Plan Victoria and legislated status for State Strategies
Are we moving from a system where state strategy 'informs' local planning to a planning system where State strategy increasingly 'directs' local planning?
For councils and strategic planning teams, this could be one of the most consequential questions arising from the new Part 1AA of P&E Act and Plan for Victoria: how the relationship between State strategy and local place-
based strategic planning may evolve.
Much of the discussion has focused on housing reforms and planning system changes.
But what has particularly caught my attention is Part 1AA and its intent to strengthen the role of State Strategy (Plan for Victoria) within Victoria's planning system.
I've put together a few reflections on what 'Plan for Victoria' as a State Planning Strategy could mean for local discretion, housing targets, accountability, implementation, monitoring, and the evolving role of councils and strategic planning teams.
Plan for Victoria currently reads as a broad policy document. There are still open questions about how it may ultimately operate within the new framework, including which elements may become mandatory, which may remain discretionary, and how the concept of "consistency" will be applied in practice.
A DTP briefing last week indicated that the "planning strategies provisions to give legislated status to Plan for Victoria" are part of Phase 2 implementation (October 2026 to March 2027), alongside broader planning scheme amendment reforms.
While we wait for detailed regulations and strategies to see how this might be implemented have a look at the slides to understand what it might mean for councils and other statutory agencies.
