Flood damage restoration in Melbourne

Melbourne floods two ways. Rivers and creeks break their banks, and the drains run out of room in a storm and the water goes overland. Melbourne Water maps the two separately, and the law that defines flood in a home insurance policy draws the line in almost the same place. Knowing which one came through the house tells you which part of the policy to read, who looks after the drain, and what to ask for before the clean-up.

River flood or stormwater: what changes

The third row is the one that decides the claim. A policy can cover flood, leave it out, or cover it with its own excess, and the statutory definition applies to a home building or contents policy whatever the policy says. Stormwater that came across the ground from an overloaded drain is not flood under that definition unless it came out of a watercourse. Whether it is covered as storm depends on the policy’s wording. Storm, flood and water damage sets the three against each other.

What Melbourne Water’s overlays say

If your property is under either overlay, that is a strong hint about which kind of flooding reached it, but it is a planning control rather than a finding about your event. The water that actually came through the house is what the insurer will ask about, so photograph where it came in and where the line sits on the walls.

A flood level certificate is for planning, renovating and selling, not for a claim. It is worth ordering before you rebuild after a flood: both overlays require a planning permit for buildings and works, and Melbourne Water says a certificate is required for certain planning and land development applications.

Whose drain is it?

In numbers, from Melbourne Water’s own page: 1,400 kilometres of regional drains, managed by Melbourne Water, against 25,000 kilometres of local drains and street gutters managed by councils. Roof gutters, downpipes and pipelines on your land are yours (Melbourne Water, Drainage system). That split matters after the clean-up rather than during it: a blocked council pit or a failed regional drain is a question for the council or Melbourne Water; an overflowing roof gutter is maintenance on your side.

The first day in a flooded Melbourne house

The order of work is the same as anywhere else, and in Victoria the energy regulator sets the first step.

1. Power, gas, solar. Nothing goes back on until it has been tested: a licensed electrician for the wiring and appliances, the distribution company for the gas line. The Better Health Channel says supplies that may be damaged need to be confirmed safe by a qualified electrician or plumber.
2. Photographs and samples. The Insurance Council’s advice for wet materials that are a health hazard is to take a photograph, keep a sample and discard these items (Insurance Council of Australia, Help in disasters).
3. Throw out what cannot be cleaned. Better Health names carpet and children’s soft toys among contaminated materials to throw away, and says to leave hard surfaces wet with disinfectant for 10 minutes before rinsing after sewage.
4. Strip, dry, measure. The restorer’s part. The drying ends when the meter says so, not when the walls feel dry. Melbourne Airport’s mean 9am humidity is 83% in June (Bureau of Meteorology, climate statistics for Melbourne Airport (086282)), and damp air slows drying.

The national flood restoration guide has the full nine-step table, and the health departments’ discard lists.

What VICSES does, and does not do

So the call to VICSES and the call to a restorer are two different calls. VICSES makes the building safe in an emergency; drying, stripping and the claim are yours to arrange. Melbourne Water says councils offer financial and practical help when a property is impacted. Where a disaster is declared, Disaster Assist (Australian Government), Disaster Recovery Payment is $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per child.

October 2022: the Maribyrnong flood

It was a river flood in the plain sense of reg 34(1): water that escaped the normal confines of a river onto normally dry land. The inquiry’s report is the place to read what happened; this site repeats only the figures above, as the report states them.

What flood drying costs in Melbourne

The published rate card this site reproduces is not priced by city, so these are the same figures as anywhere in Australia. What changes in Melbourne is the day count: winter air slows drying.

The rebuild is building work, and Victoria’s building-work insurance applies over $16,000 before 1 July 2026, over $20,000 after it, depending on the contract date. The Melbourne page covers that changeover, and the cost page does other drying combinations.

Common questions