Valley

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) allows members of the public a right of access to documents held by the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management (CMA) subject to certain exemptions under the Act.

Goulburn Broken CMA Freedom of Information (FOI) Part II Statements

Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (CMA) releases information as online and printed documents. This can occur in meetings, at community events and various other activities.

​The purpose of this Part II Information Statement (required under Part II of the Freedom of Information Act 1982) is to help you:

  • Find out about our organisation;
  • See what types of information and documents we produce, and what is available on our website;
  • See how we manage Freedom of Information requests;
  • Decide whether or not to make a Freedom of Information request;
  • If you are interested in a specific topic, we recommend a full search of the Goulburn Broken CMA website.

There are six sections in the Part II Information Statement.

Please note, the resource locations and content presented within the overall Part II Statement provides only a snapshot of the information that is available and is by no means an exhaustive representation.

If searching for a specific topic, more thorough results may be obtained by conducting a full search of the site or by contacting the relevant business area directly.

Goulburn Broken CMA develops and coordinates the Goulburn Broken Regional Catchment Strategy implementation by working with the community, all tiers of government and research and funding organisations. The Goulburn Broken Regional Catchment Strategy sets out the framework for coordinating land, water and biodiversity management in the Catchment. Goulburn Broken CMA focuses on private land mostly managed for agriculture, on the interface of private and public land and supports Crown land managers with their functions.

Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is a Statutory Authority established by the Victorian Parliament in 1997 under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 The Minister for Water, supported by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), appoints our Board members.

In partnership, Goulburn Broken CMA delivers projects that seek to address and improve the management of:

  • Waterways and river health (including water for the environment);               
  • Biodiversity (including vegetation restoration and threatened species recovery);
  • Floodplains;
  • Salinity;
  • Soil health;
  • Climate adaptation.

Goulburn Broken CMA is responsible for Landcare support and funding co-ordination, community involvement and education, a regional response to climate change, and for monitoring and reporting on the health of the catchment.

Organisation Structure

View our organisation structure: Staff - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA

Governance

Goulburn Broken CMA has a Board which meets at least eight times a year and carries out its functions under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994.

The Board has two sub-committees which convene on a regular basis:

  • Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee
  • Remuneration Committee

Section 18N of the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 states “Subject to this Act, the board of an Authority may regulate its own procedure.

Category/Topic

Resource Location

Acts administered by/relevant to the Goulburn Broken CMA

The most recent   Annual Reports - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA.

Goulburn Broken CMA Statutory office and bodies

The most recent Annual Reports - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA.

List of Committees supported by the Authority (Board)

The most recent Annual Reports - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA.

Key Structures and Functions of the Authority

Section 2 of the most recent Annual Reports - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA.

Program areas

SharePoint (internal electronic document management system)

Goulburn Broken CMA Annual Reports

Annual Reports - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA. on our website

Goulburn Broken CMA prepares and implements a range of strategies, projects, initiatives and works, and seeks input and feedback from our community.

Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority creates many documents and records in the course of its work. The Authority uses an electronic document management system and various electronic databases to classify, store, access and manage a broad range of electronic documents including correspondence, financial, human resource, and operational activity documents. The Authority also has many historical hard copy documents stored in an off-site storage facility.

Document types

The types of documents Goulburn Broken CMA handles include:

  • Policies, procedures and standards;
  • Strategies,  reports, studies, environmental watering plans and project plans;
  • Project files;
  • Registers;
  • Correspondence;
  • Human resource management documents;
  • Applications, licences and referrals;
  • Meeting records;
  • Financial records;
  • Audio visual material;
  • Maps and plans.

Document categories

These documents are organised under the following general categories.

Heading/Title

Contains

Obligations

Documents relating to our legislative obligations including Annual Reports, compliance documents and checklists, emergency management documents and engagement documents

Governance

Documents relating to the governance of the organisation including Board administration, organisational development, policies and procedures

Strategies

Documents relating to the preparation and implementation of strategies including corporate plans, business plans, and Regional Catchment Strategies

Staff Resources

Documents supporting staff in the workplace including health and wellbeing, learning and development, and business tools and resources

Program Delivery

Documents relating to the planning, delivery and evaluation of Goulburn Broken CMA projects

Category/Topic

Resource Location

List of information available on request

The Statutory Information section of our most recent   Annual Reports - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, members of the public have the right to request information and access documents about their personal affairs and the activities of the Authority.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request needs to be made in writing to the agency that holds the documents being requested.

For general information about FOI in Victoria, visit: Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner's

FOI at GOULBURN BROKEN CMA

Apply for documents.

