Chronology
This chronology places the governing framework, technical assessments, commissioning material, regulatory disclosures and Trustee administrative record in date order. Its purpose is to show how the documentary pathway developed and where later material must be read against earlier requirements.
Why chronology matters
A technical or regulatory document cannot be understood only by its publication date. The relevant sequence may include the date of the governing requirement, the monitoring period, construction or energisation, commissioning, report preparation, auditor review, regulatory reliance and later disclosure.
Requirement date
Identify when the governing permit condition, standard or endorsed methodology became part of the applicable documentary framework.
Event and evidence date
Distinguish the date of monitoring, construction, energisation, commissioning or assessment from the later date on which a report was issued.
Reliance and disclosure date
Identify when an auditor or agency referred to, relied upon, released or stated that it could not locate particular material.
Dates are attributed to their source
The chronology is a documentary navigation tool, not a substitute for the source documents. It separates established dates from dates reported by particular parties and identifies conflicting or incomplete chronology where the available record does not establish one reconciled position.
What an entry establishes
An entry establishes that the identified document, event, statement or disclosure appears in the available record at the stated date. It does not give every document the same authority or convert a later statement into an amendment of an earlier requirement.
What a difference in dates means
Different dates may refer to construction completion, first energisation, generation, individual turbine commissioning, final turbine commissioning, commencement of operation or administrative closure. The chronology preserves those distinctions unless a source expressly reconciles them.
The record developed in layers
The sequence begins with the legal and planning framework, continues through the endorsed technical method and assessment record, and then moves to auditor material, agency reliance, Freedom of Information disclosure and the continuing administrative record.
Governing, technical and administrative record
Each entry identifies the event or document, its documentary significance and the page or source material through which it can be examined further.
| Period / date | Record event | Documentary significance | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planning framework | Planning Permit PL-SP/05/0461 and operational noise conditions | The permit establishes the project permission and the operational noise pathway. Conditions 23–25 connect the permit to the applicable standard, compliance assessment and endorsed testing plan. | Framework |
| 2017 | Original background monitoring and preparation of the NCTP | The original monitoring record supplied background information used in the technical pathway and identified K15aa for updated background monitoring before operation. | K15aa |
| 23 January 2018 | Noise Compliance Testing Plan, MDA 003 R03 | The endorsed NCTP records the compliance monitoring and reporting pathway, including the requirement for an updated K15aa background noise report before commencement of operation. | NCTP |
| June 2018 | Sonus Pre-construction Noise Assessment S5464C11 | A later predictive assessment for the proposed turbine layout. Its documentary role is distinct from the formal Marshall Day pre-construction assessment and later Environmental Auditor verification pathway. | Sonus 2018 |
| 2019 | Supplementary K15aa background monitoring | The monitoring later reported by SLR forms the updated K15aa baseline record. Its timing must be read with the construction, energisation, generation and commissioning chronology. | K15aa |
| 1 October 2019 | Community Reference Group record | The public meeting record states that construction was complete while commissioning was continuing, providing contemporaneous context for the transition between construction and operation. | Start Here |
| October–November 2019 | Energisation and generation records | SLR Appendix H records turbine energisation and generation during this period. Those records are relevant when assessing whether monitoring described as background monitoring occurred before turbine installation or operation in the area. | Appendix H |
