The objectives of planning are, among other things:

• to provide for the economic and sustainable use and development of land, protect natural and man-made resources and to maintain ecological processes and genetic diversity;

• establishes a framework for planning the use, development and protection of land in Victoria;

• creates the Victoria Planning Provisions – a set of standard provisions from which all Victorian planning schemes are constructed (created and amended by the Minister or relevant authority);

• provides for the creation and amendment of planning schemes (which must contain a municipal strategic statement if the scheme applies to a municipal district);

• provides for the amendment of planning schemes applying to green wedge land in certain metropolitan fringe areas (listed in the Act);

• allows the Minister to declare an area of land in a municipal district of one or more growth area councils (listed in the Act) to be a growth area, or add or remove land from that declared area;

• creates the Upper Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Regional Strategy Plan, the Melbourne Airport Environs Strategy Plan, and the Williamstown Shipyard Site Strategy Plan;

• creates a system for obtaining planning permits (if planning scheme requires);

• allows a person to obtain certificate of compliance;

• creates enforcement measures for breaches of the Act, planning schemes or planning permits;

• View the whole Act online via Austlii

• Planning schemes
  • Which organisations prepare and administer planning schemes?
  • State Planning Policy Framework (‘SPPF’)
  • Local Planning Policy Framework (‘LPPF’)
  • Zones
  • Overlays
  • Planning scheme particular provisions which protect the environment
  • Planning scheme general provisions
  • Planning scheme incorporated documents