for this service.

What happens next

We’ll then provide advice based on a number of factors, according to whether your proposed development is within or outside of a Melbourne Water drainage scheme.

Outside drainage schemes

We’ll provide information based on: 

• relevant flood level information
• development requirements to protect your proposed development from flooding
• Melbourne Water asset protection requirements
• stormwater quality requirements
• environmental and waterway protection requirements, including waterway amenity

Within drainage schemes

We’ll provide you with design criteria based on:

• design intent for scheme assets
• indicative location of required scheme assets
• indicative land take for major assets
• performance criteria for water quality treatment

Apply now

Once you’ve read and understood the information on this page, you’re ready to start your application. If you have any questions or need help, contact us on 131 722.

Apply for pre-development advice