Riverbank Rehabilitation Project

Local Land Services is delivering this project to protect and improve flood-damaged riverbanks across 11 NSW catchments.

Last updated: 16 July 2026

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Small blocks of wood are staked into a sandy embankment that travels down into a river with bushland on the other bank.

Project overview

Status: In progress

The Riverbank Rehabilitation Project strengthened flood-damaged riverbanks and supported land managers by:

delivering targeted riverbank rehabilitation works focused on the protection of high value rural agricultural, cultural and environmental areas
supporting land managers to prepare for, respond to and recover from the impact of future flooding events
identifying opportunities to improve the waterway approvals process.

Riverbank Rehabilitation Project
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Project background

The project was developed in response to severe flooding events in 2021 and 2022, which caused extensive damage to riverbanks and waterways across the Hunter, Greater Sydney and North Coast regions.

The NSW and Australian Governments committed $48.46 million to support the rehabilitation and protection of flood damaged riverbank sites across 11 catchment areas, including:

Bellinger
Brunswick
Clarence
Hastings
Hawkesbury
Hunter
Macleay
Manning
Nambucca
Richmond
Tweed.

Project delivery

The key activities of the Riverbank Rehabilitation Project are:

riverbank rehabilitation at targeted sites for bed and bank stabilisation in partnership with Soil Conservation Service
river experts giving land managers practical advice on caring for waterways and getting planning approvals
reviewing planning approvals barriers that make riverbank rehabilitation hard for land managers and recommend ways to improve the process.

Cultural Waterways Program

The Cultural Waterways Program was delivered as part of the Riverbank Rehabilitation Project to provide a culturally responsive approach to engaging with First Nations communities. The program supported the protection and preservation of cultural heritage within River Country across catchments in NSW affected by flooding in 2021-2022.

Through the Cultural Waterways Program, Local Land Services engaged with First Nations people to:

identify and strengthen the protection of culturally valuable areas at risk of flooding
preserve cultural values
manage risks to Aboriginal cultural heritage associated with proposed project activities.

Landholder insights into Waterway Approvals Challenges Project

Work was done to better understand the challenges landholders experience when seeking approvals for waterways and riverbank rehabilitation across NSW.

The team heard directly from landholders and approval agencies. Their insights informed what works well, what barriers exist, and where improvements could be made to better support landholders in the future.

Work underway

Riverbank rehabilitation works are complete at 38 sites. Site maintenance is continuing this year to help revegetation successfully establish and protect sites from weeds. Project evaluation is complete.

Project updates

January 2025

The Riverbank Rehabilitation Project partnered with Nambucca Valley Landcare to remediate over 400m of riverbank along Nambucca River.

With the help of Landcare volunteers, bush regeneration contractors and the Riverbank Rehabilitation Project team, more than 1,000 riparian seedlings were planted along the site.

A group of people place tree guards around tubestock next to a river.

November 2025

Work has been completed at multiple locations. Native vegetation has been planted, and riverbanks have been reinforced to prevent erosion and restore habitat.

Phase 1 outcomes of the project are being evaluated with a report underway.

The project team is continuing to respond to landholder requests for riverbank erosion support and advice. There has been an increase in demand for support after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March 2025, and the May 2025 east coast floods.

Restore and Protect: Riverbank Rehabilitation Series

This 2-part workshop series was held on the banks of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River. Greater Sydney Local Land Services supported landholders and local community members to share ideas and learn practical riverbank rehabilitation activities.

The first workshop explored:

the natural and cultural history of the river
what a healthy riparian zone looks like
common riverbank weeds
hands-on weed control demonstrations.

A group of people in high vis vests on a riverbank discussing vegetation.

The second workshop supported landholders to make changes to their management practices by exploring:

river processes and erosion
stock-proof fencing
habitat restoration
practical revegetation techniques
erosion control using soft-engineering methods demonstrated by Muru Mittigar, a Dharug Aboriginal Social Enterprise in Western Sydney.

Landholders who attended were gifted a selection of local native plants to kickstart their river restoration journeys.

A group of people in high vis vests on a riverbank discussing habitat restoration.

December 2025

Two people explore a riverbank while another sits in a kayak on the edge.