| 18–19 November 2019 / recorded in 2019–2020 public material | Final-turbine commissioning milestone implied by landscaping chronology | The Community Reference Group minutes dated 4 December 2019 state that the landscaping program would close 12 months after commissioning of the last turbine and identify 18 November 2020 as the closure date, implying commissioning on 18 November 2019. The June 2020 Community Bulletin states that the program would remain open until 19 November 2020, implying 19 November 2019. The source-specific one-day difference is preserved. | Commissioning gateway |
| 10 December 2020 | Operator commissioning date later reported in the agency record | An IGN response states that the last turbine was commissioned and the wind farm commenced operating on this date. Other records use later commissioning-related dates, so this date is attributed to that source rather than treated as the only chronology. | Agency records |
| 16 February 2021 | SLR K15aa Compliance Baseline Noise Monitoring Report, v1.1 | The report publishes the supplementary K15aa assessment based on monitoring undertaken in 2019. The report date follows the 10 December 2020 operational date identified in the later agency response. | K15aa |
| 9 March–13 May 2021 | Elaine Stage 1 post-construction monitoring | The monitoring period later documented in the Elaine Stage 1 assessment. Its timing is relevant to the NCTP and NZS post-construction assessment windows. | Technical reports |
| Mid-2021 / July 2021 | Later commissioning-related records | A VCAT statement refers to the last turbine being commissioned in mid-2021, while Council landscaping closure material used July 2021 as the relevant twelve-month milestone. These records are not treated as silently overriding the different date reported elsewhere. | Verification |
| June 2022 | Environmental Auditor verification-document chronology | The available record uses different descriptions, including “Verification Audit” and “Draft Verification Report”, within closely dated material. The distinction is preserved as part of the verification record. | Verification |
| June–August 2022 | Yendon Stage 1 post-construction monitoring | The monitoring period later recorded in the final Yendon Stage 1 report. | Technical reports |
| 27 June 2022 | SLR Elaine Stage 1 Post-construction Noise Assessment, v1.7 | An earlier Elaine Stage 1 report recording the methodology and results of monitoring undertaken during March–May 2021. It later appeared within EPA correspondence. | Report · EPA email |
| 18 October 2022 | Noise Management Plan, Version 3.0 | The available document is marked Final Revision 03. Later EPA material refers to continuing revision, auditor review and draft status, creating a separate documentary chronology examined on the NMP page. | NMP |
| 21 October 2022 | ARUP correspondence concerning NZS 6808:2010 | The Auditor correspondence addresses technical verification issues and the distinction between mandatory and advisory wording within the standard. | Technical reports |
| March 2023–January 2024 | Stage 2 monitoring, Elaine and Yendon | The combined Stage 2 campaign was later documented in the September 2024 report. The monitoring period is separate from the date of report publication and verification. | Technical reports |
| 31 October 2023 | Final Elaine and Yendon Stage 1 reports | The final published Elaine Stage 1 report is SLR 640.11872-R04 v2.0. The final Yendon Stage 1 report is SLR 640.11872-R15 v1.7. | Technical reports |
| 13 November 2023 | ARUP Elaine Stage 1 verification | Environmental Auditor verification of the final Elaine Stage 1 assessment. | Documents |
| 7 December 2023 | ARUP Yendon Stage 1 verification | Environmental Auditor verification of the final Yendon Stage 1 assessment. | Documents |
| 31 January 2024 | EPA documentary reliance record | EPA identified a collection of reports and plans used in its compliance assessment, including Sonus S5464C11 and the available Noise Management Plan. | Agency records |
| 20 September 2024 | SLR Stage 2 Post-construction Noise Assessment, revision 1.2 | The combined Elaine and Yendon Stage 2 assessment includes later technical review material and Appendix H. | Technical reports |
| 24 September 2024 | ARUP Stage 2 verification | Environmental Auditor verification of the Stage 2 assessment. | Documents |
| 4–7 October 2024 | Beneficiary enquiry concerning final turbine commissioning dates | The Beneficiary asked what authority required notification of individual turbine commissioning dates or requested the final commissioning dates for the Yendon and Elaine sections. The operator stated that its notifications and reports were completed in accordance with planning requirements and that it was not obliged to provide the requested information. | Operational correspondence |
| 2024–2025 | Beneficiary Freedom of Information record | EPA, Council and DTP decisions and correspondence contributed to the historical disclosure, search and document-custody record. | FOI register |
