REASONS FOR DECISION TO EXERCISE POWER OF
INTERVENTION
UNDER SECTION 20(4) OF THE PLANNING AND
ENVIRONMENT ACT 1987
CARDINIA PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C194
CASEY PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C200
HUME PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C185
MELTON PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C148
MITCHELL PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C101
WHITTLESEA PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C178
WYNDHAM PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C189
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 the Minister’s powers of intervention, including action taken under delegation
from the Minister for Planning, the Minister has 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 Growth Areas Authority (GAA) has requested this intervention.
WHAT POWER OF INTERVENTION IS BEING USED?
2.
Under delegated authority from the Minister for Planning I have decided to exercise
the power to exempt the Minister from all the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19
of the Act and the regulations in respect to these amendments.
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.
In July 2012, the Minister for Planning released the Reformed Zones for Victoria
discussion paper and a package of proposed reformed zones for public comment.
The purpose of the reformed zones is to ensure that Victoria’s zoning provisions
remain relevant and effective. Individuals and organisations were invited to provide
comments on the proposed reformed zones between 17 July 2012 and 28 September
2012.
6.
The Minister subsequently appointed a Ministerial Advisory Committee to review the
proposed reformed zones and report on any recommended variations to the zones
and the manner by which the zones should be implemented.
7.
The Reformed Zones Ministerial Advisory Committee submitted two separate reports
to the Minister. The Residential Zones Progress Report was provided to the Minister
on 14 December 2012 while the Commercial and Industrial Zones Report was
provided to the Minister on 28 February 2013.
8.
The government’s response to the Residential Zones Progress Report was released
in March 2013 while its response to the Commercial and Industrial Zones Report was
released in May 2013. In relation to floor area restrictions in the schedules to the
business zones, the government supported retention of floor area restrictions for land
in an Urban Growth Zone where a precinct structure plans has been implemented.
9.
The final new residential zones were introduced into the Victoria Planning Provisions
on 1 July 2013. The three amended residential zones, two new commercial zones
and three amended industrial zones were introduced into the Victoria Planning
Provisions on 15 July 2013.
10. The amendments are required to give effect to the government’s commitment to
retaining floor area restrictions for land in an Urban Growth Zone where a precinct
structure plan has been implemented and to make other generally policy neutral
changes to implement the reformed zones.
11. In particular, the amendments:
 translate existing floor area restrictions into the relevant schedules to the Urban
Growth Zone.
 replace the applied zones in the schedules to the Urban Growth Zone with an
equivalent reformed zone and make other consequential changes to implement
the reformed zones.
 introduce the new General Residential Zone and Schedule 1 to the General
Residential Zone into the respective planning schemes.
BENEFITS OF EXEMPTION
12. The main benefit of the exemption is that it will enable a prompt decision to be made
on the adoption and approval of the amendments which will ensure:
 the existing planning provisions relating to precinct structure plans are updated to
implement the reformed zones; and
 the relevant floor area restrictions, which are an important tool manage the timing,
location and hierarchy of town centres in metropolitan growth areas, are retained.
13. The exemption will also enable a prompt decision to be made in relation to an
amendment which achieves the objectives of planning in Victoria as outlined in
section 4 of the Act by providing for the fair, orderly, economic and sustainable use
and development of land.
EFFECTS OF EXEMPTION ON THIRD PARTIES
14. The effect of the exemption is that third parties will not have the opportunity to make a
submission or be heard by an independent panel in relation to the amendments.
15. However, the amendments are generally policy neutral and are required to update the
relevant schedules to the Urban Growth Zone in response to the reformed zones.
Both the reformed zones and the precinct structure plans included consultation prior
to their implementation.
ASSESSMENT AS TO WHETHER BENEFITS OF EXEMPTIONS OUTWEIGH EFFECTS
ON THIRD PARTIES
16. The amendments will ensure the existing planning provisions relating to precinct
structure plans are updated to reflect the reformed zones and, where appropriate, the
relevant floor area restrictions are retained. The amendments are generally policy
neutral and are unlikely to have any effect on third parties.
17. Accordingly I, acting under delegation from the Minister, consider that the benefits of
exemption from sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act outweigh any effects of the
exemption on third parties.
DECISION
18. Under delegated authority from the Minister for Planning I have decided to exercise
the power to exempt the Minister from all the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19
of the Act and the regulations in respect of the amendments.
REASONS FOR INTERVENTION
19. I provide the following reasons for my decision under delegated authority to exercise
the power under section 20(4) of the Act.
20. I, acting under delegation from the Minister, am satisfied that 21. Compliance with any of the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the
regulations is not warranted because:
 the amendments are generally policy neutral and are required to update the
relevant schedules to the Urban Growth Zones in response to the reformed
zones.
Signed by the delegate
Jane Monk
Director
Planning Statutory Services
Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure
Date: 16 July 2013