The project team partnered with Wanaruah Local Aboriginal Land Council, Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation and Virtus Heritage to undertake a cultural survey by kayak along the Hunter River on Wonnarua Country.

The survey mapped important cultural sites and land uses and gathered community perspectives on how to heal and protect River Country. It identified artefact sites, native plants used for food, medicine and cultural purposes and landform features associated with camping, hunting grounds and resource zones.

This survey is part of the Cultural Waterways Program. The program works with First Nations communities to help protect and preserve cultural values as part of the Riverbank Rehabilitation Project.

January 2026

Work completed on one of the most challenging sites within the project, located in the Hastings catchment.

A drone taken photo of a riverbank with extensive bank stabilisation work. — The site before work was completed.

The site was estimated to have experienced a meander migration of up to 70m along a 300m reach between 2001 and 2025. The erosion of 1.2ha of land equated to 180,000 tonnes of sediment loss.

To repair the riverbank, work consisted of log jams and log pins to deflect the main flow of the river away from the toe of the bank and rock revetment.

Drone camera view of the riverbank with rock wall erosion control. — The site after work was completed.

Project outcomes

Rehabilitating riverbanks on the Wilson River

The rehabilitation of a site on the Wilson River in the Hastings catchment saw rock and timber structures installed along with planting 7,337 native tubestock plants to ensure long-term protection of the riparian environment and prevent active erosion.

Read more about how a local landholder worked with Local Land Services and Soil Conservation Service to prevent further erosion in this case study to rehabilitate the upper Wilson River.

Soil and rock works around the head of Wilsons river. — Erosion controls were used to strengthen riverbanks along private property.

Addressing erosion threats on the Brunswick River

The Riverbank Rehabilitation Project rehabilitated 4 sites across the Brunswick catchment.

After severe flooding deepened a scour pool to 2m below the Brunswick River bed, works were designed to stabilise the site to prevent future flood damage and improve riparian habitat.

To ensure the scour pool didn’t degrade further, control structures were installed to slow the flow of water during flood events.

Read more about how a landholder worked with Local Land Services to prevent continued erosion in this case study about strategic riverbank stabilisation.

A birds eye view of a freshly updated scour pool with clear water, and white rocks surrounded by lush green grass and forest. — Work on the site focused on improving riverbank stability and reducing the risk of future erosion to agricultural land, infrastructure and natural assets.

Saving riverbanks in the Clarence catchment

In the Clarence catchment, riverbank erosion along the Orara River threatened agricultural land, aquatic habitats and water quality.

Works at the site spanned approximately 125m of riverbank, where work focused on stabilising eroding banks, improving riparian vegetation, and restoring habitats.

The Riverbank Rehabilitation Project undertook work on 5 sites across the Clarence catchment.

A riverbank that is heavily eroded. — The riverbank before works were completed. The site was heavily eroded.

A riverbank with erosion measures in place. — The riverbank after erosion works were complete to reduce erosion.

Stock exclusion in the Hunter catchment

At Martindale Creek, south of Denman, rehabilitation was required after experiencing extensive loss of riverbank and riparian vegetation from flooding in 2022.

The project included:

12 engineered log jams
17,500 tubestock planted, hydro-mulching and direct seeding
790m stock exclusion fencing.

The work means 5.7ha of riparian zone is now fully excluded from stock, protecting plants from damage and riverbanks from being compacted.

The Riverbank Rehabilitation Project undertook work on 4 sites in the Hunter catchment, restoring a total of 400m of riverbank.

A group of people work alongside a riverbank.

Rehabilitation in remote areas of the Macleay catchment

Rehabilitation works across the Macleay catchment’s Five Day Creek focused on resourceful approaches to overcome challenges posed by the project’s most remote location.

After construction began in 2025, rehabilitation was disrupted by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, and the extended closure of local roads due to landslip remediation.

Large wood installations were designed to encourage scour and river flow diversity for improved habitat for instream critters. Innovative bank revetment helped encourage sedimentation and instream growth across 600m of Five Day Creek.

Thunghutti community members conducted a cultural walkover, and provided monitoring during construction to ensure cultural heritage values were respected and protected throughout the project.

Two images side by side of a river before and after rehabilitation works are done. — Before and after riverbank rehabilitation control works done at a site in the Macleay catchment.

