Recognising Port Phillip Bay as one of Victoria’s most precious natural assets, the Victorian Government is partnering with community organisations to address key issues impacting the Bay.
10,000 marine plant and animal species live in Port Phillip Bay, making it one of Melbourne’s most important ecosystems. In addition to providing valuable habitat, the Bay also supports recreational fishing and tourism, is the entrance to one of Australia's busiest ports, and has over 4.5 million people living and working in the catchment area.
The Fund supports long-term government strategies such as the Port Phillip Bay Environmental Management Plan 2017-2027, Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2037, and Victorians Volunteering for Nature – Environmental Volunteering Plan. These strategies, along with on-ground community action, are essential to addressing current and future threats to Port Phillip Bay.
2021-22 Port Phillip Bay Fund
The Victorian Government is providing $1.2 million for the 2021-22 Port Phillip Bay Fund round.
Grants up to $100,000 are available for innovative, large-scale projects and up to $25,000 for smaller projects that focus on conserving and protecting coastal habitats and the marine ecosystem.
Community groups, non-government organisations, research institutes, local councils, schools and youth groups can apply.
Applications closed Tuesday 15 March 2022.
If you have questions about the Port Phillip Bay Fund grant program, email our Port Phillip Bay Fund program team or phone our Customer Contact Centre on 136 186.
2020-21 Port Phillip Bay Fund
The 2021 Port Phillip Bay Fund provided nearly $1 million in grants to support 26 projects.
Applicant | Project Name | Project Summary |
| Balcombe Estuary Reserves Group Mt Martha Inc | Collaborating to Protect Mount Martha's Vulnerable Coast Woodlands (EVC2) | This project aims to increase the health and habitat of Mount Martha Foreshore and protect biodiversity values across priority areas through weed removal and revegetation works, thus enabling endemic species regeneration. |
| Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee of Management | Habitat Restoration for the future of Bellarine Red-capped Plover Colonies. | This project seeks to raise awareness, manage visitor impacts and improve the breeding habitat of red-capped plovers. The project will include, community engagement and education (workshops, fencing/signage); monitoring and data collection (banding, monitoring); and habitat improvement works (revegetation, weed control). |
| Bellarine Catchment Network | Caring For Our Bays: Culturally Connected Communities | Partnering with the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, this project aims to develop an education program that incorporates elements of traditional language, perspectives and values. |
| Capel Sounds Foreshores Committee of Management w/ Capel Sounds Educational Child Care Centre | Children on the Bay: Foreshore Care, Education and Conservation Project | This project aims to foster cultural understanding and stewardship of the bay and foreshore in children from five educational providers whilst connecting to community groups. |
| Deakin University | Protecting cultural heritage and restoring a threatened ecosystem at Point Lillias | Working in partnership with Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, alongside other organisations and volunteer groups, to carry out weed surveys and weed control actions (spraying and potentially mosaic cultural burning). This will protect a large cluster of cultural heritage sites and benefit native biodiversity. |
| Deakin University | Restoration of an urban coastal wetland informed through citizen science research | With the help of local citizen scientists from Friends of Truganina Wetland, the Blue Carbon Lab will undertake a feasibility assessment of Truganina Swamp and subsequent restoration actions to optimize the recovery of saltmarsh habitat. An ongoing volunteer team will be developed to monitor the health of Truganina wetland and the restoration of Laverton Creek bank. |
| Deakin University | Saltmarsh restoration and monitoring utilising citizen scientists | This project aims to use low-cost fencing to restore marginal farmland back to coastal wetlands, which benefits landowners and the wider community. The project activities undertaken will lead to a pilot study where citizen scientists, in combination with remote sensing methods will help to monitor a saltmarsh restoration project on the Ramsar listed wetlands of Swan Bay. |
