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August 21, 2026 \u2014 5:30am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n A new suburb with 12,000 homes and seven schools has been approved in a bid to keep pace with the population boom in Melbourne\u2019s west \u2013 the fastest-growing region in Australia.<\/p>\n The Carroll government has given the green light to a structure plan for Melton East, in a signal to developers to seek permits to start building in the new suburb while authorities deliver the required infrastructure, including the new schools and open space covering the equivalent of five MCGs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n There are also plans for four community hubs, three new arterial roads and five bridges, as well as cycling and pedestrian connections, while the new Melton Hospital is already under construction in nearby Cobblebank.<\/p>\n Melton East is expected to be home to more than 36,000 people while supporting about 1600 jobs once it is fully developed by the middle of the century.<\/p>\n By 2050, the overall population in Melbourne\u2019s west is expected to double to 1.8 million people, and an alliance of major local employers, councils and community leaders argues the region needs a formal housing strategy to co-ordinate and deliver plans across the different local government areas.<\/p>\n Related Article In the next decade, 10,000 homes need to be built in Melbourne\u2019s west annually to cope with demand, predominantly in Melton and Wyndham.<\/p>\n That is roughly in line with the state government\u2019s plans, but in some areas, particularly the outer-west, new builds aren\u2019t keeping up with population growth, says the West of Melbourne Economic Development Alliance (WoMEDA). That is especially true for affordable homes close to the region\u2019s biggest employers, such as hospitals.<\/p>\n The push for a sweeping housing strategy is one in a suite of demands WoMEDA has for all political parties ahead of the November state election, one year on from the alliance\u2019s West of Melbourne Summit<\/a>, presented with The Age.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the fastest growing region in Australia, the west of Melbourne needs an integrated approach,\u201d said WoMEDA chair Peter Dawkins.<\/p>\n Melbourne could follow the NSW government\u2019s approach of a decade ago, establishing a western city commission (modelled off the now defunct Greater Sydney Commission) to create a whole-of-west plan, the alliance says.<\/p>\n Sydney\u2019s commission created an ambitious 40-year blueprint to transform the city into a three-CBD metropolis \u2013 Parramatta being one. The goal is similar for Melbourne\u2019s Sunshine<\/a>, with the Labor government prioritising the suburb for major infrastructure, including the airport rail link<\/a>.<\/p>\n But there is no equivalent body driving change across the whole of the city\u2019s west, according to WoMEDA executive director Giulia Baggio.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would need to be as non-partisan as possible and involve the three levels of government, private sector and community, overseen by a state government agency,\u201d Baggio said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt could develop, say a 20- or 30-year plan.<\/p>\n \u201cRather than allow housing to keep sprawling, especially across our greenfield communities, a West of Melbourne Commission could oversee a curated, intelligent design backed up by a staged, funded plan on a development timeline.\u201d<\/p>\n For some residents of Melbourne\u2019s west, it is already too late. On Hope Way in Tarneit, Sarah McDougall is packing up.<\/p>\n Boxes are strewn through her two-bedroom brick duplex, which she bought in 2013 when these suburbs were quieter and sparser. Her dog paces restlessly in her small fenced backyard, and too-dim street lights glow above cars sprawled on grass and driveways beside the narrow street.<\/p>\n \u201cIt used to be, get out of Hoppers and open countryside to Melton,\u201d said McDougall, who is in her early 40s.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, it\u2019s almost to the point of suffocating because it\u2019s all filled in and there\u2019s no space any more.<\/p>\n \u201cEnd of the year, I\u2019m gone.\u201d<\/p>\n McDougall is retreating to Ballarat for its open space, in a backfiring of the boom for the city\u2019s west as it is choked with industry, warehouses and bottle-necked traffic. While new housing is built, infrastructure isn\u2019t keeping pace, McDougall says, a concern shared by WoMEDA.<\/p>\n About half of the workforce in Melbourne\u2019s west has to leave the region to reach their workplace.<\/p>\n Under the state government, a suite of new tertiary institutions are in train, including a Melton TAFE and a tech school in Brimbank. In the immediate term, though, TAFE places at Victoria University and The Gordon in Werribee need to double to meet demand, the alliance argues.<\/p>\n Melton Mayor Lara Carli adds that while a new TAFE is expected to open in Cobblebank in 2028, \u201cour city has no university\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHousing needs to be matched by investment in transport, roads, education, services and employment precincts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n WoMEDA is also asking for expedited electrification of the Melton line \u2013 it was promised in 2018 \u2013 and planning for the Suburban Rail Loop<\/a>\u2019s western end, as annual average population growth of 3 per cent puts \u201cenormous strain\u201d on transport in Melbourne\u2019s west.<\/p>\n The state government is working to finalise the project design for Melton electrification, with the new local station due to open on September 1.<\/p>\n On Friday, it will also open consultation for a structure plan to unlock another new suburb called Merrifield North, a 970-hectare precinct that is expected to support 4700 jobs across industries including warehousing, transport and logistics.<\/p>\n \u201cThe plans for Melton East and Merrifield North are about building connected places for more Victorians to live, work and thrive,\u201d Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny said.<\/p>\n Victoria continued to build more housing than any other state, a government spokesman added, while acknowledging that \u201cwe know there is more to do\u201d.<\/p>\n But opposition planning spokesman David Southwick says that because of \u201cLabor\u2019s neglect, housing and basic infrastructure hasn\u2019t kept up with the growth\u201d in Melbourne\u2019s fastest growing suburbs.<\/p>\n Related \u201cUnder a Liberal and Nationals government, we will work with the community to deliver housing and the infrastructure into Melbourne\u2019s fastest growing suburbs where we know people want to live,\u201d Southwick said.<\/p>\n The Victorian Greens, meanwhile, have committed to doubling public housing across the state, \u201cbecause essential workers increasingly can\u2019t even find somewhere to rent, let alone somewhere they can afford\u201d, Footscray candidate Elena Pereyra said.<\/p>\n The Greens have also promised $245 million to improve the frequency of regional trains and coaches, and $270 million to reform Melbourne\u2019s bus network, starting in the city\u2019s west.<\/p>\n McDougall won\u2019t stick around to wait for those changes.<\/p>\n When she makes the move to Ballarat, it\u2019ll take her about an hour on the train to travel to her workplace in Sunshine. That\u2019s an hour she\u2019d otherwise spend in peak-hour traffic, driving to and from Tarneit every day.<\/p>\n Standing in the dark outside her home on Hope Way, she says freedom is one of the things she\u2019s most looking forward to.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/77378a2f632eff02b8d8787e6bc42be67550ce7e.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/47386df6604ce5dcdfad93d2d211adec58668de9.jpeg\")
Sarah McDougall is moving from Melbourne\u2019s west because she says it is too busy and infrastructure is not keeping pace with population growth.Simon Schluter<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b0a6866af1fe121d3f65ddbf09356705103484f2.jpeg\")
Former premier Jacinta Allan at the site of the new Melton Hospital in Cobblebank last year.Wayne Taylor<\/p>\n![\"Go](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/198fc09c19b519541aa12a277bb127c49ea687ef44a77aa5819b3310e2440cc3.jpeg\")
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