Victoria University’s ‘Stopping Broken Powerlines Before They Spark Disaster’ is an eight-year partnership with Powercor addressing a critical bushfire protection gap in rural and regional electricity infrastructure. The project responds to the risks posed by ageing Single Wire Earth Return powerlines, which supply electricity across approximately 200,000 kilometres of rural and regional Australia and can ignite vegetation if they break while energised.

Led by Dr Douglas Gomes, the partnership has developed the only proven detection system globally capable of identifying a broken SWER powerline before it reaches the ground. Within approximately one second, the system can send a signal to cut power during the critical ignition window, helping reduce the risk of infrastructure-linked bushfires.

The initiative combines Victoria University’s research capability with Powercor’s live-network access, operational expertise and field crews. Now trialled across five regional Victorian SWER networks and moving towards rollout across ten additional networks by 2027, the project demonstrates how sustained university–industry collaboration can deliver practical climate resilience and public safety outcomes.