We met with local communities to find out:
- where they like to spend time
- how they move through their suburb
- what areas they want to see protected
- what needs to be improved.
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Traditional Owners
We consulted with the relevant Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) as we developed our plans.
The purpose of consulting with the RAPs was to seek feedback on planning proposals for these centres, and to identify ways to amplify the significance of Aboriginal cultural heritage and values through the Train and Tram Zone Activity Centres Program.
As part of our consultation with Traditional Owner groups during the expansion program, we held:
- 17 workshops or meetings with Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation (WWCHAC)
- 6 workshops or meetings with Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (BLCAC).
Through this consultation:
- 14 Statements of Cultural Values were produced by the WWCHACs Research Unit, and
- 9 Statements of Cultural Values were produced by BLCAC.
The statements are included in the final train and tram zone activity centre plans. The statements elevate understanding of Aboriginal cultural heritage and the ongoing significance of place.
They signal to developers, builders and the wider community the cultural significance of these places to First Peoples.
The Statements of Cultural Values do not represent the full significance of cultural values of the activity centres. This can only be understood through more detailed Cultural Value assessments that involve On Country walks and traditional knowledge recording.
Local communities
We received more than 26,000 survey responses and submissions throughout the Train and Tram Zone Activity Centres Program's development.
Feedback has been critical in shaping Train and Tram Zone Activity Centre Plans, with community views and insights directly influencing how the plans respond to local priorities and conditions.
We consulted in four distinct phases:
- Pilot program
- Expansion program (Stage 1)
- Expansion program (Stage 2)
- Inner Melbourne Train and Tram Zones
Consultation gave communities an opportunity to learn more about the program as well as provide local insights and feedback.
The consultation objectives were to:
- build community and stakeholder understanding of the program, the change it will bring and the rationale, including the importance of providing more homes in metropolitan Melbourne
- provide clear, timely and transparent program information to enable informed participation
- consult with communities at the right time to collect meaningful feedback
- reach a diversity of community stakeholder views and perspectives.
While consultation methods varied depending on the different program phases, they generally included:
- surveys on Engage Victoria
- written submissions, received via Engage Victoria, email or post
- in-person drop-in sessions
- multicultural pop-up events
- online webinars
- Community Reference Group (CRG) meetings
- walk-by events (expansion program only).
Pilot centres consultation
We consulted with communities for the 10 pilot activity centres from March to August of 2024.
Consultation during this phase helped shape planning for the pilot centres as well as the future of the full program.
We heard:
- community want more housing choice close to public transport, shops and services, so the program was expanded to include 50 centres across Melbourne
- local infrastructure needs to keep pace with new homes, so we introduced Infrastructure Contributions Plans to help fund new and upgraded infrastructure introduced
- community want to preserve and protect open space as we plan for more homes, so we introduced protections to limit overshadowing of parks and new requirements to support more tree planting on larger sites
- community supported more homes in places well served by public transport, so we focused additional housing capacity in areas with the best access to trains and trams
- community wanted valued heritage places to remain protected, so we have retained existing heritage overlays in activity centres.
For full details about our pilot centres consultation, including key themes and how we addressed them, see the engagement report.
Expansion program consultation (stages 1 and 2)
Following consultation for the 10 pilot centres, the program was expanded to a further 50 centres.
Consultation for the next 50 centres occurred in three stages
- Stage 1 – 25 centres
- Stage 2 – 23 centres
- Inner Melbourne – two centres.
We consulted with communities in stages 1 and 2 from May 2025 to March 2026.
Consultation approach and phases for stages 1 and 2
For stages 1 and 2, we consulted with community across two phases, and facilitated Community Reference Groups for each group of activity centres.
For full details about our consultation, including key themes and how we addressed them, view the engagement report for each group of centres by searching our Resource Library.
Click on the accordions below details abou the different consultation phases and their purpose.
Feedback from Phase 1, plus consultation with other key stakeholder groups, helped us develop draft maps for each centre. In this phase, people gave feedback about:
- proposed heights
- proposed core and catchment boundaries
- important public spaces and streets in their local train and tram zone activity centre.
We established Community Reference Groups (CRGs) for each group of activity centres.
