REASONS FOR DECISION TO EXERCISE POWER OF
INTERVENTION
UNDER SECTION 20(4) OF THE PLANNING AND
ENVIRONMENT ACT 1987
MORELAND PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C152
The Planning and Environment Act 1987 (the Act), the Heritage Act 1995 and the
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 provide for the intervention of the
Minister for Planning in planning and heritage processes.
In exercising my powers of intervention, I have agreed to:

Make publicly available written reasons for each decision; and

Provide a report to Parliament at least every twelve months detailing the nature of
each intervention.
REQUEST FOR INTERVENTION
1. Moreland City Council has requested approval of Amendment C152 under section
20(4) of the Act to revise the Local Planning Policy Framework (LPPF) including the
Municipal Strategic Statement at Clause 21 and the Local Planning Policies at Clause
22.
WHAT POWER OF INTERVENTION IS BEING USED?
2.
I have decided to exercise my powers to exempt myself from all the requirements of
sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the regulations in respect to Amendment C152
to the Moreland Planning Scheme.
3.
Section 20(4) of the Act enables the Minister for Planning to exempt an amendment
which the Minister prepares from any of the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19
of the Act or the regulations.
4.
In seeking to exercise this power, section 20(4) of the Act requires that the Minister
must consider that compliance with any of those requirements is not warranted or
that the interests of Victoria or any part of Victoria make such an exemption
appropriate.
BACKGROUND
5.
Moreland City Council undertook a review of its Planning Scheme as required under
section 12B of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (the Act) in 2012.
6.
As a result of this review an amendment to the LPPF was proposed to incorporate
updated state and local policies that have occurred since the LPPF was put in place in
2000.
7.
The drafting of the updated LPPF was undertaken over three years, with extensive
consultation on the draft undertaken during the two months from early September to
late October 2013.
8.
The consultation program included a mailout to all properties and landowners in the
municipality and key stakeholders, newspaper advertorials, social media and a
website. This was followed by a number of community and stakeholder forums and
workshops as well as mail back, on-line and telephone surveys.
BENEFITS OF EXEMPTION
9.
The amendment updates the existing LPPF to remove inconsistencies, repetition and
ambiguities as well as an update to ensure consistency with adopted local and state
government policy.
10. The amendment by updating the LPPF to reflect current policy implements the
objectives of section 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 by providing the
fair, orderly, economic and sustainable use and development of land.
11. Exemption from sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act will ensure a prompt decision on
the amendment and will prevent consultation that has already been undertaken from
being repeated when the views of affected parties is already known.
EFFECTS OF EXEMPTION ON THIRD PARTIES
12. Extensive notification of the amendment was provided including a letterbox drop to
all residents, letters and brochures sent to stakeholders such as residents and
industry groups, newspaper ads, social media etc. A number of surveys and
workshops were also undertaken.
13. Due to the extensive and targeted consultation process it is unlikely that the
amendment outcome would be different if it were to go through a formal amendment
and Planning Panel process.
14. The consultation was undertaken together with the new Residential Zones and the
Activity Centre Framework in order to make it easier for people to understand the
impact of the changes proposed in the broader context. For the purpose of the
forums and workshops Council provided attendees with maps and concepts that are
tangible, such as shopping centres and neighbourhoods, in order to logically explain
how the changes will affect them.
ASSESSMENT AS TO WHETHER BENEFITS OF EXEMPTIONS OUTWEIGH
EFFECTS ON THIRD PARTIES
15. Given the extensive consultation program the views of all affected parties are known
and any further consultation would provide no benefit.
16. Accordingly I consider that the benefits of exempting myself from sections 17, 18 and
19 of the Act outweigh any effects of the exemption on third parties.
DECISION
17. I have decided to exercise my power to exempt myself from all the requirements of
sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the regulations in respect of Amendment C152
to the Moreland Planning Scheme.
REASONS FOR INTERVENTION
18. I provide the following reasons for my decision to exercise my power under section
20(4) of the Act.
19. I am satisfied that Compliance with any of the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the
regulations is not warranted because the view of all affected parties is known and if
the amendment were to undergo a formal amendment process the outcome would
unlikely change.
SIGNED BY THE MINISTER
ROBIN SCOTT MP
Acting Minister for Planning
Date: 31 December 2014