Two men have been hospitalised after being hit by falling tree branches and the SES has responded to 600 calls for help as Victoria is lashed by winds.
Eight kayakers needed to be rescued by life savers from waters off Anglesea after being swept out to sea but are all safe and well.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Kevin Parkyn says the weather system has not only brought wind, but "large, significant waves" up to seven metres on the south west coast, expected to run up along dunes during high tide.
"It's probably the first, wide-spread damaging wind event since last spring," he said at a media conference on Tuesday.
SES state agency commander David Baker said crews had responded to 600 calls for help by early Tuesday afternoon and were bracing for more calls during peak hour.
He asked the public to plan ahead during the school pick-up and peak-hour period, as debris flung by winds would create traffic hazards.
Ambulance Victoria were called to two incidents in Gippsland where men were hit by tree branches.
A 60-year-old in Bunyip North was clearing a branch from the road when he was hit by another branch about 10.30am, and a man in his 70s was hit by a branch while gardening in Inverloch about 9.30am.
Both were hospitalised and are in a stable conditions.
Cars and cargo were thrown around on the Spirit of Tasmania and it arrived two hours late into Devonport after a very rough crossing for passengers, a spokesman told AAP on Tuesday.
A yacht broke its mooring and washed up on a beach in Mornington.
The storm front is expected to hit Melbourne about 4pm.
Wind gusts reached 121km/h at Mt Hotham and Aireys Inlet, southeast of Geelong, was hit with wind speeds of 110km/h.