| Deakin University | Revealing the habits of Port Phillip Bay’s iconic spider crabs | Using best practice application of citizen science, this project will investigate the ecological role of spider crabs and their aggregations within the Bay. Through community engagement and education, the project will increase the public’s custodianship of the bay’s unique environmental assets. |
| Frankston Beach Association | Fiocchi Ave Foreshore Revegetation Project | This project will rehabilitate approximately 3,700m2 of degraded coastal dune through weed removal and revegetation. New plantings will strengthen remnant flora stands, providing a contiguous corridor of vegetation for native fauna. |
| Hobsons Bay City Council | Calcarenite dune woodland restoration | Improving habitat of the Calcarenite Dune Woodland, coastal sedgeland, saltmarsh and coastal grassland vegetation communities through weed control works and revegetation. |
| Hobsons Bay City Council | Migratory bird protection program | Reduce disturbance to migratory birds through improved and increased infrastructure (habitat fencing, signage, path works). Further revegetation and rehabilitation works will lead to improved habitat values and reduced coastal erosion. |
| Hobsons Bay City Council | Altona Coastal Park woodland and saltmarsh restoration (Banksia junction) | Funding will assist in directing people and their dogs away from the mudflats which are feeding areas for migratory and local wading/shorebirds. It will also work to improve and rehabilitate original vegetation types, including coastal woodland, and dry saltmarsh communities. |
| McCrae Homestead Coastal Group | Protecting McCrae's Coast Banksia Woodland | Removal of woody weed species throughout Coast Banksia Woodland at McCrae foreshore between Bartels St and The Avenue. |
| Merri Creek Management Committee inc. | Building up the banks at Brunswick | This project aims to stabilise the banks of the Merri Creek in strategic locations by re-establishing riparian groundstorey vegetation. Local community groups and tertiary students will be educated on ways they can maintain a healthy stream and bay system. |
| Mornington Environment Association w/ Friends of Beleura Cliff Path | Beleura Cliff and Beach: re-vegetation, mycorrhizal fungi, heritage. | This project plans to revegetate the Beleura Cliff and beach below with iconic Banksias and other threatened plants, carry out ericoid mycorrhizal fungi tests and work with Bunurong Land Council to acknowledge the cultural heritage on the cliff via signage. |
| Mount Eliza Association for Environmental Care w/ Friends of Williams Road Beach Reserve | Further restoration of foreshore and vulnerable bay habitats: ongoing revegetation and education. | Volunteer-led restoration activities, including strategic weed removal and midden protection works. Hands-on education sessions to train scouts in cultural heritage and indigenous habitat protection. |
| Nepean Conservation Group Inc | Stewardship of the Bay: conserving coastal habitat - Portsea to Rye | The Nepean Conservation Group will work with the Mornington Peninsula Shire, volunteers, and contractors to conduct on-ground coastal bushland management works to remove woody weeds, scramblers and other ground weed species. |
| Port Phillip EcoCentre | Bay Protection: Community Rapid Response Task Force | Northern Pacific sea stars (NPS) are a nationally significant marine pest and a significant threat to the marine ecosystems of Port Phillip Bay. This project will establish a cross-sectoral network to facilitate rapid community responses to pest outbreaks, and; activate and support Victorians in protecting the valuable marine assets they love, and determine if this strategy can be scaled for other marine pests. |
| Remember The Wild | Bay country - Bunurong stories of culture, place, and connection | In partnership with the Bunurong Land Council, this project will facilitate Bunurong storytelling in the digital realm, bringing cultural stories and traditional knowledge to life through compelling short films. |
| Safety Beach Foreshore Landscape Committee Incorporated | Safety Beach Coastal Erosion Mitigation Project | This project aims to stabilise the heavily eroded dune bank in the project area, thus building resilience against storm surges, reducing associated stormwater runoff into Port Phillip Bay, and creating habitat for native bird nesting sites. This will be achieved via the removal of invasive weed species and revegetation with indigenous species. |
