How will higher landslide or mudslide risk impact insurance policies across the Dandenong Ranges?
“The vast majority of policies would exclude subsidence or land movement.”
Matthew Sims
October 16, 2025
Kalorama resident Kate and her family made the decision to move from Mooroolbark to the Hills about three years ago.
This year, Kate received a letter from Yarra Ranges Council informing her the home she lived in was proposed to be placed under a new Erosion Management Overlay (EMO).
Kate, who spoke on the condition of only giving her first name, said the notice and further investigation she has undertaken has made her “very angry” and “concerned” about the potential impacts she may face.
🗣️"I was surprised to receive the letter, because our block is a very gentle slope, flat in some areas,” Kate told the Eastern Melburnian. “I wouldn't have thought it was appropriate to have an EMO over the whole property.
"If something were to happen to the house, which required getting a planning permit for rebuilding, I'm very concerned that council might cause problems there.”
⁉️Quick catch up: In late June, Yarra Ranges Council received authorisation to prepare the amendment to the council’s Planning Scheme. Finalised and released to the public in August, the changes meant an additional 2,365 homes were placed in either Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 risk categories.
The changes also came with a warning from the council for homeowners: check your insurance.
Allan Manning, the founder of Insurance claim advisor LMI Group, said most home insurance policies don’t cover landslides, with some doing so in the case of things like storms or earthquakes.
🗣️“The vast majority of policies would exclude subsidence or land movement,” he told the Eastern Melburnian.
⛰️What is an EMO? If your property falls under an EMO, you must get a geotechnical report before doing any building or earthworks. These reports usually cost between $700 and $3,000+.
Submissions on the proposed amendment to the Council’s EMO plans close Sunday, October 26.
✍️What locals are doing: Kate said she would be making a submission calling for the EMO mapping to be reviewed.
🗣️“The evidence needs to be really solid, and the methodology needs to be quite rigorous, and I don't think that's been the case here,” she said.
💰Will premiums increase? Kate said while she had not looked into the potential impact the EMO would have on her property, she believed “a lot of insurance policies don’t cover landslides”.
🗣️“That may mean that insurance companies just raise the premiums for the whole area,” she said.
"I think prospective buyers would certainly be aware of those issues and probably be looking to avoid those issues where possible.”
Manning said insurance providers use satellite imaging to provide risk-based ratings. “[The new EMO mapping] will allow insurers to identify the higher risks and they’ll be rating the risks accordingly,” he said.
🙋What is Schedule 1 and 2? One of the most significant changes as part of the proposed EMO amendments is the addition of a second schedule - “Schedule 2”.
Schedule 1 applies to properties at risk of landslides - a disturbance in the natural stability in the slope resulting in a mass of rock or earth moving downhill
Schedule 2 applies to properties at risk of mudslides - when water rapidly accumulates in the ground causing earth and debris being washed down hill quickly.
🪨Greater risk: Engineering geologist Darren Paul said mudslides or debris flows “can be quite destructive” and pose a greater risk to properties and populations.
🗣️“They can take out things ahead of them very easily,” he said. “Debris flows will happen when we get the right rainfall event.”
☝️Changing policies: Last year, the federal Government created a Select Committee on the Impact of Climate Risk on Insurance Premiums and Availability.
A final report, released in November, recommended eight actions, including:
The creation of a national disaster risk map and database
To ensure insurance companies provide policyholders with details of price changes in response to resilience and disaster mitigation measures undertaken by the policyholder.
🫤Which policy is best?
Manning said the most important thing to do if you are concerned about what your policy is research.
🗣️“I want people to buy on the quality of the product, not the cheapest premium,” he said.
“It’s protecting your life’s work and there are massive differences from absolute rubbish that cover nothing right through to “Rolls-Royce policies”.”
What causes all of this? Many things can increase the risk of landslides and mudslides, including:
Erratic storm conditions caused by rising temperatures
Bushfires
Land clearing
Construction.
The CSIRO’S 2024 State of the Climate report highlighted rising temperatures, altered rainfall patterns and reduced humidity all contributing to harsher weather in Victoria.
Environment Victoria reports global warming – and humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels – directly causes an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide and methane trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere, meaning higher temperature and more extreme weather.