Winchelsea is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Surf Coast Shire local government area, the suburb or locality of Winchelsea is predominantly within Surf Coast Shire with a small section within the Colac Otway Shire. Winchelsea is located on the Barwon River 115 km south-west of Melbourne and close to Geelong.

The Shire of Colac Otway is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of 3,438 square kilometres (1,327 sq mi) and in June 2018 had a population of 21,503. It includes the towns of Apollo Bay, Beeac, Beech Forest, Birregurra, Colac, Cressy, Forrest, Johanna, Kennett River, Lavers Hill, Warrion and Wye River. It came into existence on 23 September 1994 through the amalgamation of the local government areas of City of Colac, Shire of Colac, part of the Shire of Otway and part of the Shire of Heytesbury.