Fishermans Bend

Fishermans Bend is Australia’s largest urban renewal precinct covering approximately 485 hectares in the heart of Melbourne. Fishermans Bend consists of five precincts across two municipalities – the City of Melbourne and the City of Port Phillip – and connects Melbourne's CBD to the bay.

By 2050, it will be home to approximately 80,000 residents and provide employment for up to 80,000 people.

The transformation of Fishermans Bend is guided by the Fishermans Bend Framework; a long-term strategic plan to guide the precinct's development - including planning for parks, schools, roads, transport, drainage and community facilities and services to ensure liveability as the precinct grows over the next 30 years. The Framework is supported by a suite of evidence-based research reports, strategies and plans and its development benefited from more than 12 months of engagement with community and other stakeholders.

Achievements and progress by 2026

Fishermans Bend is over twice the size of the CBD and is Australia’s largest urban renewal precinct.

The nature and scale of transformation is unparalleled. Fishermans Bend is Australia’s largest urban renewal area, and will play a key role in the further evolution of central Melbourne as a world leading place to live, work, visit and invest.

The government endorsed Vision for the precinct is of ‘a thriving place that is a leading example for environmental sustainability, liveability, connectivity, diversity, and innovation’. In line with this Vision, Fishermans Bend is planned to accommodate 80,000 residents and 80,000 jobs by 2050, and to achieve new benchmarks in urban renewal.

In the eight years since the Framework was approved, there has been significant private and government investment in Fishermans Bend. Outcomes are occurring on the ground, and development is comfortably on track to achieve the vision.

Successful implementation of Fishermans Bend is underpinned by strong partnerships, including working and engaging with:

• Key Delivery partners including City of Melbourne, City of Port Phillip, and various government agencies including Melbourne Water and South East Water.
• Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation–a critical element of the initiative’s commitment to Country.
• Over 90% of land is in private ownership. Private sector investment and collaboration with industry, landowners and developers is critical to success.

Housing and Growth

Fishermans Bend is comfortably on track to meet growth targets:

• Current development pipeline of 16,000 dwellings, representing 44% of the overall growth target, and the precinct is comfortably on track to meet targets for 80,000 people and 80,000 jobs.
• 4,700 dwellings are built or under construction. Current development activity is on track to achieve the Framework’s growth targets of approximately 5,000 dwellings by 2025/2026.
• Development activity is tracking ahead of projections in Montague (3300 built or in delivery with a 2025 projection of 2450) and Wirraway (750 built or in delivery with a 2025 projection of 200).
• The development pipeline includes over 660 affordable housing dwellings, and over 100 social housing dwellings.
• All recent developments are achieving the policy target for 6% of dwellings to be affordable.
• There are over 60 development applications in the development pipeline, with estimated construction value of approximately $9bn as at June 2026.
• Current development pipeline includes floorspace for 12,500 new jobs, in addition to the estimated 30,000 jobs in the precinct, and will support almost 18,000 construction jobs.
• Further information on Development Activity is available here.

Transport

The vision for Transport in Fishermans Bend is for 80% of Transport movements to be made by public transport, walking and cycling, supported by an integrated transport strategy including cycle paths, bus routes, tram lines and underground rail line.

• 1,500 new weekly bus services have been introduced since 2022 on routes between Fishermans Bend and the City.
• $15 million was allocated in 2021-22 for public transport planning. A preferred route for a possible rail tunnel and station locations in Docklands, Sandridge and Innovation Precinct was confirmed in 2024. Planning controls to protect the route were introduced in 2026.
• The Fishermans Bend Integrated Transport Plan was released in 2025, setting out planning over three horizons to 2055 for including tram extensions, future metro stations, cycling links and better connections across the precinct.
• walking, cycling, road, freight, tram and rail transport.
• $11 million road safety upgrades in delivery, building on $1.5 million Road Safety Plan, to support safe access to schools in Fishermans Bend.

Sustainability

Fishermans Bend is setting new benchmarks for sustainable and resilient urban transformation – representing world leadership in sustainable precincts.

• 6 Star Green Star Community rating awarded for Montague Precinct (2025) - Represents World Leadership in sustainable precincts.
• Water Sensitive City Strategy (2022) - Integrated water management at precinct wide, street and building scale, along with third pipe infrastructure and water sensitive urban design in all development.

Development

Three schools delivered, including:

• South Melbourne Primary School, opened in 2018
• Port Melbourne Secondary School, opened in 2022
• Narrarrang Primary School, opened in 2026
• Planning for two additional schools is in progress:
• Site has been identified in Sandridge for a future Primary School (timing TBC)
• Investigation area identified in Lorimer for a future Primary School (timing TBC)

Fishermans Bend Urban Renewal Area Development Contributions Plan

The Fishermans Bend Development Contributions Plan (DCP) will support the delivery of $2.7B of essential infrastructure.

