Environment ministers have agreed to strengthen controls on particle pollution, speed up work on a national clean air agreement and establish a national standard for the environmental management of chemicals.
The Victorian Government has asked experts to advise it on a new coastal and marine law, and is re-examining ways to fund action to reduce severe flooding.
Heatwaves cause more deaths than any other natural disaster, but Victoria lacks a statewide emergency plan for responding to them, according to the state's Auditor-General.
Victoria's new coastal management strategy warns that building resilience to climate change will be expensive, and says a Future Fund or developer contributions might be necessary.
A new Victorian bill will require owners and operators of the state's critical infrastructure to demonstrate their assets are resilient to climate change and other hazards.
Victoria's Auditor-General is examining the state's readiness for a rising number of heatwaves, with other audits either planned or underway into landfill management and environmental assessment processes.
Victoria's first climate change adaptation plan says natural hazards are a more immediate risk to public and business infrastructure than terrorism, and gives as an example the 2009 heatwave-related transport disruptions that cost the state $800 million.