Revised planning and subdivision fees took effect on 13 October 2016.
The Planning and Environment (Fees) Regulations 2016 and Subdivision (Fees) Regulations 2016 were made by the Governor in Council following the public consultation on the Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS).
Key changes
Changes occurred to both the fees themselves and to the structure of the schedule in the regulations.
Generally fees have increased, however there are some categories of applications which are now subject to more significant increases. For example, the fee to amend a planning scheme ranges from $18,010 to $41,792 (depending on the number of submitters) compared to the previous fee of $2,918.
Key changes to the new fee regulations that were made following consultation include:
- Additional VicSmart class of 13.5 fee units has been added;
- The way a fee is determined for an amendment to a planning permit has been changed;
- Fee for a planning certificate has been updated to provide a new fee category for electronic processing;
- The statement of compliance fee is no longer a separate fee and has been included with the application to certify a plan fee; and
- Other minor and consequential amendments to the regulations.
Fees have also been converted to fee units and therefore will be subject to indexation in accordance with the Monetary Units Act 2014.
Summary of new fees
A summary of the updates to the planning and subdivision fees since the RIS consultation process can be obtained from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning by clicking here.
Commencement
The new planning and subdivision fee regulations took effect on 13 October 2016.
What the changes mean for proponents and councils
Proponents should:
- Be aware of the updated fees for planning and subdivision applications;
- Note the new category of fee for VicSmart; and
- Consider the implication of fees on the feasibility of proposals, particularly planning scheme amendments where a high number of submissions are expected.
Councils should update relevant forms and information on their website.
This article was written by Mark Bartley, Partner and Gabby McMillan, Solicitor.