Auburn

Reference

current

Published: March 2026

Last updated: 08 March 2026

The vision for Auburn

Auburn’s historic streetscapes will maintain their charm as new development thoughtfully brings old and new built forms together. Its specialist shops, services and public spaces will continue to support local businesses and cultural diversity, drawing more residents and visitors.

Auburn will build on its cohesive main street character to create a lively yet relaxed environment that balances growth with the qualities people value most.

I look forward to a vibrant and thriving community with more people.

Aurburn community member

What we understand about place and how we’ve addressed it

Auburn’s community members value the heritage buildings that make Auburn Village unique as well as its nearby open space and diverse range of retail and commercial offerings.

We heard that the heritage buildings of Auburn are important to the community and character of the area, especially in Auburn Village. We also heard that having canopy trees and a diverse mix of businesses is important for the area. That’s why we have planned for commercial floorspace at ground level in new developments, and landscaped setbacks at the edge of the core on Burwood Road and Albert Street.

We understand that community members are generally supportive of higher buildings close to Auburn Station, development that respects heritage buildings and improving the pedestrian experience.

Hawthorn, Glenferrie, Auburn and Kew Junction core and catchment map

A graphical representation of the scale of density within activity centre areas. — Scale of density from core to the outer catchment

Core	Inner catchment	Outer catchment
Various heights between six and 16 storeys in most centres, with potential for taller heights in some places in the larger centres	Up to four storeys, and up to six storeys on blocks larger than 1000m2	Up to three storeys, and up to four storeys on blocks larger than 1000m2

Auburn core and catchment explained

The core is the central part of the train and tram zone activity centre, closest to public transport, jobs and services. This area is best suited to accommodate more homes.

The catchment is the surrounding area within approximately 10 minutes’ walk of the core (around 800 metres).

As you move away from the commercial and community core of the train and tram zone activity centre, we expect that the building heights will gradually decrease. This will allow a transition between the activity centre and the surrounding suburb.

In Auburn, the outer catchment area extends south to Riversdale Road including residential properties immediately to the south, west towards Glenferrie, north towards Kew Junction and east towards existing catchment surrounding the Camberwell Activity Centre. The inner catchment is minimal due to existing heritage controls, so extends north only along Auburn Road.

What we are doing for your community

As part or our work, we've:

planned for a greater ground floor setback that will help enhance the streetscape experience on Queens Avenue
applied the heritage main street typology to Auburn’s heritage shopfronts
applied landscape setbacks to the south side of Burwood Road to allow for vegetation and improved sun access and amenity to the road
ensured that Auburn Road and the heritage precincts along Burwood Road will have higher sun access protections as key pedestrian streets
ensured that Burwood Road and Camberwell Road will have larger lots capable of supporting more homes with potential for building heights up to 16 storeys, with a laneway to the south to protect the amenity of residential properties.

Refer to the following plans:

Plan 7: Auburn typology, activation and setbacks
Plan 8: Auburn building heights and sun protection

Plans

The built form outcomes and building heights for the activity centre core set out on the following plans:

Plan 7 (above): Auburn typology, activation and setbacks (Note: Typology refers to a building type that is suitable for a particular set of lot types and locations. Street activation requires new buildings to provide open and inviting shopfronts to encourage lively and safe streets. A setback is the minimum distance a building must be placed away from a property boundary, road, or natural feature.)

Plan 8 (above): Auburn building heights and sun protection

The plans support the right types of homes being built in the places they fit best. These are some of the kinds of homes you might see more of in the future.