| 12 January 2026 | Notice of Systemic Procedural Non-Compliance and Interim Curtailment Proposal | The continuing administrative record formally placed the identified documentary issues and proposed interim response before relevant recipients. | Administrative record |
| 19 February 2026 | Statement of Matters of Public Interest | The Trustee’s public-interest record was placed before the Victorian Ombudsman with supporting annexures. | Administrative record |
| 30 March 2026 / 25 June 2026 | EPA FOI-010-2026 decision and later document release | The decision and later release added further agency, auditor and consultant material to the disclosed record. The decision date and actual release date are preserved separately. | FOI register |
| 15 April 2026 | Council FOI SR.142870 — commissioning records | Moorabool Shire Council recorded searches for formal commissioning certificates, written notifications, milestone registers and internal records, and issued a no-documents-found decision. | Decision |
| 22 April 2026 | Governance — Administrative Record Clarification | The Trustee recorded why the commissioning milestone matters to the documentary chronology and requested confirmation of Council's administrative position without alleging wrongdoing. | Clarification |
| 29 June 2026 | Notice — Crystallisation of Administrative and Regulatory Record | The Trustee recorded completion of the then-current phase of documentary development while preserving the continuing nature of the administrative record. | Record status |
| 30 June 2026 | Crystallised record provided to the operator’s legal representatives | The completed package was transmitted as part of the continuing administrative and evidentiary record. | Administrative record |
| 6 July 2026 | Supplementary Public Interest Submission to the Victorian Ombudsman | The crystallised record, including the SRAM versions, annexures, verification schedule, Trustee minutes, chronology and supporting material, was lodged for inclusion with the existing public-interest file. | Documents |
| July 2026 | Public Lal Lal Wind Farm Record and agency gateway | The public record was organised around the central documentary question, common terminology, governing framework, issue methodology, chronology, technical evidence and agency records. | Agency records |
| 16 July 2026 | EPA regulatory-position reconciliation notice | The Trustee requested identification of the documentary pathway by which EPA reconciles its current regulatory position with the governing statutory and planning framework concerning K15aa. | Focused entry |
| 17 July 2026 | DTP FOI CS019200 decision and Trustee clarification | DTP recorded eight documents located and specified commissioning and completion records not located. The Trustee then sought clarification of the applicant identity and the determination of Part 4. | FOI pathway |
| 4 August 2026 | DTP FOI CS019200 supplementary clarification — Part 4 | DTP stated that, following relevant enquiries, it was unable to locate any documents in response to Part 4 concerning documentary authority for the identified departures from the NZS 6808:2010 definitions of background sound level and notional boundary. The outcome is recorded as a statutory disclosure result and is not treated as determining whether an authority existed elsewhere or the legal consequences of the disclosed record. | FOI pathway |
| 26 July 2026 | Professional clarification Notice issued to SLR Technical Director | The Trustee afforded a procedural-fairness opportunity to clarify professional positions and identify any documentary or authorising basis not apparent within the record. | Operational Correspondence |
| 2 August 2026 | Beneficiary advises Trustee of Australian Acoustical Society complaint | The Beneficiary advised the Trustee, for information and administrative-record purposes only, that a separate professional-conduct complaint had been lodged with the Australian Acoustical Society. | Operational Correspondence |
| 3 August 2026 | Professional clarification response period concludes | The response date stated in the 26 July Notice passed. The Notice had allowed a request for additional time if reasonably required. | Operational Correspondence |
| 8 August 2026 | No response to 26 July professional clarification Notice recorded | As at 8 August 2026, the Trustee records no response, acknowledgement or request for additional time. No adverse inference is drawn merely from the absence of a response. | Operational Correspondence |
| 29 July 2026 | Additional SAC material forwarded to SLR | The Trustee advised that the public SAC record had been expanded and provided the material for information and convenience only, expressly stating that the 26 July Notice remained unchanged. | Operational Correspondence |
