Delivering Melbourne’s newest sustainable communities
Melbourne @ 5 million and The Victorian Transport Plan, which were released by the Government at the end of 2008, proposed a number of initiatives to meet the needs of our rapidly growing population, including reviewing the Urban Growth Boundary, establishing grassland reserves in Melbourne’s west, and providing major transport infrastructure.
After the release of Melbourne @ 5 million and The Victorian Transport Plan, an Inter-Departmental Taskforce was established by the Department of Planning and Community Development to oversee the review of Melbourne’s Urban Growth Boundary and the implementation of integrated land use and transport initiatives in Melbourne’s new growth areas.
The following agencies have formed the Taskforce with the Department of Planning and Community Development:
Delivering Melbourne’s newest sustainable communities contains the findings of the Taskforce. It outlines the Government’s proposals to:
The Government is seeking public feedback on these proposals.
More information
Proposed changes to the Urban Growth Boundary
Proposed alignments for the Regional Rail Link and Outer Metropolitan Ring / E6 Transport Corridor, and boundaries for the grassland reserves
Melbourne 2030: a planning update – Melbourne @ 5 million
Melbourne 2030: a planning update Melbourne @ 5 million is the Victorian Government’s response to the recent analysis of the 2006 Census and Australian Bureau of Statistics information which projects an increase in population and household growth for the metropolitan area. This update has a strong focus on creating jobs and services in key Central Activities Districts and employment corridors that are closer to people’s homes. For more information, please visit the Melbourne @ 5 million web page.
New Urban Growth Zone
Amendment VC48 to the Victoria Planning Provisions and all planning schemes introduced a new Urban Growth Zone and Minister's Direction No. 12 to facilitate rezoning of land for homes in growth areas.
- The VPP Practice Note, Urban Growth Zone, below explains the purpose and provisions of the new zone.
VPP Practice Note, Urban Growth Zone, June 2008 (PDF - 482 KB)
- Amendment VC48 may be viewed at Planning Scheme Amendments Online. The new zone, other relevant clauses and associated documentation may be viewed here. The new Clause 37.07 - Urban Growth Zone and amended Clauses 12, 14 and 66 can also be viewed in the Victoria Planning Provisions.
- The new Schedule to the Urban Growth Zone can be viewed under Zone Schedules on the Templates page and in Minister's Direction on the Form and Content of Planning Schemes (PDF - 551 KB)
- This overview map shows where the Urban Growth Zone has been applied in metropolitan Melbourne .
Urban Growth Zones map (PDF - 397 KB)
- View the Urban Growth Zone provisions, and detail of where it applies in the growth area planning schemes Cardinia, Casey, Hume, Melton and Wyndham.
Growth Areas Authority
A Growth Areas Authority has been appointed by the Minister for Planning to oversee planning and development in Melbourne’s five growth areas. The Growth Areas Authority works with councils, developers and government agencies to:
- plan new suburbs in a way that enhances quality of life for residents, creates local jobs and is environmentally sustainable
- create affordable housing and a greater range and choice of housing
- plan for infrastructure and services as new development occurs to meet the needs of the community.
Select the links below to download A plan for Melbourne's growth areas:
A plan for Melbourne's growth areas (RTF - 360 KB) Cover (PDF - 140 KB) pages 2-9 (PDF - 534 KB) pages 10-21 (PDF - 1.3 MB) pages 22-25 (Casey-Cardinia) (PDF - 1.0 MB) pages 26-29 (Hume) (PDF - 1.0 MB) pages 30-33 (Melton) (PDF - 878 KB) pages 34-37 (Whittlesea) (PDF - 942 KB) pages 38-41 (Wyndham) (PDF - 900 KB) pages 42-44 (PDF - 467 KB)Page Top
Urban growth boundary changes in 2005
Map of the Urban Growth Boundary (PDF - 609 KB) Fact Sheet (PDF - 40 KB)The urban growth boundary is a tool that the government introduced in 2002 to help contain outward growth. Melbourne 2030 set an interim boundary to protect Melbourne’s highly valued farming, conservation and recreation areas, but indicated that the boundary around the five growth areas would be subject to review in light of growth area development needs in the longer term. The Smart Growth Committees carried out the review during 2004-05.
On advice from the committees about future development, and the government’s commitment to maintain a 15-year minimum land supply for housing and industrial development, the urban growth boundary has been amended. The urban growth boundary changes are detailed in the planning scheme amendments approved by the Minister for Planning in November 2005, ratified by Parliament and indicated on the growth area framework plans in "A plan for Melbourne’s growth areas". Twelve new major activity centres have been identified in the planning of the growth areas. The new major activity centres are:
| Casey-Cardinia Hume Melton Whittlesea Wyndham | Casey Central, Hampton Park, Officer Craigieburn, Craigieburn Town Centre, Greenvale Toolern Mernda Boardwalk, Laverton, Manor Lakes, Truganina |
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Fact sheets
Select the links below to download fact sheets:
Changes to the urban growth boundary (PDF - 458 KB) Creation of a Growth Areas Authority (PDF - 462 KB) Protecting the environment (PDF - 456 KB) Prosperous local economies (PDF - 462 KB) Development contributions (PDF - 462 KB) A plan for the Casey-Cardinia growth area (PDF - 740 KB) A plan for the Hume growth area (PDF - 803 KB) A plan for the Melton-Caroline Springs growth area (PDF - 769 KB) A plan for the Whittlesea growth area (PDF - 747 KB) A plan for the Wyndham growth area (PDF - 772 KB)Please note: Document(s) on this page are presented in PDF format. If you do not have the Adobe Reader, you can download a copy free from the Adobe web site.