Victoria is looking at making it easier, faster and cheaper for residents to divide their blocks and build more homes.
Premier Jacinta Allen has announced that the Government will immediately commence an implementation review into how to fix the current system, where subdivisions take too long and often discourage home building.
The review won’t inform Government whether to proceed – it has decided to. This is a review to outline the best way forward.
Ultimately, it will examine how our planning and building systems can be streamlined, enabling more Victorians to add a second home, build two new homes, or subdivide a block into two lots.
Options on the table include faster 10-day subdivisions (down from 60 days and often longer), criteria-based planning permit exemptions, or no requirement for a planning permit at all.
As part of the review, the Department of Transport and Planning will look at how approvals can be fast-tracked – while maintaining standards to ensure Victorians can rely on a good quality home.
Clear limits will remain in place when it comes to things important to the community like trees and car parks, and overlays permit requirements (such as in flood or heritage overlays) will still apply
To ensure we get these changes right, the Government will consult with industry – and consider final options with the aim of implementing the reforms by April next year.
The move follows the Labor Government’s change to regulations introduced late 2023, allowing homeowners to build small second homes, such as granny flats, without a planning permit.
By making it easier for homeowners to subdivide their land, it will be easier for more Victorians to find a home in an established suburb – close to transport, jobs, schools and services.
At the same time, the change will help Victorians wanting to downsize and set themselves up for retirement – allowing them to easily subdivide and either build another home or sell off the land to young Victorians and families.
Alongside delivering new social and affordable homes and Australia’s largest housing project – the Suburban Rail Loop and its six housing precincts – making it easier to build a second home is just one of the ways Government is building more homes.
It’s also just one of a series of announcements the Government will make this week about more homes, more support for industry, infrastructure and parks, and more opportunity for renters, owners and buyers.
To read more about the Government’s plans for more homes and more opportunity, visit vic.gov.au/more-homes.
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