The Victorian Local Heritage Guidelines replaces Planning Practice Note 1 – Applying the Heritage Overlay (PPN1) and updates and expands on the advice given in the practice note.

The guidelines facilitate a more consistent and transparent approach to the assessment of local heritage significance and application of the Heritage Overlay. They foster a better understanding of the rigour and reasoning behind such assessments and why places are to be included in the Heritage Overlay.

Places already listed in the schedule to Clause 43.01 are not affected by the new guidelines. The guidelines can be used when revisiting and reviewing the planning scheme as part of the normal monitoring and review process.

Decision-makers can immediately apply the Guide to both in-progress and new heritage assessments and amendments.
By transparently advising on the pre-existing criteria, the Guide will clarify expectations to ensure a greater understanding and consistency.

The Guide will not form part of the planning scheme and the criteria are not enacted by a Ministerial Direction. Therefore, transitional provisions are not required.

The Guide will not require more extensive assessment documentation than is currently needed.

It is not expected that heritage citations be expanded to document the outcome of each test for each criterion. Citations and statements of significance should focus only on details critical to the specific place.

The criteria continue to be modelled on those used in The Victorian Heritage Register Criteria and Threshold Guidelines (the VHR Guide) for state heritage places, but this new Guide has been:

  • adapted to proportionately apply a local heritage threshold
  • simplified to omit exclusion guidelines
  • expanded to address heritage precincts and, group, thematic and serial listing listings.

The heritage criteria remain largely the same as they were in PPN01, but they have been simplified and clarified.

The underlying intent of the criteria has not changed.

Criterion G has been clarified to refer to a ‘present-day’ community or cultural group. This change is consistent with wording in the VHR Guide. It recognises that social significance is not static and must exist at the time of nomination to be protected, focusing on how a community currently values and utilises a site, rather than on its historic past, which is addressed by Criterion A.

Page last updated: 29/05/26