There were up to 50 people in each group, representing a diverse range of views and perspectives. The groups reviewed community feedback and developed Statements of Advice for our planning team.
The statements helped us develop our draft maps, together with the planners’ consideration of existing council strategic work, site visits, technical studies and urban design testing.
You can find the Statement of Advice for each centre on individual activity centres page by searching the Resource Library.
For full details about our expansion program consultation, including key themes and how we addressed them, search for the consultation report for your activity centre in the Resource Library.
Inner Melbourne train and tram zones consultation
The two Inner Melbourne train and tram zones are:
- Inner Melbourne (City of Melbourne)
- Inner Melbourne (City of Yarra)
We consulted on these two zones from May to June 2026.
People contributed by:
- sharing their expertise on inner Melbourne using a map tool, and
- answering a short survey about what they think is important when planning for new homes.
For details about our inner Melbourne consultation, view the Inner Melbourne Train and Tram Zone webpage.
Community participation numbers
See the figures below to see how many people participated in the program:
26,143
Surveys and submissions
384,233
Unique visitors to the Engage Victoria website
164
Community events (webinars and drop-in sessions)
5,202
Attendees at community events
27
Community Reference Groups (CRGs) with around 429 members
Multicultural communities
A focus of our consultation approach was to reduce barriers for multicultural communities to have their say on the program.
He wanted to hear from a diversity of community members to ensure that feedback captured a range of views and perspectives.
We undertook targeted multicultural consultation in areas with a higher percentage of non-English speaking residents with low English proficiency.
Activities included pop-up stalls at local markets, attending local community centre events, and a multicultural drop-in session, where translators were available.
Translated content was also available in the form of flyers, newspaper ads, radio ads, geo-targeted social media ads, posters, content and surveys on our Engage Victoria webpages. These were tailored to the top languages spoken amongst people with low English proficiency for each of the local areas.
In total, we provided translated information in the following 15 languages:
- Arabic
- Assyrian
- Greek
- Gujurati
- Hindi
- Italian
- Khmer
- Macedonian
- Persian
- Russian
- Simplified Chinese
- Thai
- Traditional Chinese
- Turkish
- Vietnamese.
Other key statistics of our multicultural consultation include:
- in-language survey responses and submissions: 168
- in-language views on Engage Victoria website: 1,645
Councils
Councils were a critical stakeholder as we developed our plans.
Throughout the program, we regularly engaged with councils to:
- inform them about our community engagement approach and upcoming consultation program
- provide regular and timely updates on the program
- seek input into draft maps and proposed planning changes
- use their local expertise and knowledge to better understand the local train and tram zone activity centres and potential opportunities for housing and infrastructure upgrades.
State government and key authorities
We also worked closely with relevant State government departments and agencies to align planning, transport, infrastructure, and service delivery objectives. Key collaborators included:
- Department of Health
- Department of Education
- Department of Justice and Community Services
- Homes Victoria
- VicTrack
- Melbourne Water
- South East Water
- Environment Protection Agency
- Infrastructure Victoria
- Level Crossing Removal Authority
- Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions
- other Department of Transport and Planning teams.
Program-wide themes and responses
While key themes and responses varied among different centres, we nevertheless received consistent feedback. Themes were captured from community, council, Traditional Owners, industry and other stakeholders. Click on each accordion below to find how we responded to these common themes.
For specific themes for individual activity centres, view the consultation reports by searching the Resource Library.
We’re introducing Infrastructure Contribution Plans for each centre. This is to fund infrastructure essential to the liveability of current and future communities.
Statewide planning controls now include items relating to canopy cover. We have also considered and have tailored a response to significant landscape overlays in train and tram zone activity centres.
The planning tools ensure that the character of special places is preserved. We’ve amended core and catchment boundaries to reflect local conditions and walking distances from train stations and tram stops.
In addition to retaining existing heritage overlays, we’ve applied lower heights to large heritage precincts. We’ve also not specified heights on Victoria Heritage Register sites in activity centre cores.
Core building heights have been adjusted, where relevant, in response to feedback, to ensure sun protections for important locations.
The Built Form Overlay and Housing Choice and Transport Zone support site consolidation by allowing for greater development capacity when lots are consolidated in core and catchment areas.
Page last updated: 02/10/26