Maria Marshall
With over 30 years’ experience as a planning and environment lawyer at Maddocks, Maria has built a reputation as a trusted advisor to councils across Victoria.
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Planning Amendment (Better Decisions Made Faster) Bill: The headline changes
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19 November 2025
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1 min read
The Planning Amendment (Better Decisions Made Faster) Bill (Bill) was introduced to the Victorian Parliament for second reading on 29 October 2025.
The Bill makes a large number of changes to the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Act) and consequential changes to other Acts.
We will share detailed commentary on the proposed changes in the coming weeks as the Bill progresses through Parliament. In the interim we provide the following ‘headline’ summary.
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1. New Planning Objectives and Strategies
- Updated Objectives: The objectives of planning in Victoria will include for the first time: to ensure that the use and development of land is planned and designed to respond and adapt to climate change; to recognize, protect and promote the rights, interests and values of the traditional owners and respect their ongoing cultural, spiritual and custodial relationship to country; to increase housing supply, diversity and affordability; and to facilitate social and affordable housing. The Act will stipulate that the objectives of planning in Victoria and the objectives of the planning framework established by the Act are not set out in order of importance and are to be balanced against each other.
- State and Regional Planning Strategies: The Minister for Planning (Minister) may prepare and approve overarching State and regional planning strategies, which must be reviewed at intervals not exceeding the prescribed period or, if no period is prescribed, 10 years. A planning authority must ensure that a planning scheme or amendment that it prepares is consistent with these strategies.
- Updated Objectives: The objectives of planning in Victoria will include for the first time: to ensure that the use and development of land is planned and designed to respond and adapt to climate change; to recognize, protect and promote the rights, interests and values of the traditional owners and respect their ongoing cultural, spiritual and custodial relationship to country; to increase housing supply, diversity and affordability; and to facilitate social and affordable housing. The Act will stipulate that the objectives of planning in Victoria and the objectives of the planning framework established by the Act are not set out in order of importance and are to be balanced against each other.
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2. Victoria Planning Provisions and Planning Schemes
- Impact Categories for Amendments: All planning scheme amendments will be categorised as either low, medium or high impact. The criteria for each impact category is to be specified by regulation. Before an amendment is adopted by a planning authority, the Minister may, in the prescribed circumstances, determine to change the impact category of the amendment.
- Streamlined Amendment Process: The Bill introduces new processes and timeframes which a planning authority is required to follow when processing and considering a planning scheme amendment. This includes a new requirement for public engagement plans.
- Ministerial Powers: The Minister gains new powers to direct a planning authority that is a municipal council to review its planning scheme within the time specified by the Minister if the Minister considers that the planning scheme is or may be inconsistent with any State or any applicable regional planning strategy. If the planning authority fails to review its planning scheme within the time specified, or if the Minister considers that the review does not comply with any requirements under the Act for the review, the Minister can undertake the review.
- Laying of Scheme Amendments before Parliament: The current obligation on the Minister to lay every planning scheme amendment the Minister approves before both Houses of Parliament - so that either House can consider whether to revoke the amendment in part or in full - is to be removed. The Parliamentary oversight will be ‘replaced’ by a lesser form of scrutiny by specifying a planning scheme and a planning scheme amendment to be a legislative instrument under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994.
- Impact Categories for Amendments: All planning scheme amendments will be categorised as either low, medium or high impact. The criteria for each impact category is to be specified by regulation. Before an amendment is adopted by a planning authority, the Minister may, in the prescribed circumstances, determine to change the impact category of the amendment.
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3. Consultation and Transparency
- Public Engagement: The Bill places stronger requirements for public engagement, including mandatory engagement reports summarising consultation and responses.
- Transparency in Decision-Making: Planning authorities and the Minister will be required to publish explanatory statements for key decisions, outlining how objectives are met.
- Performance Reporting: The Minister will be required to establish a performance reporting scheme for planning scheme amendments and publish annual reports.
- Public Engagement: The Bill places stronger requirements for public engagement, including mandatory engagement reports summarising consultation and responses.
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4. Distinctive Areas and Landscapes
- Longer Timeframes: The Bill gives the Minister up to two years (previously one) to develop a Statement of Planning Policy for a declared area, and three years (previously two) to endorse the Statement.
