Beach Access is highly important to the community. Beach access management needs to balance community values with cultural heritage, environmental protection, inclusive access, safety and sustainability.

The Beach Access Feasibility Study is now complete.

The study explored the challenges and opportunities around current beach access points, and provided data to inform:

  • A sustainable strategy that strikes a balance between providing access to the beach and minimising impacts on cultural and environmental values.
  • Development of a decision-making framework to evaluate and optimise beach access provision at a place-based level.
  • Observations for future improvements to beach access.

In future, you are likely to see:

  • Improved maintenance of designated paths.
  • Strategically located paths that provide access to amenities and places of high community value.
  • Accessible paths in priority locations to meet the needs of visitors with limited mobility.
  • Less very basic informal tracks in areas where multiple tracks are present.
  • Upgrading of high-value, well-located access tracks.
  • Restoration of native vegetation to protect against coastal erosion.

  • 307 beach access points (both formal and informal) were identified along the 17 km coastline managed by Bellarine Bayside. This works out to be one access point for every 50 m.
  • Of the current access points, only two are considered to provide safe access to the beach for people of all abilities.
  • Many of the recorded access points are not formalised, having been created as people cross the dune to access the beautiful beaches.
  • Informal access points create risks for both people and the precious coastal environment. They are often narrow, uneven or arriving at unsafe beaches, and they have an impact on cultural, marine and coastal values.

We acknowledge that many of our beaches have high value and appeal to residents and visitors on our coast. More community input will be needed at this stage, for us to better understand which beaches the community considers to be of high value.

The Beach Access Implementation Plan will commence in 2026, funded by a Coastal Public Access and Risk Grant. It will provide a clear roadmap for managing and improving beach access, building on the findings and framework established in the Beach Access Feasibility Study. The plan will ensure that decisions about beach access are consistent, transparent and based on agreed principles.

Have your say

A Beach Access Framework has been informed by the Beach Access Feasibility Study and to guide decision making on the northern Bellarine Peninsula.

We also want to make sure our beach access decisions are informed by community needs. That's why we're asking the community if there are any elements to the decision making framework that could be improved.

Beach Access Framework

The Beach Access Feasibility Study and Beach Access implementation Plan are supported by the Victorian Government through the Coastal Public Access and Risk Grants program.