Planning VIC: what’s changing in 2025 and how it affects homeowners and developers

If you work in Victoria long enough, you learn that planning rules never really stand still. Planning Victoria has always evolved gradually, but 2025 is shaping up to be one of those years where small changes across the system will have a noticeable impact on day to day projects.

For homeowners and developers, this means approvals that can either move smoothly or quietly get stuck depending on how well the early planning work is done. For those of us dealing with planning permits regularly, it is less about learning brand new rules and more about adapting to how councils are applying them.

Here is what is changing in Planning VIC in 2025, what it means in practical terms, and how tools like Planna can help keep lower risk projects moving without unnecessary delays or costs.

What is actually changing in Planning Victoria in 2025

Most of the changes coming through Planning Victoria are not dramatic policy shifts. They are refinements to how councils assess applications, how information is expected to be presented, and how compliance is checked earlier in the process.

In practice, this shows up in three main ways.

First, there is a stronger push for early clarity. Councils are increasingly expecting applications to demonstrate upfront compliance with ResCode, local planning policies, and zone objectives. Applications that rely on council officers to interpret gaps or assumptions are being slowed down rather than fixed during assessment.

Second, there is greater consistency between councils, but also less tolerance for incomplete documentation. Planning VIC is pushing for more standardised assessment, which sounds helpful, but it also means missing information is more likely to trigger formal requests for further information instead of informal phone calls.

Third, digital lodgement is now the default expectation. Councils are relying more heavily on structured data, clear planning justification, and properly prepared planning reports rather than informal explanations scattered across drawings and emails.

None of this makes planning harder, but it does reward good preparation and penalise shortcuts.

How this affects homeowners applying for a planning permit

For homeowners, especially those doing extensions, dual occupancies, or small developments, the biggest risk in 2025 is underestimating planning requirements.

Many homeowners still assume that if a project looks reasonable, council will help them work through the details. That is becoming less common. Councils are now far more likely to pause an application if the planning justification is weak or incomplete.

This is where delays creep in. Not because the project is non compliant, but because the planning permit application does not clearly demonstrate compliance from the start.

In practical terms, homeowners are being affected by longer assessment times when they submit applications without a clear town planning report, even for relatively straightforward proposals.

Low risk projects are still low risk, but only if they are clearly presented that way.

How this affects developers and repeat applicants

For developers and professionals working across multiple sites, the changes in Planning VIC mostly show up as time pressure.

When councils apply stricter information requirements across the board, even small inefficiencies add up. Waiting weeks for basic planning checks, outsourcing routine reports, or revising documents multiple times because issues were picked up late all start to erode margins.

In 2025, developers who do well will be the ones who front load planning work. Early feasibility checks, clear planning pathways, and documentation that anticipates council concerns rather than reacting to them.

This is less about hiring more planners and more about using better systems.

Where most delays actually come from in Planning VIC

In our experience, most planning permit delays in Victoria do not come from controversial design outcomes or major policy conflicts. They usually come from small process issues that compound over time.

Common examples include zoning provisions that are not clearly addressed in the planning report, overlays that are identified late in the process, or local planning policies that are only picked up during council assessment rather than upfront.

Delays also occur when planning justification is incomplete or when reports do not align cleanly with council expectations. These issues are rarely complex, but they trigger requests for further information and slow the application down.

Most of the time, these problems arise on low risk projects where teams assume planning will be straightforward and do not apply enough structure early on.

Why low risk projects benefit most from better planning tools

There is a misconception that planning software is only useful for complex developments. In reality, low risk projects benefit the most.

When a project should be simple, any delay feels disproportionate. Waiting weeks for a basic planning report or paying full consultant fees for a standard residential application rarely makes sense.

This is where Planna fits naturally into the Planning VIC landscape.

Planna allows you to run early planning checks, generate compliant town planning reports, and identify risks before lodgement. For straightforward projects, this often removes the need for lengthy back and forth entirely.

Instead of waiting for issues to surface during council assessment, they are addressed upfront.

How Planna supports Planning VIC compliance in 2025

Planna is not trying to replace town planners. It is designed to support good planning practice, particularly for projects that do not need heavy strategic input.

For Planning Victoria applications, Planna helps in three key ways.

First, it improves early accuracy. Zoning controls, overlays, and development standards are built into the workflow so basic compliance is checked before documents are finalised.

Second, it speeds up documentation. Town planning reports are generated quickly and reviewed by qualified planners, which means applications are not held up waiting for availability or minor revisions.

Third, it reduces unnecessary cost. For low risk projects, Planna offers a more affordable way to produce professional planning documentation without cutting corners.

This combination is particularly valuable in 2025, where councils expect higher quality submissions even for simple proposals.

Planning permits in Victoria are not harder but they are less forgiving

It is worth saying clearly that Planning VIC is not becoming unreasonable. The system is simply expecting applicants to do more of the work upfront.

From a planner’s perspective, this actually makes sense. Better applications lead to better outcomes and fewer drawn out assessments.

From a business or homeowner perspective, it means having the right support early on matters more than ever.

Using a platform like Planna helps bridge that gap. You get structured planning input, faster turnaround, and clearer pathways without over investing in projects that do not need it.

Final thoughts from a planning perspective

If you are working in Victoria in 2025, the biggest planning advantage you can have is preparation.

Knowing the planning controls is no longer enough. You need systems that help you apply them consistently, quickly, and clearly.

For low risk residential and small commercial projects, Planna makes a lot of sense. It helps prevent avoidable delays, keeps costs proportionate, and supports the kind of well prepared applications councils are now expecting under Planning Victoria.

If you want to see how Planna supports planning permit applications across Victoria, especially for straightforward projects that should not be slowed down, booking a demo is a good place to start.

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