REASONS FOR DECISION TO EXERCISE POWER OF
INTERVENTION
UNDER SECTION 20(4) OF THE PLANNING AND
ENVIRONMENT ACT 1987
GREATER DANDENONG PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT
C135
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 exercising the Minister’s powers of intervention, including action taken under delegation
from the Minister for Planning, in accordance with the Ministerial Powers of Intervention in
Planning and Heritage Matters Practice Note, 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 Minister is requested to intervene to prepare and approve Greater Dandenong
Planning Scheme Amendment C135 under the provisions of Section 20(4) of the
Planning and Environment Act 1987 (the Act).
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 Amendment C135 to the Greater
Dandenong 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. Amendment C135 seeks to replace the schedule to Clause 32.04, with a new
schedule.
6. The new schedule varies the Schedule to the Mixed Use Zone (MUZ) to provide the
maximum floor area allowable on the land for Shop (up to 22,000 sqm of Restricted
Retail and 1,000 sqm of other Shop) and Trade supplies (up to 9,000 sqm).
7. On 10 February 2011 the Schedule to the Mixed Use Zone was amended via
Amendment C102.
8. The change proposed by Amendment C135 involves a modification to the same
schedule that was amended in Amendment C102.
9. Amendment C102 allowed for the following floor space parameters:

30,000 sqm of Restricted Retail Premises;

1,000 sqm of all other Shop (max 250 sqm per tenancy);

1,000 sqm of Trade Supplies; and

2,500 sqm of Office (with no tenancy more than 500 sqm except a Medical
Centre which may be up to 1,500 sqm).
10. Amendment C135 also corrects an error in the Greater Dandenong Planning
Scheme that occurred as a result of the approval of Amendment C130.
11. Amendment C130 also varied the Schedule to the Mixed Use Zone and was
gazetted on 31 March 2011. However when the amendment was gazetted, it
inadvertently removed any reference to the subject site from the Mixed Use Zone
Schedule.
12. Amendment C135 will reinstate the site and vary the Schedule to the Mixed Use
Zone (MUZ) to increase the limit of ‘Trade Supplies’ floor area from 1,000 sqm to
9,000 sqm with the equivalent reduction in to ‘Restricted Retail’ floor area.
13. The amended schedule to the Mixed Use Zone will allow for the establishment of a
Woolworths Home Improvement store (known as Oxygen) to form part of the
integrated development of the land.
BENEFITS OF EXEMPTION
14. The main benefit of exempting the amendment from the normal notice
requirements is that it will deliver significant public benefits in the form of
employment and investment in the region.
15. The matter is of State significance and promotes the implementation of many of the
objectives of the State Planning Policy Framework.
16. Exempting the amendment from the notice requirements will have the added
benefit of reducing duplication of process, particularly given the minor nature of the
amendment.
17. The public interest would be served by the Minister exempting himself from the
usual notice requirements under sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and Regulations
and approving the planning scheme amendments.
EFFECTS OF EXEMPTION ON THIRD PARTIES
18. Although the exercise of the Section 20(4) discretion means that the usual
notification requirements provided by Sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act would not
apply to the planning scheme amendment, the views of Council are known, while
the views of remaining parties are sufficiently known, having been notified in
Amendment C102. The participation of these third parties would have limited
prospect of altering the eventual outcome.
19. Amendment C135 modifies the schedule to the mixed use zone by increasing the
floor space allowable for trade supplies and reducing the parameters for restricted
retail premises without affecting the total floor space that can be developed.
20. This amendment will not significantly alter the intended outcome of Amendment
C102.
ASSESSMENT AS TO WHETHER BENEFITS OF EXEMPTIONS OUTWEIGH EFFECTS
ON THIRD PARTIES
21. It is considered, having regard to the significant benefits that would be delivered by the
Project in terms of public employment and commercial investment in the region, that
the benefit of exempting the planning scheme amendments from the requirements of
sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act outweigh the effect of the exemptions on third
parties.
22. The project is of State significance, and the amendment is to ensure that the
outcomes of Amendment C102 are achieved, 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
13. I have decided to exercise the power to exempt myself from all the requirements of
sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the regulations in respect of Amendment
C135 to the Greater Dandenong Planning Scheme.
REASONS FOR INTERVENTION
14. In accordance with the Ministerial Powers of Intervention in Planning and Heritage
Matters Practice Note I provide the following reasons for my decision under
delegated authority to exercise the power under section 20(4) of the Act.
15. I, acting under delegation from the Minister, 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 original intent of Amendment C102 and changes to the Greater
Dandenong Planning Scheme as brought about by amendment C102 has
not been significantly altered.

The matter will give effect to an outcome where the issues have been
reasonably considered and the views of affected parties are known; and

Any further public processes are unlikely to result in any substantial change
to the amendment; and
The interests of Victoria or any part of Victoria make such an exemption
appropriate
because:

The matter is of genuine State and regional significance and promotes the
achievement of State and regional strategic planning policy and objectives
relating to retail development; and

The proposals promote the planning objectives set out in Section 4 of the
Act – in particular s4 (1) (a), (c), (f), and (g), and s4 (2) (a), (d), (e) and (i).
Signed by the Minister
MATTHEW GUY MLC
Minister for Planning
Date: 5 May 2011