• The DCP has been approved and gazetted into the planning scheme.
• The draft DCP was reviewed by, and generally supported by, the Precincts Standing Advisory Committee subject to some updates..
• The DCP provides investment certainty about prioritisation, coordination, funding and delivery of $2.7B of essential urban renewal infrastructure to support current and future housing and job growth in Fishermans Bend.
• The DCP identified 117 projects: new or upgraded parks, roads and streets, and community infrastructure.
• The DCP sets out the project priorities and timing for project delivery over 3 ten year periods to 2055.
• $70 million contributions have been collected to date (as at June 2026) by the State.
• $10 million spent in 2018 on Kirrip park and streetscape works.

Tranche 1 priority infrastructure in delivery, funded by interim development contributions, includes:

• $11 million Road Safety upgrades near schools in Wirraway (Smith Street Crossing delivered, other intersection and streetscape upgrades in delivery)
• Discussions progressing with developers for work in kind agreements to deliver parks and road projects directly as part of their development contributions.
• $57 million new park in Montague (Johnson Street).
• Strategic land acquisitions for delivery of future road/ open space.

Open Space

25 Hectares of new open space funded by the DCP, with additional 6.3 hectares to be secured through Open space uplift.

Catalyst Projects

Significant government investment is supporting delivery of catalyst projects including approximately $200 M investment in the Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct.

• The Innovation Precinct is set to become a world renowned centre of innovation in advanced manufacturing, engineering and design.
• The first step in the transformation of Turner Street -$4.7M Gateway to GMH project has been delivered.
• Ferrars Street Education and Community Precinct in South Melbourne was delivered in 2018, including delivery of the South Melbourne Primary School, Kirrip Park, tram stop upgrades, streetscape upgrades and intersection upgrades.
• South East Water has purchased land in Sardine Street, Port Melbourne, for the construction of the precinct water recycling plant, a key catalyst project for the precinct.

Planning

A significant body of planning and policy work has been undertaken as important precursor work to finalising precinct plans and infrastructure funding.

Planning and policy work undertaken since 2018 has included:

• Advancing Manufacturing: the Fisherman Bend Opportunity (2020) was released in 2020, supported by updates to planning controls in the Melbourne Planning Scheme. This is supported by government investment to deliver Stage 1 of the Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct, , and the Gateway to GMH project.
• Fishermans Bend Water Sensitive City Strategy (2022), which provides an integrated approach to water management in Fishermans Bend with solutions that range from the precinct wide, street, and individual building scale. This is supported by investment in the Water Recycling Plant, DCP funding for Precinct scale drainage and water infrastructure and integrated water management in streets and open spaces, and services for water reuse in buildings.
• Fishermans Bend Seed Toolkit (2023), outlines a diverse set of levers to generate activity, seed economic opportunities and guide investment partnerships on the ground. It is was supported by a commitment of $2.5 million over two years to deliver the Fishermans Bend Innovation, Diversity, Experimentation and Activation (FB IDEAS) pilot via the Melbourne Revitalisation Fund, which is road testing tested the Seed Toolkit on the ground with investment partners.
• Fishermans Bend Integrated Transport Plan (2025), identifies a suite of integrated transport initiatives over three broad delivery horizons to support the realisation of the vision and sustainability goals for Fishermans Bend. The Transport Plan includes a future potential underground metro rail line with two stations in Fishermans Bend and a station in Docklands, two proposed extensions to the tram network, the delivery of high-quality bus services, a dense network of cycling routes and road network upgrades to keep freight moving to and from the Port of Melbourn. New planning controls have been included into the Melbourne and Port Phillip planning schemes, to introduce Fishermans Bend Future Metro Protection Area
• Fishermans Bend Urban Renewal Area Development Contributions Plan (2026) identifies 117 essential infrastructure projects needed to support development of the precinct, for delivery in three phases over the next 30 years, including new and upgraded parks, safer streets, walking and cycling connections, community facilities and drainage improvements that will help support future homes and jobs. The DCP is supported by complementary Open Space Uplift (OSU) planning controls into the Melbourne and Port Phillip planning schemes providing development incentives to create new open space. Together the DCP and OSU will deliver over $3B of essential infrastructure. Under the DCP, development contributions towards major infrastructure will be collected from all new development, through a single streamlined system managed by the State Government
• Release of the Draft Montague Precinct Implementation Plan (2023) which elaborates on the distinct precinct character, develops place-making approaches to support precinct activation, and identifies priority actions and key projects from the Framework. The Summary of Engagement was published in 2024.
• Draft Employment and Innovation Area Precinct Implementation Plan (2026), proposes a coordinated and phased approach to the precinct’s transformation by 2050, including a future urban structure, planning controls and design guidance to achieve the vision for the precinct to be internationally renowned as a centre of innovation in advanced manufacturing, engineering and design.
• Further Precinct planning work
  Precinct Implementation Planning for Lorimer, Wirraway and Sandridge is currently underway.