- Alignment with Amendment Process: The preparation and amendment of Statements of Planning Policy will be treated similarly to high-impact planning scheme amendments. This includes subjecting them to planning panel review.
- Longer Timeframes: The Bill gives the Minister up to two years (previously one) to develop a Statement of Planning Policy for a declared area, and three years (previously two) to endorse the Statement.
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5. Planning Permits
- Permit Application Types: The Bill introduces three types of permit application (Type 1, 2, and 3). Each type has different notice, referral, review, and decision requirements.
- Traditional Owner Notices: Applicants must notify registered Aboriginal parties in prescribed circumstances and include their responses in the permit application.
- Notice and Objection Process: The Bill will specify new requirements setting out who must be notified of a planning permit application, how objections and comments are to be handled and how applications can be amended or lapsed.
- Permit Conditions: The Minister may issue guidelines for State standard permit conditions. If guidelines have been issued, the responsible authority must not include a condition on a permit, other than a condition in the guidelines unless the condition deals with a circumstance that is not provided for in the guidelines.
- Permit Application Types: The Bill introduces three types of permit application (Type 1, 2, and 3). Each type has different notice, referral, review, and decision requirements.
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6. Gifts and Donations
- Disclosure Requirements: A new Part 5A will require applicants and submitters to disclose ‘reportable gifts or donations’ to relevant decision-makers, with offences for non-disclosure and requirements for publication.
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7. Compliance and Enforcement
- New Offences and Orders: The Bill substantially increases the penalties for breaches of the Act, planning scheme and section 173 agreements or for giving false or misleading information to a responsible authority. The Bill also gives the Magistrates' Court broad powers to impose additional penalties on persons found guilty of an offence. This includes adverse publicity orders, removal of commercial benefits, supervisory intervention, industry exclusion and civil penalty provisions.
- Monitoring Policy: The Secretary to the Department must develop and publish a monitoring, compliance and enforcement policy, with regular reviews and stakeholder consultation. The enforcement authority will be required to undertake its compliance powers in accordance with the published policy.
- New Offences and Orders: The Bill substantially increases the penalties for breaches of the Act, planning scheme and section 173 agreements or for giving false or misleading information to a responsible authority. The Bill also gives the Magistrates' Court broad powers to impose additional penalties on persons found guilty of an offence. This includes adverse publicity orders, removal of commercial benefits, supervisory intervention, industry exclusion and civil penalty provisions.
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8. Compensation
- Clarified Rights and Processes: The Bill makes material changes to the provisions in part 5 of the Act concerning compensation for loss caused by planning reservations. These include significant procedural changes, changes to the circumstances in which a claim can be made, and how the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act applies to claims.
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9. Infrastructure Contributions
- Expanded Use of Funds: Infrastructure contributions plans will be able to fund works and land outside the plan area if essential for development, and cover administration costs.
- Ministerial Directions: The Minister may direct how priorities for infrastructure funding are set and reported.
- Expanded Use of Funds: Infrastructure contributions plans will be able to fund works and land outside the plan area if essential for development, and cover administration costs.
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10. Restrictive Covenants
- Permits in Breach of Covenants: The Bill removes the prohibition on a responsible authority from granting a planning permit that would authorise a breach of a restrictive covenant. The responsible authority will instead be able to grant a permit even if the permit authorises a breach of the covenant.
- Considerations for a Permit Application to Remove or Vary: The Bill removes the distinction between pre-25 June 1991 and post-25 June 1991 restrictive covenants. An application to remove or amend pre and post-25 June 1991 covenants is to be processed, considered and determined the same way. The Bill specifies the matters a responsible authority must consider in determining an application to remove or amend a restrictive covenant. They include the impact of the restrictive covenant on the ability to deliver planning objectives and strategies, and whether the covenant is also regulated by the planning scheme.
- Permits in Breach of Covenants: The Bill removes the prohibition on a responsible authority from granting a planning permit that would authorise a breach of a restrictive covenant. The responsible authority will instead be able to grant a permit even if the permit authorises a breach of the covenant.
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11. Transitional and Consequential Amendments
- Transition Arrangements: The Bill includes transitional provisions to manage the shift from the old to new processes.
- Consequential Amendments: Updates are made to related Acts (e.g. Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 and Heritage Act 2017 ) mainly to align provisions and statutory terms.
- Transition Arrangements: The Bill includes transitional provisions to manage the shift from the old to new processes.
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