Amendment VC319: VicSmart Pathway Expanded to Four Dwellings

Amendment VC319 is a relatively targeted change to the Victoria Planning Provisions, but it is one that will be welcomed by developers, planners and landowners pursuing small-scale infill housing projects.

The amendment expands the existing VicSmart assessment pathway so that qualifying developments involving up to four dwellings can now access the streamlined VicSmart process. Previously, the pathway was generally limited to developments involving a maximum of two dwellings. The changes apply across residential zones, but do not extend to land within the Low Density Residential Zone.

What development can now qualify?

Subject to satisfying the entry criteria, VicSmart may now be available for:

• Construction of an additional dwelling where a dwelling already exists on the lot.
• Construction of two or more dwellings on a lot.
• Extensions to dwellings where there are two or more dwellings on the lot.

The critical limitation is that the combined total number of existing and proposed dwellings must not exceed four.

No new assessment framework

Importantly, Amendment VC319 does not create a new assessment regime.

Instead, it extends the operation of the existing VicSmart framework introduced under Amendment VC288. The same Clause 55 assessment structure continues to apply, and applicants must still satisfy the existing threshold standards that operate as the gateway into the VicSmart process.

To be eligible, a proposal must satisfy the relevant Clause 55 standards relating to:

• Street setback
• Building height
• Side and rear setbacks
• Walls on boundaries
• Site coverage
• Access
• Tree canopy
• Front fences
• Daylight to existing windows
• Existing north-facing windows
• Overshadowing of secluded private open space
• Overlooking
• Overshadowing of domestic solar energy systems

These standards remain mandatory eligibility requirements. If a proposal does not meet the relevant standard, it will generally fall outside the VicSmart pathway and require assessment through the conventional permit process.

Planning controls remain unchanged

A key feature of VC319 is what it does not do.

The amendment does not alter the substantive planning controls that apply to residential development. Existing controls relating to building height, garden area, neighbourhood character, schedule-specific requirements and overlays continue to apply in full.

Accordingly, the amendment should not be viewed as a relaxation of development standards. Rather, it expands access to a faster assessment pathway for developments that already satisfy the prescribed planning controls.

Practical implications

From a practitioner perspective, the amendment has the potential to significantly increase the number of townhouse and small infill housing projects capable of being assessed through the VicSmart process.

Where a proposal meets the prescribed eligibility standards, applicants may be able to access:

• The 10-business-day VicSmart decision timeframe;
• Reduced notification requirements;
• Limited third-party involvement; and
• A streamlined assessment process.

For developers and landowners pursuing modest infill housing projects, the practical benefit is not additional development yield, but rather greater certainty and a potentially faster permit pathway.

In short, VC319 is less about changing what can be developed and more about changing how qualifying residential development applications are assessed. By extending VicSmart eligibility from two dwellings to four dwellings, the amendment represents another step in Victoria’s ongoing move toward streamlined assessment of smaller-scale housing proposals.