Status

Guide
current
Published:
Last updated:

On this page:

Activity centres are vibrant places where people shop, work, connect with family and friends as well as live.

They range in size, from local neighbourhood shopping strips to centres that include universities and major regional shopping malls.

Activity centres are great locations for new homes

As part of the Housing Statement, we are working with the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) to deliver more homes close to services, jobs, and transport in 10 activity centres across Melbourne.

Working with local councils and community, the program will enable the delivery of an estimated 60,000 homes through a review of building heights and design requirements, and changes to existing rules to support appropriate development.

The program is one way the Victorian Government is working to deliver more homes in the right locations to improve housing affordability and increasing housing choice.

Where are the activity centres?

The following 10 activity centres have been identified in metropolitan Melbourne where State-led planning controls will be implemented to deliver more homes and increase housing choice:

The centres selected are a mix of metropolitan and major activity centres, located in the middle and outer areas of established Melbourne. Each centre has the potential to deliver substantial housing growth, good transport access and will benefit from state-led intervention to improve planning frameworks to increase housing supply and diversity

Why is this program important?

Activity centres are great locations for more housing. But they are so much more. Activity centres are places to work, they are places for social interaction, and they are ideal places to shop and access your essential daily needs.
The program will seek to enliven activity centres and make sure they live up to their potential.

We will do this by:

  • creating clearer rules about the types of new development and urban design outcomes we need.
  • guiding investment in the things a growing community needs like improved streets, parks and community infrastructure.
  • providing increased certainty to the community and activity centres about what kind of infrastructure and new development to expect.
  • developing models for clearer and simpler planning rules which can be replicated in other centres.

That’s why they are an important part of our plan to build 80,000 new homes a year. Making sure they contribute to this goal is a matter of state importance.

The program also plays an important role in developing a longer-term initiative from the Housing Statement –a new plan for Victoria, that sets a state-wide vision to 2050, which will cover housing affordability and choice, liveability, sustainability, caring for Country, and equity and jobs.

What are the next steps?

Engagement has commenced with councils and industry which will continue throughout 2024.

In early 2024, the first phase of a targeted communications and engagement campaign will commence with a focus on understanding local identity and places of significance in each activity centre, including consultation with stakeholders and community.

From July 2024, the second phase of the campaign will commence which will be shaped by initial stakeholder and community feedback.

By the end of 2024, the program aims to deliver updated planning controls for the 10 activity centres identified in the Housing Statement.

For further information on each of the 10 activity centres, please visit the VPA website

Page last updated: 08/02/24

Status

Guide
current
Published:
Last updated: