3 August
Parliament passed the Planning Amendment (Better Decisions Made Faster) Act 2026 in February, making changes to the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (PE Act) to create a modern, fit-for-purpose planning system.
The updated PE Act includes stronger compliance and enforcement provisions, giving enforcement agencies and courts stronger powers to enforce Victoria’s planning rules.
Our planning system protects the things that make Victoria a great place to live. It protects our natural environment and waterways, the amenity in our cities and towns, and the heritage of our historic places. Until now, a bad actor could profit from breaking the planning rules, with fines and punishments that were not proportionate to the money they could gain from doing so. Now, sanctions available match the seriousness of the crimes.
For crimes committed on or after 3 August 2026, higher maximum penalties, new court-based sanctions and compliance monitoring and enforcement powers are available to ensure that the sanctions that are able to be imposed are proportionate to the nature of offending. The changes include:
- enabling courts, as a sanction, to establish arrangements to supervise the business activities of systematic or repeat offenders to ensure that systems, practices and processes are structured around maintaining compliance with planning laws.
- enabling, in extreme cases, courts to issue orders to convicted offenders that prohibit them from working in the planning and development industry for certain periods.
- enabling the court to require offenders to publicise their wrongdoing, including the offence, the consequences, and the penalty imposed.
- enabling the court to apply a monetary penalty to a convicted offender that is up to three times the estimated gross commercial benefit.
Stronger enforcement powers are one part of a suite of reforms to build confidence in how our planning system works across Victoria.
Find out more about the reforms to the Planning and Environment Act.
Page last updated: 03/08/26