| 5 August 2026 | DTP clarification forwarded to SLR | The Trustee forwarded DTP's 4 August clarification to Mr Reuterswärd and Mr Gardiner for information so that any response could be made against the current documentary record. The Notice remained unchanged. | Operational Correspondence |
| 7 October 2024 | Beneficiary raises asserted third Elaine meteorological monitoring facility with Council | The Beneficiary wrote to Council's Executive Manager Community Planning & Development concerning the permit allowance for meteorological monitoring facilities and requested the planning permit, authorising document or other instrument relied upon for what he described as a third Elaine meteorological monitoring facility and its relocation. | Agency Records |
| 8 April 2026 | Moorabool Council FOI SR.139279 — Elaine meteorological monitoring facility | Council recorded that its refined FOI search for any formal approval, consent, authorisation or endorsement relating to establishment or operation of the Elaine Meteorological Monitoring Facility identified no documents meeting the terms of the request. | Permit Amendment |
| 12 February 2025 | Elaine meteorological mast — observed removal | The Beneficiary emailed Council while the asserted third Elaine meteorological mast was being removed, recording that it was “currently being pulled down, today”. | Agency Records |
| 20-24 February 2025 | Council response and follow-up — Elaine meteorological mast | Council said LLWF did not require a planning permit to remove the temporary mast. The Beneficiary then sought the separate secondary-consent or planning basis for its earlier presence and duration. | Agency Records |
Four connected ways to follow the record
The same dates can be examined through different documentary pathways without changing their source or meaning.
Governing chronology
Follow the permit, NZS 6808:2010, the NCTP and the obligations against which later material is read.
Technical chronology
Follow monitoring, assessment, reporting, Environmental Auditor material and later technical review.
Disclosure chronology
Follow agency searches, decisions, release dates, reliance records and documents stated not to have been located.
Trustee chronology
Follow the Statement, SRAMs, annexures, notices, verification schedule and supplementary public-interest record.
Sonus S5464C11 and later disclosure
This focused sequence distinguishes the June 2018 Sonus report from later references to it, the formal pre-construction assessment and verification pathway, and the documents located through Freedom of Information.
Sonus S5464C11
Sonus issues the later Pre-construction Noise Assessment for the proposed turbine layout.
Later SLR and ARUP correspondence
Separate letters refer to Sonus predictions for J14aa, K15aa and the 35 dB(A) contour. Those references do not make the Sonus report the formal Marshall Day pre-construction assessment or its verification reports.
EPA reliance record
EPA lists S5464C11 among the documents used in its compliance assessment.
Report located; separate review not identified
DTP FOI CS015466 located and released the Sonus report. EPA FOI-031-2024 did not identify responsive auditor or peer-review documents for that request.
EPA regulatory-position reconciliation notice issued
The Trustee issued the Notice — Documentary Reconciliation of EPA’s Current Regulatory Position to EPA Victoria’s Chief Executive Officer. The Notice requests identification of the documentary pathway by which EPA reconciles its current regulatory position with the governing statutory and planning framework concerning K15aa.
Noise Management Plan documentary timeline
This sequence distinguishes the date and status shown on the available NMP from later EPA statements concerning auditor verification, continuing revision, draft status and regulatory reliance.
NMP Version 3.0
The available document is marked Final Revision 03.
Auditor verification requested
This request date was later identified by EPA in correspondence dated 21 June 2024.
EPA reliance record
NMP 0467385 is listed among documents used by EPA to assess compliance.
Revisions continuing
EPA states that revisions and Environmental Auditor review remained outstanding.
Draft status recorded
EPA internal review states that EPA had seen a draft but not a completed final NMP.
Draft dated October 2022
EPA confirms the date associated with the draft under discussion.
DTP clarification sought
The Trustee placed the documentary chronology before the DTP permit-amendment enquiry contact.
October 2024 K15aa report-submission enquiry
This entry records the operator's stated submission position and the Beneficiary's request to identify the updated K15aa background report required by the endorsed NCTP.
Operator submission position
The operator stated that all reports required under the planning permit were submitted to the relevant authority in accordance with the planning conditions.
Specific K15aa clarification sought
The Beneficiary identified the February 2021 SLR K15aa Baseline Noise Monitoring Report, referred to the NCTP requirement and asked the operator to verify the updated background report submitted to the Responsible Authority before operation.
15 August 2024 complaint and on-site monitoring
This entry records the relationship between a contemporaneous operational complaint, SLR monitoring equipment operating at J14aa and the later operator response.
Operational noise complaint
The Beneficiary reported being woken by turbine thumping and roaring, with the incident recorded as lasting more than two hours.
SLR logger display recorded
A contemporaneous photograph and video record the on-site logger display at J14aa. The visible values include LAeq 47.8 dB, LAF90.0 45.6 dB, wind speed 1.2 m/s and wind direction 317°.
Operator response
The operator's response recorded average wind speed of 9.5 m/s and average wind direction of 353.6°, and stated that wind conditions would not have caused excessive noise. The Beneficiary then asked whether the logger data had been reviewed during the investigation.
What this chronology does not determine
The chronology does not make findings of compliance, non-compliance, causation, liability or regulatory validity. It does not infer that a missing document never existed, or that a disclosed document was the only material held or considered. It identifies the available sequence, attributes statements to their sources and directs readers to the underlying evidence.
Document date is not always event date
A report may be prepared months or years after the monitoring or event it describes. The chronology therefore preserves monitoring periods, issue dates, revision dates and disclosure dates separately.
Later reliance does not amend the framework
An agency’s later reliance upon a document records an administrative position. It does not by itself amend the planning permit, NZS 6808:2010 or the endorsed NCTP.
2026 commissioning and DTP disclosure pathway
Council FOI SR.142870 decision
Council recorded searches and that no responsive formal commissioning records were found within scope.
Governance clarification issued
The Trustee requested confirmation of Council's administrative position concerning the commissioning milestone and associated post-construction chronology.
DTP CS019200 decision and clarification request
DTP issued its access decision. The Trustee then requested administrative clarification concerning applicant identity and Part 4 of the request.
DTP permit-amendment clarification pathway
This sequence records the Departmental reliance, amendment determination and later administrative clarification correspondence without determining the legal effect of the amended permit.
Departmental reliance position recorded
The Trustee sought clarification as to whether the Department maintained its earlier reliance position after receiving the Supporting Record and Annex materials.
Amendment determination issued
The Department issued the determination correspondence and final amended permit material.
Administrative clarification and reconciliation Notice
The Trustee sought clarification concerning Transitional Condition 27A, responsible-authority wording, meteorological monitoring wording and the relationship between the exhibited amendment and final permit.
Status enquiry
The Trustee sought only updated status information or an indicative timeframe.
Administrative record position recorded
No acknowledgement or substantive response was recorded. The Trustee advised that it would proceed on the available administrative record while remaining open to later clarification.
Public reference material provided
The Department was advised that the Permit Amendment and Noise Management Plan public-reference pages were available for information only.
2026 — Y23 blade failure and later site condition
This sequence records the incident date, the earlier third-party footage and the later 27 August site record. It distinguishes visible site condition from any conclusion about pollution, contamination or regulatory compliance.
Blade failure at turbine Y23
The operator recorded a blade failure at turbine Y23 at the Yendon Wind Farm at approximately 6:45 am.
Earlier third-party footage and Trustee enquiry
Third-party footage supplied through the Beneficiary was incorporated into the administrative record. The Trustee subsequently sought clarification concerning debris recovery, dispersion, surrounding land and waterways, authority notification and community information.
EPA identifies its clean-up role
EPA advised the Beneficiary that it was making enquiries into the broken wind farm blade and stated that its role was limited to ensuring appropriate disposal and clean-up following the incident. That response later formed the express basis of the Trustee's 27 August follow-up under ENQ231138.