| Swan Bay Environment Association | Enhancing Swan Bay saltmarsh and coastal scrub habitats: Phase 1 On-ground works to improve understanding of ecological significance. | Partnering with the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners and the Marine and Freshwater Discovery Centre to develop an educational garden showcasing the ecological and cultural significance of salt marsh and coastal scrub. Volunteers will rehabilitate and refresh existing saltmarsh and coastal scrub. |
| The University Of Melbourne | CoastSnap for Port Philip Bay | CoastSnap for Port Philip Bay harnesses the power of the modern mobile device, allowing beachgoers to contribute to coastal management. Through establishing a dozen photo point sites and using start-of-the-art digital image processing, the position of the shore will be tracked daily. This will provide local land managers with precise information on where sand moves on our beaches and how storms and sea-level rise is changing our shoreline. |
| The University of Melbourne, Geography | Altona Citizen-Science Drones | Through the establishment of a citizen-science drone group at Altona, this project will empower the community to monitor and understand beach change, both natural and as a result of management interventions. Through the Eureka Award-winning methodology, local volunteers flying drones will produce survey-grade data critical for ensuring the resilience of Altona Beach into the future. |
| Trust for Nature | Warreen Beek Rangers (Year 4) | The Warreen Beek Rangers course provides an accredited Certificate III in Conservation & Land Management for Indigenous Students. The course was designed by Bunurong Land Council and the Wurindjeri Naarap Team and is delivered by Trust for Nature in partnership with Holmesglen. |
| Victorian National Parks Association | Underwater weeding; removal of invasive kelp (Undaria pinnatifida) by divers | Divers will be trained in the identification and removal of wakame from key sites throughout the bay to control its presence and reduce its capacity to spread. |
| Yarra Riverkeeper Association Inc | Regenerating Burnley Harbour for a Healthy Bay | The project continues the efforts of previous conservation works to establish a healthy riparian zone opposite Herring Island in the Burnley Harbour area. The project will involve the removal of significant rubbish build up, invasive weed species and additional site preparation to help stabilise banks from further erosion. Regenerating the native species will be done through selective plantings aligned with the relevant EVC and favouring species with higher resilience to climate change and urban disturbance. The project will be conducted by contractors and incorporate a community event to provide engagement and awareness amongst the local groups while performing citizen science. |
2016-2020 Port Phillip Bay Fund
34 projects received $3.4 million in funding.
Applicant | Project Name |
1st/14th Brighton Sea Scouts Venturer Unit | Scout cleanup and audits of beaches for micro-plastics and erosion |
A.W.A.R.E (Australian Wildlife Assistance, Rescue and Education) Inc. | Waste, Wildlife & Our Waterways |
Balcombe Estuary Reserves Group Mt Martha | Better Bay Water Quality - Balcombe Estuary Riparian Restoration & Improvement, Mt Martha |
Balliang Food and Fibre Group | Optimising fertiliser application rates to reduce excess nutrient runoff into the Bay |
BeachPatrol Australia | Help Save Sam Seadragon |
Bellarine Catchment Network | Caring For Our Bays Phase 2 |
Black Rock Pre School | Black Rock Pre School Beach Kinde |
Conservation Volunteers Australia | RAMSAR Wetland Connectivity and Bay Health Protection through Community Action |
Darebin Creek Manaegment Committee | Love Your Creek - Love Your Bay |
Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning | Melbourne’s Multicultural Coastcare / Landcare Team - a first for Victoria |
Dolphin Research Institute | Coastal Ambassadors Working for a Healthy and Valued Port Phillip Bay |
Farming Moorabool | Teaching materials on how farmers are protecting the Bay through environmental stewardship |
Frankston City Council | Bay Friendly Businesses |
Friends of Beleura Cliff Path | Restore indigenous vegetation on Beleura Cliff Path |
