The causes behind the McCrae landslide
The major landslide that struck McCrae in January 2025 has now been carefully examined, and the official inquiry has confirmed that the collapse was triggered by a long running failure in a water main above the site. The damaged pipe, owned by South East Water, leaked for months before the hillside finally gave way. From November 2024 residents noticed unusual water movement even during dry weather. They saw steady flows through gutters, soggy nature strips, water bubbling up through the road surface and damp patches that would not dry out.
South East Water eventually located and repaired the leak on 30 December 2024. By that time the damaged main had released more than forty million litres of water into the slope. The soil and underlying layers became saturated over many weeks and gradually lost their strength. A smaller slip occurred on New Year’s Day, which prompted the evacuation of a nearby home as a precaution. Less than two weeks later a much larger collapse followed, sending the house down the escarpment and seriously injuring a council worker who was inside gathering information.
The Board of Inquiry found that the water main failure was the immediate trigger, but it also emphasised that the location was already known for a high likelihood of ground movement. Previous assessments had identified steep terrain, complex drainage paths and sensitive geology. Even with this background knowledge, there was no long term and coordinated strategy in place to manage landslide risk across the broader area.
Planning gaps and lack of coordination
The inquiry reported that Mornington Peninsula Shire Council had not applied a specific planning overlay that is intended for erosion prone or unstable land. Rather than treating the entire escarpment as a sensitive zone that required additional checks and controls, development applications were considered one by one. This approach meant that key risk factors were not handled in a consistent way, and important issues could be overlooked from one project to the next.
The council’s planning documents and emergency management frameworks also contained limited guidance on landslide hazards, even though the risk in this part of McCrae was well documented. At the same time the inquiry found that the council and South East Water did not have a structured process for sharing information about unstable land or water infrastructure problems. Each organisation focused on its own responsibilities, and early warning signs that might have been understood more clearly through cooperation were not connected.
The Board described landslide management as an underdeveloped part of the wider emergency planning system. The hazard did not feature in key state and regional documents and was not fully reflected in local manuals that guide risk assessment. This gap contributed to delays and uncertainty in the response to the early signs of ground saturation on the hillside.
Lessons for building and future planning
The inquiry delivered thirty recommendations aimed at improving planning controls, strengthening cooperation between agencies and ensuring better monitoring and maintenance of water assets in high risk locations. Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has accepted several of these recommendations, including the need to apply an erosion management overlay to the affected escarpment and surrounding sensitive land. Work has also begun on stabilising parts of the slope and reviewing what long term measures will be required.
For people involved in construction, design or property assessment, the McCrae event has become a clear example of how faults in buried infrastructure can interact with fragile terrain. It shows that a single leaking pipe can become critical when the surrounding environment is already close to its limits. Anyone working in the region, including a Mornington Builder, is now reminded to examine geological conditions, historical drainage behaviour and the condition of nearby networks before any new project starts.
The McCrae landslide had a deep impact on the local community, but the findings of the inquiry provide a pathway to stronger planning, clearer responsibilities and better protection for hillside homes. If the lessons are taken seriously, the knowledge gained from this disaster may help prevent similar incidents on the Mornington Peninsula and in other coastal communities facing comparable risks.
