Chapter 1

1.1 Work of the Board of Inquiry

1. On 4 February 2025, the Premier of Victoria, the Hon Jacinta Allan MP and the Minister for Local Government, the Hon Nick Staikos MP, announced that a Board of Inquiry would be established to investigate the McCrae Landslide.
2. On 18 March 2025, I was appointed Chairperson of the Board of Inquiry by the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Premier, pursuant to s 53(1) of the Inquiries Act 2014 (Vic) (Inquiries Act).
3. On 3 April 2025, I issued a Practice Direction informing interested parties of the process for making applications for leave to appear at public hearings.³ I issued a further five Practice Directions addressing other procedural matters.⁴ The Practice Directions were made available on the Board of Inquiry’s website.
4. On 9 April 2025, I visited McCrae to see the site of the 2022 and 2025 landslides and to meet the community. A community session was held that day at the Dromana Community Hall. The session was well attended. Later in the day, I attended an information session with the McCrae Evacuees Response Group (MERG) at the McCrae Yacht Club. I returned to McCrae on 4 July 2025, to again meet with MERG to provide a broad update about the process of the Board of Inquiry and to answer questions.
5. The first public hearing was held on 7 May 2025. At the beginning of the hearing, I emphasised the need for findings to be made as quickly as possible given the number of landslides that had occurred in the area and the ongoing impact on residents. I said that while speed was important, the work of the Board of Inquiry also needed to be undertaken with care.
6. Senior Counsel Assisting the Board of Inquiry outlined the work that had been undertaken up to the first hearing and provided an overview of the events being examined. He also identified a number of lines of inquiry in relation to the cause of the McCrae Landslide.
7. The Shire and SEW and the State of Victoria were represented by Counsel at the hearing (and at subsequent hearings) after having been granted leave to appear.
8. Further information about the public hearings held between 7 May 2025 and 18 August 2025 is contained in Appendix D.
9. Those assisting the Board of Inquiry undertook a broad range of activities, including:
   1. visiting the site of the 2022 and 2025 landslides;
   2. liaising with the McCrae community;
   3. interviewing potential witnesses and preparing witness statements;
   4. engaging independent experts;
   5. reviewing thousands of documents;
   6. preparing correspondence and a public notice informing residents and the wider community of the opportunity to make a written submission; and
   7. identifying specific organisations and individuals to be invited to make a written submission.
10. Information about the public submissions received by the Board of Inquiry is contained in Appendix G.
11. The Board of Inquiry issued 102 Notices to Produce under the Inquiries Act requiring the production of documents or information. These notices were issued to a range of bodies, including the Shire, SEW, Melbourne Water, Southern Rural Water, Detection Services Pty Ltd, Downer Utilities Australia Pty Ltd, the Building Appeals Board, and the Victorian Government (including its departments). In response, the Board of Inquiry received in excess of 25,000 documents. The Board of Inquiry received 51 witness statements.
12. The Board of Inquiry's processes and procedures were informed by considerations of procedural fairness. The Shire and SEW were given an opportunity to respond in writing to adverse findings being considered. They did so. The Shire and SEW were also given an opportunity to provide reports from experts on the cause of the McCrae Landslide, as well as the landslides that occurred in November 2022 and on 5 January 2025, and the works required to mitigate the risk of further landslides. The Shire provided reports on both issues. SEW chose to provide reports on the issue of causation only. The experts engaged by the Board of Inquiry provided reports on both issues.
13. A structured process was put in place for the preparation, exchange, and appraisal of the expert evidence, which involved:
    1. the experts having access to each other’s testing results during the preparation of their reports;
    2. the experts providing their reports to the Board of Inquiry by a set date so that they could properly consider each other’s reports before attending a conclave;
    3. the experts attending private conclaves to discuss and debate the content of their reports;
    4. the experts preparing joint reports identifying both agreed matters and matters remaining in dispute;
    5. the experts giving evidence concurrently at the public hearings;
    6. all parties with leave being permitted to cross-examine the experts;
    7. all parties with leave providing written submissions; and
    8. SEW providing further written submissions in reply to the submissions provided by the Shire and the owners of 10–12 View Point Road, McCrae.
14. Further detail about this process is contained in Appendix E.

1.2 Acknowledgements

15. I wish to acknowledge and thank the many people who provided invaluable support to the work of the Board of Inquiry.
16. I acknowledge the work of Counsel Assisting the Board of Inquiry. Particular mention should be made of the significant, broad ranging and invaluable assistance provided by Angela Kittikhoun of Counsel.
17. Thank you to the team of solicitors at Wotton Kearney who worked tirelessly throughout the Board of Inquiry. The whole team brought excellence, commitment and energy to their role. Particular mention should be made of Wotton Kearney Partner, Georgie Austin, who ably led the team. I also acknowledge the significant and invaluable work undertaken throughout the Board of Inquiry by Samantha Saad, Rhyse Collins, Zoe Burchill and Matthew Kenna.
18. The dedication and excellence of Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Campbell, the Policy and Research team, and the Operational team should be acknowledged. Thank you for your skills, expertise and commitment.

19. I acknowledge collectively the assistance of the following additional solicitors, staff and service providers:

    Wotton Kearney
    Richard Leder	Zoe Jones	Michelle Rich
    Deniz Coskundag	Jessica Bennett	Isabelle Ferrali
    Policy and Research
    John Aliferis	Georgina Glanfield	Kelly Butler
    Media and Communications
    Linda McSweeny	Amber Brodecky	Aoife O'Connell
    Operations
    Hannah Moore	Dianna Bergen
    Service providers
    Epiq	WOO Agency

20. There are two final acknowledgements of a different type to be made.
21. I acknowledge the significant work undertaken by Darren Paul, Technical Director - Engineering Geology, together with Stephen Makin, Hydrogeologist, and Hong Phuc Vu, Geochemist/Geochemical Modeller, of WSP. They were asked by the Board of Inquiry to assist by providing independent expert opinions, and they did so by submitting multiple expert reports, attending private conclaves and attending hearings to give evidence concurrently with experts engaged by the Shire and SEW.
22. Finally, I extend my gratitude to MERG and the broader McCrae community. Thank you for your knowledge, time and dedication to providing information throughout the Board of Inquiry. Whether you were involved in meeting with the Solicitors Assisting, attending hearings as a witness or observer, preparing witness statements, drafting submissions, or providing video and photographic evidence — you have been of tremendous assistance to the work of the Board of Inquiry. I hope this Report results in quick and honest action so that those residents still displaced may return to their homes and other residents may feel safe.

Chapter 1 Endnotes

• 1 Hon Jacinta Allan MP, Victoria State Government, ‘Inquiry into McCrae Landslide to give answers to residents’ (Media Release, 4 February 2025).
• 2 Hon Jacinta Allan MP, Victoria State Government, ‘Inquiry into McCrae Landslide to give answers to residents’ (Media Release, 4 February 2025).
• 3 Practice Direction No. 1 General Information.
• 4 Practice Direction No. 2 Leave to Appear; Practice Direction No. 3 Hearings; Practice Direction No. 4 Production of Documents; Annexure A to Practice Direction No. 4: Document Management Protocol; Practice Direction No. 5 Media Guidelines; Practice Direction No. 6 Witnesses Expenses Policy.