Portland police Sergeant Martin Flannery said the incident was reported to emergency services at 12.30am ​after a Mitsubishi four-wheel-drive ​drove through ​a wooden barrier at the end of Hanlon Parade​.

The vehicle came to rest on its roof on a ledge 30 metres down the 80 metre high cliff, which prompted a four-hour rescue operation.

The driver finished up pinned under the Mitsubishi on the ledge with serious but not life-threatening crush injuries to his chest and face.

​The HEMS-4 helicopter was used to winch personnel down to the vehicle.

State Emergency Service volunteers used air bags to lift the car so the man could be saved.

He was winched into the helicopter and flown to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne where he is in a stable condition.

More than 50 Country Fire Authority, State Emergency Service, police and ambulance personnel were involved in the rescue operation.

​Sergeant Flannery said police ​were ​investigating the cause of the accident​.

"The rescue operation went very well in terms of a multi-agency cooperation," he said.

"The vertical rescue is a police job but we outsource to SES as the Portland’s unit's skills and expertise are highly regarded."

Sergeant Flannery said a dog and parrot had also been rescued at the accident scene.

The dog was taken to the RSPCA and the parrot is also in care.