Kennett River is a small coastal hamlet located halfway between Lorne and Apollo Bay. It has become a popular tourist stop to experience Australian wildlife such as koalas and native birds.

The large groups of tourists and tour buses have created pressure on this small community and its infrastructure, including increased traffic and safety issues in the precinct.

In 2020, Colac Otway Shire Council (Council) received funding through the Geelong City Deal to deliver tourism infrastructure improvements in Kennett River. Council prepared a site Masterplan, completed site investigations, designs for road and parking upgrades and for a public toilet and wastewater treatment plant, whilst leading consultation on the project up until mid-2022.

A review into the Geelong City Deal projects located along the Great Ocean Road was conducted in 2022, which paused progress. The review ultimately recommended a transfer of delivery responsibility for the three continuing Geelong City Deal projects to the Authority, aligning to our mission to protect and manage the region’s iconic coast and parks.

This included the highly anticipated $3.69 million Improvements to Tourism Infrastructure at Kennett River project.

We thank and acknowledge Council for their work on the project to date.

Final plans to undergo planning approval process.

We invited community feedback on the draft Precinct Plan and draft Caravan Park Master Plan.

Engagement Reports have been released, and Community feedback helped shape the final plans as they go through the planning approval process.

The project is on track to commence construction in 2025.

The Kennett River Precinct Plan does not allow for large tour coaches to enter or stop within the precinct.

The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) will work with the relevant authorities to determine the most appropriate process to implement these restrictions.

The Precinct Plan focuses on enhancing the precinct’s usable public open space and increases green zones along the service road, riverbank, and in front of Kafe Koala.

It also includes designated parking spaces for a range of vehicle types and sizes (excluding large tour coaches) and introduces traffic calming measures, such as zebra crossings to improve safety and efficiency.

• The Precinct Plan will take in most of the public land in Kennett River. It will include the Kennett River Family Caravan Park, the Kafe Koala carpark stretching down to the river and a small section of the Great Ocean Road.

• The Precinct Plan will reduce overdevelopment in the town by sharing caravan park facilities with the public, including the public toilet and wastewater treatment plant. This will also alleviate the issue of these facilities being located in the flood plain and near the Kennett River.

• Alongside the Kennett River Precinct area, we are also asking for feedback on the Draft Kennett River Family Caravan Park Master Plan.

The Geelong City Deal is providing $3.19 million, and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action is contributing $0.5 million via a Visitor Experience Uplift Grant, bringing the total budget to $3.69 million.

This project is being delivered as part of the $676.15 million Geelong City Deal, a collaborative partnership to transform Geelong and the Great Ocean Road by the Australian Government and Victorian Government, and local council with the Authority and key partners.

Caravan Park Upgrades:

The accompanying Caravan Park Master Plan is a 10-year vision for the Caravan Park.

Upgrades to the Caravan Park (not highlighted in the draft Precinct Plan) such as new amenities and cabins will be subject to available funding and feasibility assessments and in many instances, grant funding will need to be sought.

They do not form part of the infrastructure improvements funded through the Geelong City Deal.

Kennett River Precinct Plan, 2025

The Final Precinct Plan reflects feedback from residents, businesses, visitors, and tour operators, ensuring future upgrades enhance local amenity and the visitor experience, while prioritising environmental protection and public safety

The final plan builds on strong support for proposed parking changes, removal of large coaches, enhanced bicycle parking, shared-use paths, and the creation of a community gathering place near Kafe Koala.

Several changes have been incorporated into the Final Precinct Plan, including:

• Reduction in motorcycle parking from 10 to 5 bays
• Additional accessible parking on the service road near the river
• Installation of bollards to improve pedestrian safety in front of Kafe Koala

Kennett River Family Caravan Park Master Plan, 2025

The Final Master Plan outlines improvements that will deliver a thoughtfully upgraded, sustainable facility that celebrates the natural beauty of Kennett River. It improves site functionality and safety, integrates with key infrastructure upgrades, and enhances the overall visitor experience.

Sustainability is a cornerstone of the Master Plan, with a strong focus on water efficiency, environmental protection, and energy-smart infrastructure – features that were well supported in community feedback.

Native landscaping, increased green open spaces, and nature-based play areas are featured throughout the site, reinforcing a focus on sustainable tourism and biodiversity. Internal roads will be realigned to optimise traffic flow, and essential infrastructure improvements include an upgraded wastewater treatment plant.

Key Park improvements include:

• Expanded shower and bathroom facilities, including four outdoor showers
• Nature-based play areas to encourage interaction with the environment
• A new central campground amenities block with a camp kitchen fronting the Great Ocean Road
• Outdoor dining areas, integrated with rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse systems
• Water-sensitive urban design and improved swale drainage to support environmental resilience
• A mix of upgraded accommodation sites to suit a range of visitor needs

Future improvements outlined in the Master Plan will be staged over the next decade and will be subject to funding availability and further feasibility assessments.

