Victoria Plans Largest Planning Overhaul To Accelerate Housing Approvals

The Victorian government, led by Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny, has introduced the Planning Amendment (Better Decisions Made Faster) Bill 2025 to modernize the state's planning laws and significantly speed up housing approvals. The bill establishes three approval streams with set timelines: 10 days for standalone homes and duplexes, 30 days for townhouses and low-rise developments, and 60 days for larger apartment projects, dramatically reducing the current average approval time of 140 days, which can extend beyond 300 days due to objections. A key reform limits third-party appeal rights, removing them entirely for smaller developments and restricting appeals on larger projects to directly impacted neighbors, aiming to eliminate delays caused by distant objectors. The government frames these changes as a necessary shift from "old-fashioned NIMBY planning laws" to a more efficient system that supports faster homebuilding and addresses housing supply shortages. These reforms are expected to generate over $900 million in construction activity annually and align Victoria’s planning appeal rights with other Australian states. The overhaul represents the most substantial change to Victoria’s planning system in decades and reflects a broader effort to facilitate housing growth while balancing community input for higher-density developments.