Friends of Merri Creek | Rapid response to litter cleanups after high rainfall |
Friends of the Hooded Plover (Mornington Peninsula) Inc | Protective fencing to protect Hooded Plover habitat nests and chicks |
Friends of Westgate Park Inc | Community enhancing Westgate Park's wetlands to improve health of Port Phillip Bay |
Loci Environment & Place Inc | Our Future City: 'Linking By Design' Competition |
Love Our Street | Love Our Street, Creek and Bay - litter reduction program |
Melbourne Water | Community Based Litter Action |
Melbourne Water | Reducing litter and sediment, and raising awareness in the Tanti Creek catchment |
Mornington Peninsula Shire | Restoring Coast Banksia Woodland, across the Mornington Peninsula |
Mornington Peninsula Shire | Upgrading Beach Drainage Outlets |
Mt. Eliza Association for Environmental Care (MEAFEC) w/ Friends of Williams Road Beach | Furthering health of foreshore and vulnerable bay habitats: ongoing revegetation and education |
National Centre for Coasts and Climate, The University of Melbourne | Restoring healthy ecosystems on subtidal reefs: an integrated approach |
National Centre for Coasts and Climate, The University of Melbourne | Managing nitrogen loads in Port Phillip Bay: towards better water quality |
National Centre for Coasts and Climate, The University of Melbourne | From grey to green: nature-based solutions for coastal protection |
Port Phillip EcoCentre | Clean Bay Blueprint: litter evidence, pro-active education and collaboration |
Port Phillip EcoCentre w/ Werribee Riverkeeper | Living Water Workbees: private/public co-creation of weather-resilient Bay and catchment |
St Columba's Primary School | St Columba's: Operation STEAM Clean the Bay (Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts, Maths) |
Tangaroa Blue Foundation | Working together to target the source of marine debris & litter |
Victorian National Parks Association | Strengthening ReefWatch - communities monitoring the health of Port Phillip Bay |
Yarra Ranges Council | River to the Bay, Creating Healthy Waterways |
Yarra Riverkeeper Association | Litter and flows - connecting the Yarra and the Bay |
39 projects received $4 million in funding.
Applicant | Project name |
A.W.A.R.E (Australian Wildlife Assistance, Rescue and Education) Inc | Waste, Wildlife & Our Waterways |
Australian Marine Mammal Conservation Foundation | Bin Not Bay: Education and Community Outreach Programs to Inspire and Empower Bay Health Stewardship |
Balcombe Estuary Reserves Group, Mt Martha | Community & Berg Mt Martha Together - Protection, Rehabilitation and Restoration of Coastal Habitat |
Bellarine Catchment Network | Caring for our Bays - Connecting Community and Business to the Bay |
BirdLife Australia | Avalon Coastal Reserve: Restoring a Forgotten Gem in Port Phillip Bay |
Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation | Indigenous Sea Rangers and Local Government delivering Bay Health objectives |
Cardi Creek Kids | Cardi Creek Kids: Creek to Coast |
Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management, The University of Melbourne | The Litter Trackers: Reducing Littering by Education |
Community Weed Alliance of the Dandenongs Inc | Monbulk Creek Community Neighborhood Program |
Conservation Volunteers Australia | Community Led Foreshore Enhancement |
Environment Protection Authority | Swimsafe: Citizen science and sensors to protect bay beaches |
Fishcare Victoria Inc | Litter Warriors - Protecting our Bay |
Frankston Beach Association Inc | Frankston Beach Association Gould Street/ Beach Street and Gould Street/Palm Court Dune Revegetation Project |
Friends of Beware Reef Marine Sanctuary | Discover Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park |
Friends of Greenwich Bay | Our Coastline on Melbourne's doorstep |
Friends of Westgate Park Inc | Planting and collecting litter along Yarra close to the Bay using community volunteers |
Geelong Sustainability Group Inc | Connecting your Bay: using creative media to inspire, empower and motivate |
Jawbone Marine Sanctuary Care | Jawbone Marine Sanctuary seagrass ecosystem inventory |
Mornington Peninsula Shire | Friends, working together to improve the bay |
Mother of God Primary School | The Schools Caring for the Bay Project |
OzFish Unlimited | Bay Vision: Recreational fishers restoring the Bay's fish habitats |
Port Phillip EcoCentre | Leading the way to protect the Bay: Nerm events for Students and Teachers 14 |
