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What do the guidelines mean?
VicGrid and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) have released the Community Engagement and Social Value Guidelines (the guidelines).
The guidelines set the Victorian Government’s minimum expectations for how project developers must engage with landholders, neighbours, community and Traditional Owners, and create social value and economic benefits.
For new renewable energy and transmission projects, the outcomes and expectations in the guidelines are designed to:
- improve communication, engagement and sharing of information among developers, communities, landholders, neighbours and Traditional Owners
- empower landholders, Traditional Owners and neighbours to negotiate fair and reasonable agreements with developers
- strengthen the voice of Traditional Owners through self-determined processes
- enable communities, Traditional Owners, landholders and neighbours to provide informed feedback and shape decisions
- support the development of solutions that respond to local needs, priorities and concerns
- ensure developers take responsibility for the long-term impacts of projects on communities, landholders and the environment
- deliver real and lasting social value and economic benefits for communities, Traditional Owners and landholders, through a collaboratively developed Social Value and Economic Benefits Plan.
Download the guidelines or our summary factsheet below.
How were the guidelines developed?
The guidelines are a joint initiative published by DEECA and VicGrid.
Initially published in 2021, the guidelines have been revised through consultation to address the evolving needs of the Victorian energy landscape.
From 23 September to 5 November 2025, VicGrid invited feedback on the draft guidelines through a range of engagement activities. This included community and industry workshops, roundtables, webinars and meetings, engagement with formally recognised Traditional Owner groups, answering phone and email enquiries, and receiving feedback via submissions.
You can read a summary of feedback received on the draft guidelines in the report below.
Major themes of feedback
- Clear minimum expectations
- Fair treatment of neighbours and landholders
- Genuine partnerships with Traditional Owners
- Stronger cumulative impact management across landscapes.
- Greater guidance on budgeting for social value and economic benefit initiatives
- Clear expectations for developers about public liability
Some of the feedback asked how developers would be held to account for meeting the expectations, including questions about our assessment, monitoring and compliance processes.
These are important considerations that VicGrid is working through as we finalise the design of the Victorian Access Regime.
Read our key changes summary below to learn more about how the guidelines have been updated in response to feedback.
How will the guidelines be implemented?
Up until now, projects seeking to connect to the grid did not need to demonstrate how they engage with landholders, neighbours, communities or Traditional Owners or how they deliver social value and economic benefits.
VicGrid is developing a new set of rules that will manage how renewable energy projects gain access to the grid, known as the Victorian Access Regime.
The rules are due to come into effect in July 2027 and will include the requirement that all projects applying for access to the electricity network meet the requirements set out in the guidelines.
Until these rules are in place, VicGrid will be working with developers to ensure their engagement is consistent with the guidelines.
Public liability expectations
The draft guidelines acknowledged the Victorian Government’s awareness of landholders’ concerns about public liability insurance risks when neighbouring or hosting renewable energy infrastructure.
This includes concerns that landholders may face increased insurance costs and that they cannot obtain public liability insurance equivalent to the value of nearby renewable energy projects, leaving them financially exposed.
In response to these concerns, the updated guidelines include minimum expectations for project developers to protect landholders from liability for accidental damage to new renewable energy infrastructure.
We expect project developers to do the following:
- limit what they can recover from landholders in cases of accidental damage
- ensure their own insurers honour this commitment
- consult landholders and give commitments in writing.
You can read more about these expectations in our public liability factsheet below.
Frequently asked questions
The guidelines outline the Victorian Government’s minimum expectations for how renewable energy, storage and transmission developers should engage with and create social and economic benefits for communities, Traditional Owners, landholders and neighbours.
The guidelines build on the 2021 publication ‘Community Engagement and Benefit Sharing in Renewable Energy Development in Victoria: A guide for renewable energy developers’.
The guidelines were prepared based on feedback received through more than 160 submissions and extensive workshops, webinars and targeted feedback from community, Traditional Owners and industry stakeholders.
The guidelines apply to:
- generation, storage and hybrid projects seeking to access the grid
- transmission developers partnering with VicGrid to deliver projects forming part of the declared shared network or network services.
The guidelines can also be used by communities, landholders, neighbours, Traditional Owners and businesses to understand VicGrid’s expectations for developers.
The Victorian Access Regime sets out new rules for how projects can gain access to the state’s transmission network.
The expectations in the guidelines form part of the assessment criteria for access applications, and will be further detailed in access and connections materials released by VicGrid.
- Once the Victorian Access Regime is in operation, VicGrid will require all projects applying for grid access through the new Victorian Access Regime to meet the expectations in the guidelines.
- Before the access regime comes into effect, VicGrid will be asking projects seeking to connect to the network to ensure their engagement is consistent with the guidelines.
- A managed transition to the new Victorian Access Regime will allow time to get the settings right and complete planning for renewable energy zones.
Social value and economic benefits may include:
- local infrastructure investments
- community energy programs
- capacity‑building initiatives
- community benefit funds
- caring for and healing Country, cultural, biodiversity and climate initiatives
- workforce and local industry development
- providing pro-bono or discounted support to community projects.
The guidelines emphasise both immediate and long‑term benefits, co‑designed with affected groups.
Stakeholders raised strong concerns about fairness for neighbours and landholders. Minimum expectations now include:
- transparent negotiation and information
- developer-funded independent advice (legal, financial and insurance, tax)
- avoiding restrictive confidentiality clauses unless requested by landholders or other parties
- clear information about impacts, risks and rights
- clarity on decommissioning, insurance, cost responsibilities and contract terms.
The guidelines now set consistent expectations for developers and provide strong protections for landholders. Developers are expected protect landholders from liability for accidental damage to new renewable energy infrastructure. This includes:
- limiting recovery from landholders to the value of their existing public liability insurance
- not pursuing landholders without insurance for the costs of accidental damage
- providing written commitments and seeking alignment from their own insurers.
Learn more in our public liability factsheet on this page.
Developers must:
- specify decommissioning and remediation responsibilities in host landholder agreements
- include financial safeguards (bonds, trust arrangements) where appropriate
- protect landholders if developers or project owners exit or become insolvent.
Page last updated: 07/07/26