Prepare your Planning Permit application

You need a Planning Permit to:

• start a new development
• use land in a specific way
• complete building works if your property is in certain overlays or zones.

These overlays and zones include:

• Heritage Overlay
• Special Building Overlay
• Significant Landscape Overlay
• Land Subject to Inundation Overlay
• Transport Zone
• Residential Zones (depending on lot size)
• Commercial Zones.

A Planning Permit is a legal document. It checks your plans comply with the Boroondara Planning Scheme.

Follow the steps below to get prepared before you apply.

Step 1: Do your research

Read relevant property and planning policies that may affect your plans.

Use myLot, our free planning enquiry tool, as a guide to planning permit requirements. It’ll help you:

• determine if your project requires a planning permit
• understand why a permit is or isn't needed, referencing the relevant planning rules.

This tool is intended as a helpful guide and isn’t a final planning decision.

Use our free planning enquiry tool

You should also:

• visit the Landata website to get a copy of the Certificate of Title
• get a property report from Vic Plan to check zoning, overlays and heritage controls
• read the Boroondara Planning Scheme to learn how land can be used and developed
• check requirements for developing on smaller lots
• check requirements for building on flood-prone land.

Step 2: Get professional advice

Contact industry professionals for technical advice, such as design or planning consultants.

You can also:

• book a free 15-minute appointment with one of our planners
• request written planning advice for a $206.50 fee.

Request planning advice

This helps you understand whether your proposal will need a Planning Permit.

Step 3: Complete a site analysis

Think about the constraints and opportunities of the site.

Talk to neighbours and adjoining property owners. If they are unhappy with your plans, you may be able to compromise before you apply.

Prepare a site description that includes:

• the characteristics of the site and area
• elements on your site and surrounding properties, such as buildings and trees.

If your works involve building extensions, you need to include exact boundary dimensions. We recommend you use a surveyor.

Step 4: Prepare your plans

Your plans should be drawn to scale and include:

• existing and new buildings
• floor levels and site levels
• floor plans and elevations
• any earthworks and vegetation that you plan to remove
• how you plan to integrate landscaping into the development
• a design response.

Your design response indicates:

• how your plans respond to the context of the site and surrounding areas
• opportunities and constraints of the site.

Step 5: Book a pre-application meeting

Once you have your plans and documents ready, book a meeting with us.

The type of meeting and fee required will depend on the type of proposal you are considering. The fee for a minor pre-application meeting is $310. The fee for a major pre-application meeting is $723.

Major pre-application advice is for:

• Any new building (not an extension) in a commercial zone, DDO or where a development plan applies
• 5 or more dwellings
• Any apartment building
• New mixed use development
• 5 or vacant lots (subdivision).

Minor pre-application advice is for:

• Everything that does not fit within 'major'

To book a meeting:

1. Download and complete the pre-application meeting request form.
2. Email your plans, the request form and any supporting information to [email protected].
3. Your request will be registered and the relevant invoice issued for payment depending on the proposed works. This fee is non-refundable.
4. Payment must be received before your request is processed.
5. A planner will contact you within 5 business days to organise a meeting.

We will:

• review your plans during the meeting
• give you advice about your application
• highlight any potential issues to resolve.

Note: You must still submit an application for a Planning Permit separate to this meeting.

If you have a general question or no plans have been prepared, visit our Talk to a planner page. You can also call the Urban Planning team on (03) 9278 4888 or email [email protected]. 

Step 6: Finalise your plans

Weigh up the feedback you get from us, professionals and your neighbours.

Review your plans and incorporate any changes that you think are reasonable.

Finalise your documents, including:

• site plans
• neighbourhood and site description
• design response.

There have been changes in relation to displaying personal information (individual names and contact details) on Council's website. When submitting an application please do not include any personal information on plans or reports within the application material.

Now you're ready to start your application.

Apply for a Planning Permit

More information

Call us on (03) 9278 4888 or email [email protected].