Port Phillip EcoCentre | Global Melbourne: Empowering diverse residents and visitors to protect our Bay |
PrimeSCI!, Swinburne University of Technology | Healthy Rivers, Healthy Bay |
Reef Life Survey Inc | Beneath the Bay |
Remember The Wild | Connected to Port Phillip Initiative: Bringing People and the Bay Together |
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology | The Plastics Lab: Establishing a free plastics identification facility for Port Philip community groups |
School of Geography, The University of Melbourne | Citizen-Science Drones for Bayside Beach Habitat |
St Aloysius Primary School | Inspiring Young Marine Science Experts - Stewards of Swan Bay |
Tangaroa Blue Foundation | Engaging community, industry and government to reduce plastic resin pellets flowing into Port Phillip Bay |
The Nature Conservancy | OysterWatch - Enabling the community to engage in shellfish reef restoration |
The Scout Association of Australia Victorian Branch | Street to Bay - Litter Survey of Port Phillip Bay Catchment |
Victorian National Parks Association | Broadening and deepening engagement and learning in Port Phillip Bay |
Werribee River Association | Litterblitz - raising awareness, partnerships and volunteerism to combat the threat of litter to the bay |
Werribee River Association | Bridging troubled waters - linking community groups with pollution tracking technology |
White Cliffs to Camerons Bight Foreshore Reserve Committee of Management Inc | Tyrone Foreshore Camping Ground Drainage Upgrade |
Wurundjeri Land & Compensation Cultural Heritage Council Aboriginal Corporation | Western Waterways of the Wurundjeri |
Yarra Riverkeeper Association | Lower Yarra Reed Bed Blitz Clean |
Yarra Riverkeeper Association | The Yarra Catchment Atlas |
27 projects received $0.8 million in funding.
Applicant | Project name |
Balcombe Estuary Reserves Group Mt Martha | Mt Martha North Coastal Headland Restoration 2019-20 |
BeachPatrol Australia | Spring Clean The City 2019 |
Bellarine Catchment (BCN) | Caring For Our Bays - Cultural Connections |
Cardi Creek Kids | Troups Creek 2 |
Conservation Volunteers Australia | Protecting the Point to Protect the Bay |
Conservation Volunteers Australia | Using Natures Assets to Protect the Foreshore |
Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations | Development of a Reading Country Program - Bunurong |
Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations | Development of a Reading Country Program - Wurundjeri |
Fishcare Victoria Inc | Invading the Bay |
Friends of Merri Creek | Sediment Slow Down along the Merri and Edgar's Creeks |
Greening Australia Limited | Restoring resilience to important coastal habitat of Limeburner's Lagoon through community participation |
Lady Forster Kindergarten Inc | Lady Forster Kindergarten: Revegetation to create an 'Outdoor Classroom' |
McCrae Homestead Coastal Group Inc | McCrae and Rosebud Foreshore Restoration |
Mornington Environment Association | Mornington Foreshore Restoration |
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council | Coastal bio infiltration basin to improve stormwater quality to Port Phillip Bay |
Mount Eliza Association for Environmental Care | Ongoing Restoration, Mount Eliza Foreshore |
Nepean Conservation Group | Foreshore for all - Police Point to Rye Foreshore Restoration |
Port Phillip EcoCentre | Help Save Sam Seadragon: now with added reach |
Port Phillip EcoCentre | School Sustainability Festival - Bay Leaders program |
Rotary Club of Drysdale Inc | Litter management on the Northern Bellarine |
Rye Community House | #2 Minute Beach Clean Boards - Rye |
Tangaroa Blue Foundation | Let's Strain the Drains |
Victorian Fisheries Authority | Port Phillip Bay’s Spider Crab Aggregations – Natural and Social Values |
WhiteCliffs to Camerons Bight Foreshore Reserve Committee of Management | Stormwater Outfall Remediation Project |
WhiteCliffs to Camerons Bight Foreshore Reserve Committee of Management | Reducing Polluted Stormwater runoff from Blairgowrie, Flinders & WhiteCliffs |
Wyndham City Council | Cleaning Werribee River |
Yarra Riverkeeper Association | Styrofoam Pollution; Sources and Solutions |
Note: Three approved applicants did not proceed with their project from the original announcement.
Sign up to the Port Phillip Bay Fund mailing list
To receive updates and news about the Port Phillip Bay Fund, sign up here