PRECINCT PLAN:

The Kennett River Precinct Plan does not allow for large tour coaches to enter or stop within the precinct.

GORCAPA will work with the relevant authorities to determine the most appropriate process to implement these restrictions.

The Precinct Plan includes plans to enhance the precinct’s usable public open space and increase green zones along the service road, riverbank, and in front of Kafe Koala.

Designated parking spaces have been provided for a range of vehicle types and sizes (excluding large tour coaches), and traffic calming measures such as zebra crossing have been included, resulting in a more efficient and safer use of existing space.

Expanded public open space: Enhanced usable public open space, including green zones along the service road, riverbank, and in front of Kafe Koala.

Central hub: The roundabout will serve as a connecting point for key features, while the enhancements in front of Kafe Koala, including the creation of a vibrant gathering space and increased landscaping, complement Kennett River’s coastal charm.

Designated Parking: The parking plan provides for one long vehicle (such as motorhomes and car towing vehicles), four medium vehicles (such as small buses and motorhomes,) 24 cars, five motorcycles, and six bicycle hoops.

Improved traffic flow: A one-way roundabout to simplify traffic flow with designated long-vehicle parking to eliminate reversing, and line-marking and landscaping to discourage ad-hoc parking and reduce congestion.

Safe pedestrian pathways: Purpose-built all-abilities pathways and crossings safely connect key areas, including Kafe Koala, the beach, the river, the caravan park, public amenities, and recreation zones.

New public toilets: Four toilet stalls (two accessible), positioned in the caravan park to consolidate infrastructure, improve pedestrian access (including from the beach), connection to the wastewater treatment plant and open views near Kafe Koala with the removal of the existing temporary amenity block.

Upgraded Wastewater Treatment Plant: Planned upgrades reflect current EPA requirements, protecting soil and groundwater quality while enabling water reuse within the caravan park.

CARAVAN PARK MASTER PLAN:

We are preparing a Master Plan (10-year vision) to ensure the Kennett River Family Caravan Park continues to provide a comfortable, relaxing stay while maintaining its natural essence.

This Master Plan will sit alongside the wider Kennett River Precinct Plan, delivered by the Geelong City Deal.

Caravan Park changes: The re-location of camping sites is proposed to accommodate the changes and is included in the draft Kennett River Family Caravan Park Master Plan.

Key Features Include:

• Construction of new amenities block (expanded shower and bathroom facilities)
• Construction of new kitchen inclusive of outdoor eating area
• Upgraded cabin precinct including accessible cabins
• Improved internal road network
• Four outdoor showers
• Infrastructure for water harvesting and re-use
• Construction of nature-based playground
• Fire infrastructure upgrades
• Improved swale drainage

Download a copy of the FAQ (released alongside the draft plan and utilised throughout community engagement period) here.

The Vision and Guiding Principles were developed to support the preparation of the Precinct Plan.

Download a copy here.

*Note that these were developed in response to feedback provided by project partners, stakeholder input, community engagement, and technical assessments.

The Kennett River Opportunities and Constraints Summary Report outlines the key insights gathered from community and stakeholder consultations, government policies, spatial analysis, and expert technical input.

Download a copy here.

Are you interested in finding out more about the proposed new amenity block and upgraded wastewater treatment plant? Please find below an overview.

A new public toilet

A new public toilet is proposed near the caravan park entrance, strategically positioned to effectively utilise Crown land, position assets with existing buildings and infrastructure (building, utilities and wastewater treatment systems), minimise environmental impact, and enhance the aesthetic of the area around Kafe Koala where the current temporary toilet is located.  

What is a wastewater treatment system?

Kennett River does not have access to a sewerage system like larger towns and therefore wastewater needs to be treated and disposed of onsite. Wastewater includes water from showers, kitchens and toilets. The wastewater at the caravan park is currently treated in an onsite Wastewater Treatment Plant (WwTP) and treated Class B wastewater is disposed via sub surface irrigation lines.

What is the source of water for the current wastewater system, and proposed wastewater system? How is water quality monitored? 

The current source of water for the wastewater system is from Kennett River, under a licence from Southern Rural Water (SRW), with additional water trucked in during peak times and for potable water. This is expected to continue, with increased demand offset by a range of water sensitive initiatives being investigated by GORCAPA including efficient water appliances, roof top capture and other long term sustainability initiatives including using grey water captured from shower blocks to flush the toilets.

The Kennett River Family Caravan Park has a water licence from SRW to harvest water from the river and follows the advice of the SRW, Colac Otway Shire and the EPA in managing water quality. This river water is treated and used for toilet flushing, showers and irrigation etc. and is not used for drinking (potable) water at the Caravan Park. Potable water is trucked into the caravan park.  

Colac Otway Shire, the EPA and the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority are responsible for monitoring river health and water condition, and we receive alerts should the water quality be of a concern.  

How will the new public toilet’s wastewater be treated?

