At a meeting of Councillors on 1 December, the City of Boroondara endorsed the Municipal Association of Victoria’s (MAV) position on the State Government’s Planning Amendment (Better Decisions Made Faster) Bill 2025. 

A review of the previous planning act was overdue, but the current bill misses a key opportunity to create a robust and modern planning system for the state. For example, the current bill does not address affordable housing supply and has inadequate environmental protections. 

Boroondara supports the development of new housing, but the bill was developed without consultation with the Local Government sector or communities.

The City of Boroondara agrees with the wide range of issues raised by MAV on the new Planning Amendment Bill, including:

• The bill fails to provide any mechanisms to drive affordable or social housing, including in the 60 Activity Centres earmarked for fast tracked development.
• There has been extremely limited consultation with local government who are tasked with administering the planning system.
• There is a reduction in the ability for Council to consider environmental hazards such as fire, flood and landslip concerns when reviewing planning applications.
• The proposed changes will reduce review timeframes for council officers, remove community notification for many applications, and remove community VCAT review rights.

This is a missed opportunity to improve the state’s planning system, and the City of Boroondara is advocating for improvements to the proposed bill and urges Victorian Members of Parliament to incorporate council’s and MAV’s suggestions.

Cr Wes Gault, the Mayor of Boroondara, emphasised Boroondara would continue pushing the State Government to engage with local communities and listen to their feedback on planning reforms.

“‘Better Decisions Made Faster’ is a sound objective that should not be to the detriment of quality decisions that include local community feedback and involvement.

“The assumption that faster decisions will result in better decisions is not supported by any evidence or analysis. I have a range of concerns with this hugely significant change to the state’s planning system.

“We are already planning for tens-of-thousands of new homes to be built in Boroondara over the coming years and look forward to welcoming new people into our community. 

“We are doing this important work while consulting with residents and acting on their views and needs. 

“The government has shown little interest in meaningful consultation with communities and is pushing through significant changes that are not appropriate for our neighbourhoods. 

“I urge Members of Parliament to consider our suggested improvements to make this bill work for future generations of Victorians.”