Planning System

BESS supports the creation of sustainable buildings and communities within the Victorian planning system. 

The planning system in Victoria operates under the Planning and Environment Act 1987, the framework for planning the use, development and protection of land in Victoria in the present and long-term interests of all Victorians. 

This page includes information about sustainability in the planning system in Victoria. For more information about how the planning system works more broadly, see the Victorian Government 'Guide to Victoria’s Planning System'.

Planning & Environment Act

Sustainability is fundamental to the Victorian Planning & Environment Act. Under the Act, the objectives of planning in Victoria are: 

(a) to provide for the fair, orderly, economic and sustainable use, and development of land;
(b) to provide for the protection of natural and man-made resources and the maintenance of ecological processes and genetic diversity;
(c) to secure a pleasant, efficient and safe working, living and recreational environment for all Victorians and visitors to Victoria;
(d) to conserve and enhance those buildings, areas or other places which are of scientific, aesthetic, architectural or historical interest, or otherwise of special cultural value;
(e) to protect public utilities and other assets and enable the orderly provision and co-ordination of public utilities and other facilities for the benefit of the community;
(f) to facilitate development in accordance with the objectives set out in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e);
(fa) to facilitate the provision of affordable housing in Victoria;
(g) to balance the present and future interests of all Victorians.

Victorian Planning Provisions & Planning schemes

The planning scheme for each municipality is a legal document, prepared and approved under the PE Act. It contains state and local planning policies, zones and overlays and other provisions that affect how land can be used and developed.

The PE Act also provides for the Victoria Planning Provisions (VPP) – a template document of standard state provisions for all planning schemes to be derived from.

Sustainability is referenced throughout the VPPs, and therefore the planning schemes of all Victorian councils. It is also within local policies, zones and overlays in individual schemes. 

Environmentally Sustainable Development Local Planning Policy

Many Victorian councils have a specific Environmentally Sustainable Design policy in their planning schemes. The policies are typically the same in each Council except for minor differences in the size and scale of development which triggers the policy.