The Wastewater Treatment Plant (WwTP) in the caravan park, which was originally approved by the EPA in 2007 is being upgraded to accommodate the use for this purpose and meet modern standards in line with current EPA requirements and approvals (Environment Protection Act 2017).

The existing system treats wastewater to a Class B standard. Upgrades to the existing infrastructure and additional new infrastructure including treatment tanks, balance tanks, treatment equipment and will increase its performance, life span and capacity. These upgrades and new infrastructure will ensure the system meets modern design requirements and will continue to treat the wastewater to a minimum of Class B standards.

This upgraded system will reduce risks of contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water; and will aim to improve options to reuse treated wastewater onsite via sub surface irrigation, thereby offering solutions to reduce use of water at the caravan park and public toilet. The EPA will need to approve the upgraded system and disposal areas and reuse options.  

What needs to be considered in design and approvals for installing the public toilet and the potentially the wastewater treatment plant’s dispersal field?

To have the system approved by the EPA several studies are required to be undertaken including but not limited to a groundwater monitoring program and assessment, Land Capability Assessments, soil properties, considerations of local climatic conditions, and flooding constraints on the site. The findings of these studies and known site constraints will be used to determine the extent of the dispersal system and the method of treated wastewater disposal.

These will need to address several issues such as: water quality outputs, flow paths to surface water areas (wetlands, Kennett River and the beach), groundwater interactions and groundwater flow direction, odour, human health and what controls and monitoring we will have in place to protect all these values. 

A Health and Environment Management Plan, together with a Risk Management and Monitoring Program for the WWTP will need to be developed by specialist consultants and approved by the EPA prior to the system being approved and operating.

These will include;

• monitoring of the performance of the system (including checks that the treated wastewater is meeting water quality specifications, and the dispersion systems are operating effectively),

• Preventative maintenance regimes

• monitoring of the surrounding environment including groundwater, surface water, soil and odour.

• the management plan will also need to include contingencies in the event that the system has a failure.

Our Stormwater and Flooding Strategy and detailed design will need to assess these flooding requirements.

No works on the WwTP and effluent fields will be able to begin without all necessary approvals being in place.

How does the Effluent Disposal Field work?

The proposed Effluent Disposal Field extent is indicative only and methods of disposal options are currently being assessed by GORCAPA and consultants.

The design and related approval documentation will need to meet all the above-mentioned EPA requirements and the planning requirements such as the Land Subject to Inundation Overlay prior to it being approved.

These flooding requirements are also considered in the EPA approval requirements, as well as understanding the interactions with groundwater and surface water (including flow paths from the effluent disposal areas to the caravan park drainage system and to sensitive receptors such as the wetlands and ultimately Kennett River), a Land Capability Assessment that assess local soil conditions, local climatic conditions such as rainfall and evapotranspiration rates at the site all need to be addressed and met through the design process and reflected in the approvals.

Additionally, we will be progressing options to increase efficiency of the existing field and disposal system in the design process to reduce the need for this additional extent, this will also hopefully have additional benefits to promote reuse of treated wastewater and reduce reliance on water extracted from Kennett River. When we progress to this stage, we will be presenting in more detail how all these elements will be addressed.   

No works on the WwTP and effluent fields will be able to begin without all necessary approvals being in place.

What happens next?

During the design and approvals stage of the project including the development of the detailed risk assessment we will keep the community updated to ensure all risks that relate to EPA approvals and planning approvals (such as the LSIO) are addressed.

We will also provide updates on how the system and disposal field will work and how we will be monitoring compliance of the system (i.e regular quality water testing, groundwater testing, preventative maintenance and regular reporting requirements to the EPA).

A concept plan for the WWTP will be developed as part of the next phase of the project and information on the plan provided via project updates.

Would you like to understand more about traffic within the precinct?

Download a summary here.

The draft Precinct Plan and accompanying draft Caravan Park Master Plan were made available for community feedback.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to help shape a sustainable, accessible, and locally informed precinct plan and caravan park master plan for Kennett River.

Community engagement for the draft Precinct Plan attracted strong community interest with:

• Over 1,000 project webpage visits
• 95 survey responses on the draft Precinct Plan
• 46 survey response on the draft Caravan Park Master Plan
• 65 participants in online information sessions
• Valuable input from licensed tour operators.

This feedback informed the final refinements to both plans before the project moves into detailed design.

If you would like to read through previous thoughts and feedback from the wider community and licensed tour operators - we have engagement reports available for download below.

Engagement Report: Kennett River Draft Precinct Plan (June 2024)

Engagement Report: Kennett River Caravan Park Master Plan (June 2024)

Engagement Report: Kennett River Licensed Tour Operators (November 2024)

Draft plans_information pack (March 2025)

Engagement Report: Draft Kennett River Caravan Park Master Plan (April 2025)

Engagement Report: Draft Kennett River Precinct Plan (April 2025)

What We did with What We Heard Report (May 2025)