Freedom of Information - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA

Compliance with obligations

The statutory information section of our most recent Annual Reports - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA.

Reviews and complaints

Visit: Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner's

Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority produces a wide range of publications, many of which can be accessed on the publications section of the website. In some cases, it is not possible to supply the publication as a download. Ask how you can obtain a copy.

Information specified by Financial Reporting Direction 22 is reported within the Report of operations Sectioins of the Annual Reports - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA

Category/Topic

Resource Location

Publications produced by the Authority

Published Documents - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA section of our website

List of additional information available on request

The Statutory Information section of our most recent Annual Reports - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA.

Goulburn Broken CMA creates policies and procedures related to our various functions. A sample of these documents can be found on our website.

Category/Topic

Resource Location

Works on waterways guidance and permits

Waterways & Floodplain Management - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA section of our website

Waterways protection by-law

  By-Law No. 3 Waterways Protection 2014 - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA

Guidelines for grant applications

Are provided on the website as grants become available here Grants - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA

Organisational policies and procedures including:

  • Privacy
  • Public Interest Disclosures
  • Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality
  • Procurement Compliments and complaints

Compliance - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA section of our website.

Procurement - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA section of our website

The compliance section of our most recent Annual Reports - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA  also lists information available on request.

Goulburn Broken CMA publishes a range of reports and documents relating to policy and strategy.

Information specified by Financial Reporting Direction 22 is reported within the Report of operations sections of the Annual Reports - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA retained by Goulburn Broken CMA’s Accountable Officer and is made available on request to relevant ministers, members of parliament and the public (subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 if applicable).

Category/Topic

Resource Location

Publications produced by the Authority

Published Documents - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA section of our website

List of additional information available on request

Section 2 - Compliance in the most recent Annual Reports - GB CMA - Goulburn Broken CMA.

If you are interested in a specific topic conduct a full search of our website or contact our office:

Email: reception@gbcma.vic.gov.au

Phone: (03) 5822 7700

Apply for documents

Before you apply

Before you apply, you may want to:

You can:

  • Request access to documents of a non-personal nature about work Goulburn Broken CMA has done, is doing or plans to do, and our policies, decisions and actions
  • Request access to documents about your personal affairs and, if necessary, have them amended.

Some documents are exempt from release, for example if they:

  • Contain trade secrets
  • May affect legal proceedings
  • Affect personal safety.

How long will your request take:

We must make and communicate to you a decision on your request within 30 days unless extended in accordance with the Act. 

The period starts when:

  • Your request is viewed as sufficiently clear for us to process

and

  • Your application fee has been paid or evidence has been provided to waive the fee

and where relevant

  • We receive your deposit payment.

Fees and charges

When you apply you must pay the $31.80 application fee (from 1 July 2023). Our application form shows the payment methods we accept. 

Access charges (for searching, making copies of and preparing documents) may apply to your request. We apply these charges in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Access Charges) Regulations 2014.

If we estimate charges will be more than $50.00, we will advise you of our estimated charges and request a deposit before we process the request.

If the charges are less than $50.00, we will let you know the payable charges when we send you, our decision.

Ready to apply?

You can use this FOI Request Information sheet and the FOI Application fee payment forms below to assit you.

CONTACT US

Here’s how you can contact us about FOI:

Email: foi@gbcma.vic.gov.au 

Post:  Freedom of Information Officer
         Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority
         PO Box 1752
         SHEPPARTON VIC 3632

Phone: (03) 5822 7700

For more information on FOI requests to the Goulburn Broken CMA, please download the documents below.

Links and Downloads
Link Summary Format Size
pdf 267 Kb
pdf 278 Kb

The Goulburn Broken CMA acknowledges and respects First Nations people and the deep connection they have with their land and waters.


We acknowledge the Yorta Yorta and Taungurung people and their ancestors/forbears as Traditional Owners of the land and waters in the Goulburn Broken Catchment (and beyond). We value our ongoing partnerships with Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation and Taungurung Land and Waters Council for the health of Country and its people.


We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge and recognise the primacy of Traditional Owners obligations, rights and responsibilities to use and care for their traditional lands and waters.

Shepparton
168 Welsford Street, PO Box 1752, Shepparton VIC 3630
T (03) 5822 7700
F (03) 5831 6254

Benalla
89 Sydney Road, PO Box 124, Benalla VIC 3672
T (03) 5822 7700

Yea
Shop 5/10 High Street, Yea VIC 3717
T (03) 5822 7700