Earlier footage provided to EPA South West and Central Highlands Water
The Trustee provided the incident footage to EPA South West and Central Highlands Water for information, public-interest and record purposes. The correspondence identified debris containment and recovery, surrounding land, drainage lines and waterways, relevant authority notification and environmental or public-health assessment, while expressly making no allegation or finding concerning the incident.
Later site footage records substantial material still present
New third-party footage records substantial blade sections and dispersed smaller fragments remaining visible around the Y23 incident area. Compared with the earlier May footage, no material general clean-up of the dispersed debris is apparent from the later visual record. Available locality rainfall records indicate approximately 200 mm of rainfall during the intervening period, including approximately 42 mm on 10 August. A supplied map records Y23 approximately 2.5 km in a straight line from Lal Lal Reservoir.
The rainfall and reservoir-proximity information provide environmental context only. The record does not establish that blade material or contaminants entered a drainage line, waterway or reservoir.
August 2026 — Victorian Ombudsman complaint record
The chronology separates four distinct complaint pathways. Lodgement or closure correspondence is recorded as a procedural event and is not treated as an Ombudsman finding on the underlying allegations.
Online Council complaint — C/26/15485
An online complaint was lodged concerning Moorabool Shire Council's failure to substantively respond to or adequately administer the Trustee's Condition 17 records enquiry. The underlying enquiry began on 13 July and was followed up on 23 July, 29 July and 10 August.
EPA Victoria complaint lodged
The Trustee lodged a complaint concerning EPA's administrative and regulatory decision-making and its continuing compliance position in relation to Lal Lal Wind Farm.
Separate Moorabool Shire Council complaint lodged
A substantively distinct complaint was lodged concerning Council's historical administration and investigation of Planning Permit PL-SP/05/0461, including its December 2022 no-breach determination. The complaint expressly distinguishes itself from C/26/15485.
C/26/15485 — closure correspondence and clarification request
The Ombudsman advised that it would take no further action under C/26/15485, describing concerns about Council's 2022 permit-compliance assessment, technical advice and record gaps. The Trustee then sought clarification as to whether that assessment related to the 14 August online complaint, because the online complaint concerned the separate Condition 17 non-response pathway.
DTP / Ministerial reconciliation opportunity
The Trustee gave the Minister for Planning a further opportunity to address the developed administrative record. A follow-up was sent on 18 August; the Trustee records that the 14-day period expired on 24 August without acknowledgement or substantive response addressing the matters raised.
DTP complaint lodged
The Trustee lodged a formal complaint concerning DTP's administration of Planning Permit PL-SP/05/0461, the documentary foundation for its stated NZS 6808:2010 compliance position and the 2026 permit amendment.
Professional standards and complaint pathways
The professional-body pathways are recorded separately from government and Ombudsman oversight. The public record preserves the independently existing professional correspondence and the capacity in which each pathway was invoked; the formal complaint documents themselves are not reproduced.
2 August 2026: the Beneficiary advised the Trustee that he had independently lodged an Australian Acoustical Society complaint concerning Mr Gustaf Reuterswärd in his private capacity.
13, 15 and 22 August 2026: the Trustee's separate AAAC external-complaint pathway records complaints concerning SLR Consulting Australia Pty Ltd, ARUP Australia Pty Ltd and Marshall Day Acoustics Pty Ltd. A separate Resonate Consultants pathway is also recorded on the dedicated page.
29 August 2026: the Beneficiary's separate AAS pathway concerning Mr Thomas Evans is recorded following completion of the Trustee's direct Resonate correspondence and provision of that material to the Beneficiary for information and independent consideration.
Capacity safeguard: Trustee correspondence supplied to the Beneficiary did not make the Trustee the complainant in the AAS process and did not direct, authorise or request the Beneficiary to complain.