Victorian flooding and University support
The flooding crisis taking place across Victoria will seriously affect individuals and communities for some time. The University is committed to supporting staff and students in Melbourne and in regional Victoria. The University understands this is a distressing time for residents within Shepparton and the Goulburn Murray region, and we are committed to supporting our students and staff, as well as our partners and local communities in the Goulburn Valley, who are affected by the floods.
Last updated: Friday 28 October
- Our students and staff are safe. However, we are aware of some members of our University community, and their families, who have had their homes inundated, are currently isolated or have had to evacuate.
- The University is communicating with staff and students in flood affected areas and offering support.
- Some local staff in the Goulburn Murray region are choosing to participate in volunteer work to help the local community and the University is supporting this with paid leave.
- The University has received a number of requests for financial assistance from flood-affected students in Melbourne and the Goulburn Murray region and these have been processed.
- Nurses deployed to Shepparton to support the Goulburn Murray region are being accommodated at our Shepparton campus.
- Our campuses in the Goulburn Valley and at Creswick are not severely affected and have re-opened for face-to-face teaching.
- Our Dookie campus and the Academy of Sport, Health and Education (ASHE) facility have offered to provide emergency accommodation and Dookie campus management is discussing other options with local Councils to support their incident response.
- The Goulburn Valley is the site of important partnerships for the University. While in some places the waters have started to recede, authorities have warned that the crisis is far from over. The University will work with our community partners in coming days to understand what practical support the University can provide.
Staff support
- If you are a staff member in need of urgent assistance or need time away from work owing to flood conditions, please email the new shared inbox staff-floodsupport@unimelb.edu.au which will be monitored by HR.
- Paid leave arrangements are available to you if you require it. If you can’t attend work because you need to protect your family or property, tell your line manager and support will be provided.
- This support extends to people impacted by floods or natural disasters beyond Victoria.
- Please remember that there are support options already available to all staff, including services provided by the Employee Assistance Program for mental health ad wellbeing, and additional Government support to affected community members is available via Services Australia.
Student support
- For information on support available for students, you can visit the dedicated support for students impacted by floods page
Donate to the Greater Shepparton Foundation
- For those of you who wish to donate funds to support the Goulburn Valley community, the Greater Shepparton Foundation has established the Shepparton Community Flood Emergency campaign, aiming to raise funds to support the immediate needs of residents and the response efforts. You can donate to the fund directly here.
- We will be working in coming days to identify further opportunities to support flood affected communities.
Supporting students in the community
To ensure current Year 12 students’ academic results and VTAC applications to study with us will not be adversely affected by the impacts of the floods, The University of Melbourne will be following the processes established by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). As you will be aware, VCAA and the Department of Education are supporting schools and VCE students to ensure no student is disadvantaged during this exam period.
Students who are significantly impacted by the floods are eligible for special consideration through VCAA, including Derived Examination Scores. VCAA has a dedicated VCE examinations hotline: 1800 717 588 (8am–10.30pm) and email address: 2022VCE@education.vic.gov.au.