Red tape slashed to fast-track building new homes
Victorian Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny has announced the 'Single Home Code', which she says will cut red tape and get homes built sooner.
The scheme aims to streamline the approval process for new homes on blocks of land smaller than 300 square meters.
This means that if a new house design meets specific standards, including requirements for set backs, tree canopy, solar access and street amenity, it can be approved without needing a full planning permit.
Neighbours will still be notified and can provide feedback, but if the standards are met, there'll be no VCAT appeals or costly delays.
Ms Kilkenny said the initiative is designed to increase housing density and affordability by making it easier to build on smaller lots.
"This is another way we're making our planning system say 'yes' – yes to well-designed homes, yes to more homes, and yes to people making the most of the land they already have," Ms Kilkenny told reporters in Brighton on Sunday.
"If your proposal meets the standards, you should be able to get on and build."
The Single Home Code, which takes effect on September 8, will apply across the state and follows similar changes in approvals of low rise apartments and townhouses announced by the state government in April.
A long-term housing blueprint, known as Plan for Victoria, was laid out by Premier Jacinta Allan and Ms Kilkenny in February.
The statewide plan features 22 "concrete" actions, including carefully managing the outward sprawl of regional cities and towns to accommodate for more homes.
More than seven million people live in Victoria but the Australian Bureau of Statistics forecasts a rise to 11.5 million by 2055.
The government estimates another 2.24 million homes will be needed across Melbourne and the regions.
In August 2023, all states and territories agreed to the National Housing Accord, a country-wide target to build one million new, well-located homes over five years from mid-2024.
In January the Property Council said Australia was already 15,000 homes behind target.
The State of the Housing System Report forecast that Victoria could be the only state that would come anywhere near meeting its goal, finding it could actually achieve 98 per cent of its National Housing Accord Target of 306,000 new homes by mid-2029.
It forecast Queensland would only get to 79 per cent and NSW 65 per cent of their implied targets.
In July, NSW launched a Housing Pattern Book in a bid to speed up planning approvals.
The Pattern Book, which consists of eight low-rise pre-approved designs and a 10-day approval pathway, is available for anyone to use for $1 for a six-month period.
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