The Victorian Government has introduced what it has called the biggest planning reform in decades, cutting red tape and speeding up approvals to deliver more homes.
The new system creates three separate approval pathways – with stand-alone homes to take just 10 days, townhouses 30 days, and larger apartments 60 days to approve.
Third-party appeal rights will be restricted to directly affected neighbours only, ending delays caused by objectors living far from proposed developments.
The government expects the reforms to unlock more than $900 million in economic value annually, and bring Victoria’s “old-fashioned NIMBY planning laws” into the modern era.
The Municipal Association of Victoria has responded, calling for comprehensive parliamentary scrutiny of the legislation.
MAV President, Cr Jennifer Anderson said councils had not been consulted. She said rather than consulting the planners whose job it will be to make the new provisions work, the government has chosen to impose them without testing.
The MAV is concerned that several critical issues won’t be addressed by the reform bill, and its CEO Kelly Grigsby said that speed should not come at the expense of quality and safety.