Planning Scheme Amendments

From time to time, changes are made to a planning scheme. These changes are called ‘amendments’ and may be introduced to respond to changes in an area, implement the recommendations or vision of an adopted plan or strategy, incorporate a new Council policy, or improve how the scheme operates.

The Mornington Peninsula Planning Scheme is a comprehensive legal document that sets out the rules for how land on the Peninsula can be used and developed. These rules are written in the form of ‘zones’, ‘overlays’, ‘provisions’ and ‘policies’ which include state, regional and local content. Together, these rules identify which types of development (such as new buildings or renovations) and land uses (like retail or industry) are either:

  • prohibited
  • need planning approval, or
  • can happen without a planning permit. 

They also identify what requirements must be met before planning permits can be issued and new developments or land uses can occur. State, regional and local planning policies help guide the decision-making process.

A change to a planning scheme is called a ‘planning scheme amendment’. Amendments can be made to implement recommendations from a Council plan, policy or strategy, fix anomalies or improve the overall efficiency of how the planning scheme operates. Amendments can change:

  • the mapping of where different zones and overlays apply across the Peninsula, or
  • the written parts of the planning scheme, such as a policy or a schedule to a zone or overlay.

Only the Minister for Planning can change State Government planning controls which are called the ‘Victoria Planning Provisions’.

Requesting a planning scheme amendment

An amendment can be prepared by Council or the Minister for Planning and must be approved by the Minister. (Only the Minister has the power to change a planning scheme). Anyone can request Council to prepare a planning scheme amendment.

Click here to learn more about requesting an amendment. 

The amendment process

The amendment process is a legal process that happens according to the rules set out in the Planning and Environment Act 1987. There are several key stages that usually take 12 to 18 months to complete, but sometimes longer. The process generally involves:

  1. Strategic work: Council, with the community and experts, identifies local needs and develops strategies, plans or policies to address these needs (e.g. a housing strategy).
  2. Amendment preparation: Council prepares a draft amendment which outlines the proposed changes to the planning scheme to implement the strategic work.
  3. Authorisation: The Minister for Planning authorises Council to start the process and consult the community on the draft amendment.
  4. Public Exhibition: Council releases the draft amendment for community comment.
  5. Planning panel: An independent planning panel considers community feedback, conducts hearings and prepares a report with recommendations for Council to consider.
  6. Council decision: Council considers all community feedback and the panel’s report before deciding whether to adopt, change or abandon the amendment.
  7. Ministerial approval: The Minister for Planning decides whether to approve the amendment.
  8. Gazettal: If approved by the Minister, the planning scheme is officially changed.

To find out more about the amendment process, visit the State Government’s website.

To find out more about planning panels, visit Planning Panels Victoria.

  

Current Planning Scheme Amendments

Completed amendments

An amendment is completed when:

  • the Minister for Planning approves the amendment and publishes an approval notice in the Victorian Government Gazette (the date of the notice is when the amendment officially starts operating in the planning scheme), or
  • the Minister for Planning refuses to approve the amendment, or
  • Council decides to abandon the amendment, or
  • the amendment lapses because it is not finished within the required timeframes.

Below are amendments that have been recently completed (within the last two months).

You can see all our completed amendments on the State Government’s website.

 

State Planning Scheme Amendments

From time to time, changes are introduced to the Victoria Planning Provisions (VPP) – the complete set of planning provisions that can be used to construct a planning scheme. Where a provision in the VPP is changed, all planning schemes across Victoria that contain that provision are also changed. Known as ‘VC’ or ‘V’ amendments, only the Minister for Planning can make changes to the VPP. VPP changes relevant to the Mornington Peninsula are found here.

Sometimes, amendments can be approved by the Minister that affect a group of planning schemes in Victoria. Known as ‘GC’ amendments, they are designed to address a planning scheme issue that affects more than one local government area.  All ‘GC’ amendments relevant to the Mornington Peninsula can be found here.

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