Amend or extend a Planning Permit

Amend a Planning Permit

After we issue a Planning Permit, you can apply to change the:

• approved plans
• permit conditions
• permit preamble (the description of what the permit allows).

To make changes to your Planning Permit, you need to apply for one of the following:

• Section 72 amendment – for significant changes.
• Secondary Consent amendment – for minor changes.

Assessment and outcomes

The process and timeline for assessing Section 72 and Secondary Consent applications is similar to when you apply for a Planning Permit. Find out more on our Apply for a Planning Permit page.

As part of our assessment, we may:

• ask you for more information
• refer your application to public authorities such as Melbourne Water or VicRoads.

After considering your Section 72 or Secondary Consent application, we’ll email you with one of the following outcomes:

• If we support your application and receive no objections, we'll issue an amended permit. A table in the footer of the permit will detail the changes. There may be new conditions.
• If we support your application but receive objections, we'll issue a notice of decision to amend the permit.
• If we do not support the application, we'll issue a refusal to amend the permit.
• If we find that your application is ineligible for a Secondary Consent amendment, we will ask you to apply for a Section 72 amendment. If we approve that application, we’ll send you the approved plans.

If you don't agree with our decision, you can lodge an appeal with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). VCAT’s decision is final. Find out how to lodge an appeal on our VCAT appeals process page.

Note: you may start your proposed changes only if and when we approve your application.

Extend a Planning Permit

A Planning Permit says when work needs to start and finish. After we issue a permit:

• development or land use must start within 2 years
• you must complete the work within 4 years, unless the permit shows a different date.

If you can't start or finish works within these timeframes, you should apply to extend your Planning Permit.

When to apply for an extension of time

You can apply for an extension anytime before the permit expires.

You can apply to extend:

• the start date for your development or land use up to 6 months after the original permit expiry date. For example, you can extend the date for a building to start operating as a medical centre ('land use') by 6 months beyond the 4-year completion timeframe.
• the finish date for development up to 12 months after the expiry date.

The process for requesting and assessing Planning Permit extensions is set by the Planning and Environment Act 1987.

Neither we nor Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) can approve requests outside of these timeframes.

Apply online for an extension

You can apply online for a Planning Permit extension if you are:

• the landowner
• the occupier of the land
• somebody who has the written consent of the landowner.

Apply online and include supporting documents and plans.

You must also pay the required $630 fee.

Apply online for a Planning Permit extension

How we assess your application

We consider:

• the time delay
• reasons for the extension
• the size of the development
• whether the Boroondara Planning Scheme has changed
• whether the landowner wants to 'warehouse' the permit (this means they have applied for the permit but don't intend to act on it)
• the time between issuing the permit and the request
• whether the original time frame was reasonable
• any costs to the landowner from the permit
• whether we’d issue a permit if this was a new permit application
• any other relevant circumstances that affect our decision.

We will decide how long to extend the permit for. This may be different from the extension you requested.

Appeal our decision

If you apply for an extension and we don't approve it, you can appeal the decision with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). Visit our VCAT appeals process page to find out more.

More information

• Learn about Boroondara Planning Scheme on the Department of Transport and Planning website.
• For support with Planning Permit amendments or extensions, call Urban Planning on (03) 9278 4888 or email [email protected].