The Channel Deepening Project was subject to a rigourous and transparent approval process requiring approval from the Victorian and Federal Governments under the Victorian Coastal Management Act 1995 and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999.

A chronology of the approval process is given below:

July 2004 - Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) releases Environment Effects Statement (EES) on 5 July 2004 and public submissions received by the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) over the following six weeks.

September to December 2004 - An independent panel appointed by the Minister for Planning considers the EES, hears evidence, expert witnesses and interested parties in public hearings.

March 2005 -The independent panel’s report is made public by the Minister for Planning. The report requires PoMC to undertake more investigations and prepare a Supplementary EES (SEES) and also recommends trial dredging. 

June 2005 - PoMC seeks approvals for trial dredging.

July 2005 -  Victorian Minister for Planning announces Victorian Government approval for trial dredging and issues draft guidelines for the SEES for public consideration.

July 2005 - The Federal Department of Environment and Heritage advised Port of Melbourne Corporation that the Federal Minister for Environment has declined an Emergency Heritage Request to list the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park on the National Heritage list under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC). The Minister also determined that the trial dredging project is not a controlled action under the EPBC Act.

October 2005- The final assessment guidelines for the SEES were released by the Victorian Minister for Planning.

March 2007 - PoMC releases the SEES for public exhibition on 21 March 2007. Public submissions received by DSE over the following six weeks.

June to July 2007 - An independent panel appointed by the Minister for Planning considers the SEES, hears evidence, expert witnesses and interested parties in public hearings.

October 2007  - Victorian Minister for Planning Justin Madden releases his assessment of the SEES. Concludes that the Channel Deepening Project can proceed on an ‘environmentally acceptable basis’.

December 2007 - Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Change Gavin Jennings gives the project approval under the Coastal Management Act 1995.

December 2007 - Federal Minister for Environment Peter Garrett gives the project approval to proceed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC). This was the final approval required for the Channel Deepening Project to proceed in Port Phillip Bay.