This work was part of 2 sites being restored in the Macleay catchment, where 720m of riverbank were rehabilitated.

Works conclude at Manning catchment site

Six sites were rehabilitated in the Manning catchment, including a Gloucester River site where 450m of eroding riverbank required repairs to protect prime agricultural land and riverbank health.

To curb the erosion, project delivery partners Soil Conservation Service designed and installed:

10 log deflectors
9 hybrid rock/log deflectors
6 engineered log jams
15 rock revetment keys

The works were then revegetated with 4,000 native tubestock.

Innovation and collaboration in the Nambucca catchment

Across the Nambucca catchment, 4 sites were targeted within the Riverbank Rehabilitation Project, restoring over 2,500m of riverbank in the catchment.

A 600m stretch of the Nambucca River saw collaboration across 5 landholdings to manage riverbank repairs.

The rehabilitations works focused on innovative design to maximise the efficiency of materials required for improved habitat and water quality.

Across the site, the riverbank stretch was rehabilitated using:

rock revetment
pile fields
large woody debris.

To build resilience against future floods, 7,600 trees, lomandras, and sedges were planted.

A river with lots of dead trees and eroded banks in it. — The site prior to rehabilitation works.

Tubestock with tree guards around them planted beside a river. — Revegetation works alongside the river.

Protecting property access in the Richmond catchment

In the Richmond catchment, one landholder stood to lose access to his agricultural land after significant soil loss from flooding in 2022 left a narrow river neck that threatened to break through the bank.

As well as losing access, without action the breakthrough would threaten downstream riverbanks due to increased stream velocity.

To prevent further damage to the neck, the project engaged the Soil Conservation Service to rehabilitate 500m of riverbank using rock revetment and pile fields. Revegetation work was carried out to provide additional stability.

Large logs and rocks in a river with lots of dirt around.

The Riverbank Rehabilitation Project completed work on 5 sites within the Richmond catchment.

Rehabilitating a site on the Rous River

At Nobbys Creek, weakened banks threatened to break and join the larger Rous River. This would have reduced its length by 150m, triggered upstream erosion, and increased erosion around a newly isolated island.

The Riverbank Rehabilitation Project delivered on-ground works including stock exclusion fencing, weed control measures and the planting of native riparian vegetation.

Two images side by side seperated by a white line. The left is a before works were done for rehabilitation on the river and right is after. — These two images show a section of the actively eroding riverbank before and after stabilisation works.

Aerial photo showing repaired riparian area with rock revetment — An aerial view of the stabilisation works.

Repairing decades of erosion in the Bellinger catchment

Following 40 years of damage from erosion, a 1km stretch on the Kalang River was identified for rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation included more than 2,400 tubestock planted and approximately 780m of fencing to protect the riverbank from heavy livestock impact.

Hard works included:

toe and rock revetment
bank battering
log deflectors
timber piles
revegetation.

Restoring riparian vegetation on the Hawkesbury River

The Local Land Services Greater Sydney Demonstration Farm is an education and training facility used to support best practice in land management, agriculture and biosecurity. However, weeds like green cestrum, castor oil plant and lantana threatened the farm riverbank’s riparian zone. The Riverbank Rehabilitation Project engaged with Dharug Aboriginal social enterprise Muru Mittigar to protect the values of this stretch of riverbank through careful, water-safe weed treatment.

During the weed control project, two workshops were held on site to teach landholders how to manage weeds on their own riverbank. The finished site remains a strong engagement resource for riverbank management.

Tools and support for landholders

Project officers created a series of resources and guides to help land managers understand river behaviour and put erosion management strategies in place.

Get practical advice on ways you can protect and restore riverbanks on your property.

Funding and partnerships

Key partners:

Soil Conservation Service
First Nations communities
private landholders.

The Riverbank Rehabilitation Project is jointly funded by the Australian Government and NSW under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. From September 2021–June 2026, $18.46 million was provided for riverbank rehabilitation at targeted sites across 7 NSW catchments from Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. From November 2023–December 2026 an additional $30 million was provided from the Riparian Stabilisation Package (under Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements) to continue work in the initial 7 catchments, and expand to 4 additional catchments, totalling 11.