MINISTERIAL POWERS OF INTERVENTION IN PLANNING AND
HERITAGE MATTERS
REASONS FOR DECISION TO USE POWER OF
INTERVENTION
VICTORIA PLANNING PROVISIONS
AMENDMENT VC123
The Planning and Environment Act 1987, 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 using 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.
The City of Greater Geelong and Aldi Stores have requested this intervention.
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 Planning and Environment Act 1987 (the Act) and the
regulations in respect of Amendment VC123 to the Victoria Planning Provisions (VPP) and
the Ararat, Ballarat, Banyule, Bass Coast, Baw Baw, Bayside, Benalla, Boroondara,
Brimbank, Buloke, Campaspe, Cardinia, Casey, Central Goldfields, Colac Otway,
Corangamite, Darebin, East Gippsland, Frankston, Gannawarra, Glen Eira, Glenelg, Golden
Plains, Greater Bendigo, Greater Dandenong, Greater Geelong, Greater Shepparton,
Hindmarsh, Hobsons Bay, Horsham, Hume, Kingston, Knox, Latrobe, Macedon Ranges,
Maribyrnong, Maroondah, Melbourne, Melton, Mildura, Mitchell, Moira, Monash, Moonee
Valley, Moreland, Mornington Peninsula, Mount Alexander, Murrindindi, Northern
Grampians, Port Phillip, Surf Coast, Swan Hill, Wangaratta, Warrnambool, Wellington,
Whitehorse, Whittlesea, Wodonga, Wyndham, Yarra, Yarra Ranges and Yarriambiack
planning schemes in Victoria.
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.
The government committed to reforming planning zones in Victoria to ensure the zones are
still relevant and reflect the aspirations of all Victorians. New commercial zones were
introduced through Amendment VC100 into the VPP and planning schemes in July 2013 to
implement the government’s commitments.
6.
Reformed commercial zones have provided greater flexibility and growth opportunities for
Victoria’s commercial and business centres, responding to changing retail, commercial and
housing markets by allowing for a wider range of uses to support mixed use employment.
7. I prepared, adopted and approved Amendment VC100 and exempted myself under section
20(4) of the Act and the regulations from the notice requirements in relation to that
Amendment.
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8.
Amendment VC123 will implement further changes to improve the operation of the
Commercial 2 Zone (C2Z) as follows:
a)
Amending Clause 34.02 – Commercial 2 Zone to make small scale supermarkets (up
to 1800 square metres) adjoining, or with access to, a Road Zone not require a
planning permit in the City of Greater Geelong (consistent with the treatment of
supermarkets in this zone in metropolitan Melbourne). Supermarkets greater than
1800 square metres will require a planning permit in the City of Greater Geelong
(consistent with metropolitan Melbourne). In other non-metropolitan planning
schemes supermarkets larger than 1800 square metres will continue to be prohibited
in the C2Z.
BENEFITS OF EXEMPTION
9.
The exemption will enable a prompt decision on the adoption and approval of the
Amendment which changes the VPP and 62 planning schemes to ensure the orderly and
fair application of the C2Z in the City of Greater Geelong.
EFFECTS OF EXEMPTION ON THIRD PARTIES
10. The effect of exempting Amendment VC123 from the usual requirements would mean that
third parties would not receive notice of the amendment, be able to make submissions in
relation to the Amendment or be heard by a Panel.
11. The government committed to, and conducted, a full review of Victoria’s planning zones to
ensure that they are still relevant and that they reflect the planning aspirations of all
Victorians.
12. The commitment was reflected in government policy in July 2012, when I announced that
Victoria’s planning zones would be reformed. The reform aimed to create the best zones in
Australia for industry, councils and the community, and to provide clearer rules, greater
certainty and simple processes for simple proposals and were put in place through the
reformed commercial zones which were gazetted in July 2013.
13. Consultation occurred over 10 weeks between 17 July 2012 and 28 September 2012, where
individuals and organisations, including relevant agencies, were invited to provide
comments on the proposed reformed zones. The exhibited form of the Commercial 2 Zone
treated the ‘Supermarket’ use in the same way both within and outside metropolitan
Melbourne.
14. Over 2,000 submissions were received, 446 of which commented on the commercial zones.
15. A Ministerial Advisory Committee (the committee) was appointed to consider submissions
about the reformed zones and to make recommendations about their final form. The
submissions were summarised and considered by the committee. The committee met with
numerous submitters and made recommendations to government. Various government
departments and agencies were consulted about the proposed reformed zones and their
views considered. Various submissions were made which related to the changed treatment
of the ‘Supermarket’ use in the commercial zones, as contemplated by the exhibited
versions.
16. With the exception of the City of Greater Geelong, the other City or Shire Councils affected
by Amendment VC123 have not been specifically consulted or informed about these
changes. As the amendment in practice only affects the City of Greater Geelong, I consider
that further consultation with these City or Shire Councils is not necessary.
ASSESSMENT AS TO WHETHER BENEFITS OF EXEMPTIONS OUTWEIGH EFFECTS ON
THIRD PARTIES
17. 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 for the following reasons:
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
Extensive consultation has occurred on the new commercial zones, including changes
to the treatment of the ‘Supermarket’ use. Issues have been reasonably considered,
including the need for simplified and clearer provisions in the zones and supporting
competition in the retail sector. The views of affected parties are known through the
previous submissions process and consideration through the committee process.

While the precise form of the proposed C2Z differs from the exhibited version of those
zones, the consultation process has enabled the relevant policy issues to be thoroughly
ventilated by interested parties, so as to inform a decision on the approval of this
amendment.

Given that the amended provisions of the C2Z represent a policy decision at the request
of the City of Greater Geelong and only affects C2Z land within the City of Greater
Geelong, further consultation would be unlikely to alter the outcome of the amendment.
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 section 17, 18 and 19 of the Act is not
warranted because:
a)
Extensive consultation about the new commercial zones, including relevant changes to
the treatment of the ‘Supermarket’ use in those zones, has occurred through the
government consultation and committee process in 2012 and 2013.
b)
Given that the amended provisions of the C2Z represent a policy decision at the request
of the City of Greater Geelong and only affects C2Z land within the City of Greater
Geelong, further consultation would be unlikely to result in a different outcome.
DECISION
20. I have decided to exercise my power to exempt myself from the requirements of sections
17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the regulations in respect of Amendment VC123 to the VPP
and the Ararat, Ballarat, Banyule, Bass Coast, Baw Baw, Bayside, Benalla, Boroondara,
Brimbank, Buloke, Campaspe, Cardinia, Casey, Central Goldfields, Colac Otway,
Corangamite, Darebin, East Gippsland, Frankston, Gannawarra, Glen Eira, Glenelg, Golden
Plains, Greater Bendigo, Greater Dandenong, Greater Geelong, Greater Shepparton,
Hindmarsh, Hobsons Bay, Horsham, Hume, Kingston, Knox, Latrobe, Macedon Ranges,
Maribyrnong, Maroondah, Melbourne, Melton, Mildura, Mitchell, Moira, Monash, Moonee
Valley, Moreland, Mornington Peninsula, Mount Alexander, Murrindindi, Northern
Grampians, Port Phillip, Surf Coast, Swan Hill, Wangaratta, Warrnambool, Wellington,
Whitehorse, Whittlesea, Wodonga, Wyndham, Yarra, Yarra Ranges and Yarriambiack
planning schemes.
SIGNED BY THE MINISTER
MATTHEW GUY MLC
Minister for Planning
Date: 4 November 2014
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