Right now, the system just isn’t working like it should – and decisions aren’t getting made fast enough.
Instead of decisions being made by councils, more and more planning disputes are taking longer and longer and ultimately ending up at unelected VCAT to resolve.
Our planning system should be quick, efficient, and easy to navigate. It should be a clear, transparent and accountable system – because Victorians deserve to know who is planning our city and state.
Faster approvals mean more homes, sooner.
What we'll do
Having applications sitting in the system doesn’t get homes built. We’ll begin the work to clear the backlog of 1,400 housing permit applications that have been stuck with councils for more than six months. We’ll have a dedicated team that works with project proponents, local councils, and referral agencies to resolve issues delaying council decision-making – to avoid projects ending up in VCAT and to get homes built. Once we have a clearer picture of projects and if decisions keep lagging, then the Minister for Planning won't hesitate to call them in.
We’ll make sure big decisions are made faster by expanding Victoria’s Development Facilitation Program. This will make the Minister for Planning the decision maker for significant residential developments that include affordable housing. We’ll streamline the planning process for medium to high density residential developments that meet the set criteria: construction costs worth at least $50 million in Melbourne or $15 million in regional Victoria, and delivering at least 10 per cent affordable housing. This will include new build-to-rent projects. It’ll mean around 13,200 additional homes will be brought to market that would otherwise be delayed – and it’ll cut application timeframes for these types of projects from more than 12 months down to four.
We’ll introduce clear planning controls to deliver an additional 60,000 homes around an initial 10 activity centres across Melbourne: Broadmeadows, Camberwell Junction, Chadstone, Epping, Frankston, Moorabbin, Niddrie (Keilor Road), North Essendon, Preston (High Street) and Ringwood. Activity centre plans will guide investment in the things a growing suburb needs like community facilities, public spaces and parks. The program will also consider the best way to incentivise more affordable housing.
Small second homes on the same lot – also known as granny flats or dwelling garden units – have become more and more popular. They can give families the space to grow together, provide a critical second income, or give kids somewhere to stay when they visit for the weekend. But for many, the burden of getting a planning approval has put building a second small home in the too hard basket. We’ll make it easier to build a second small home on your property. Dwelling garden units won’t require a planning permit, if they’re less than 60 square metres. And we’ll also introduce more permit exemptions for single dwellings for things like extensions to sheds and carports.
We’ll streamline assessment pathways with a range of new Deemed to Comply residential standards for different types of homes. Council planners will be able to quickly approve permits for houses that meet the residential standards – like how much space homes take up on a block, or how much storage a home has – meaning councils will only assess aspects of a permit that don’t comply with those standards.
We’ll expand the Future Homes program to encourage more new builds. Future Homes provides four sets of ready-made architectural designs which can be purchased by developers and adapted to a site through a streamlined planning process. We’ll create more high-quality designs for 4 and 5 storey developments, and we’ll expand the areas where they can be used.
We’ll also make changes to the types of homes that require planning permits. Single dwellings on lots bigger than 300 square metres, and not covered by an overlay, will no longer require a planning permit. Single dwellings on lots smaller than 300 square metres, where an overlay doesn’t exist, will be ticked off within 10 days.
We’ll introduce legislative reforms to strengthen our planning system. The legislation will implement Red Tape Commissioner recommendations, as well as other reforms like giving VCAT the power to dismiss matters without a prospect of success and imposing time limits on submissions. Planning Panels will also be able to undertake hearings on the papers and join parties.
The Property Council of Australia (PCA) and City of Melbourne have identified close to 80 commercial office buildings that are currently under-used because of changing work patterns and demand for flexible floor space increasing. We’ll work with the PCA and the City to consider opportunities to facilitate the conversion of these offices into around 10,000-12,000 apartments and mixed-use properties.
As our towns and cities grow, utility connections – like water and electricity – need to happen quickly. We’ll work to speed up water connections in greenfield areas to get Victorians into their new homes faster. We’ll revise our statement of expectations to water corporations, strengthening the need to engage with developers and local councils early and regularly through the permit process – and setting clear timelines these water corporations need to meet to connect new communities to the essential services they rely on.
To give industry greater certainty, the Department of Transport and Planning will bolster its resources in the coming months – including by bringing on 90 new planners – to help with a range of priorities like clearing the backlog, making good decisions faster and increasing housing choice in activity centres.
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