{"id":877340,"date":"2026-09-02T11:06:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T11:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/877340\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T11:06:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T11:06:23","slug":"victoria-subdivision-rules-new-10-day-fast-track-approval-process-for-four-home-developments-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/877340\/","title":{"rendered":"Victoria subdivision rules: New 10-day fast-track approval process for four-home developments explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Angus<\/p>\n

September 2, 2026 \u2014 4:45pm<\/p>\n

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Victorian landowners who want to build four homes on a single block will be able to get approval within just two weeks.<\/p>\n

Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny announced the change on Wednesday, and said fast-tracking to construction of townhouses and units would bypass council processes, complex paperwork and lengthy approvals to boost housing supply in Victoria.<\/p>\n

\"ApprovalApproval times for subdividing land have been slashed. Peter Tarasiuk<\/p>\n

Labor has also once again opened the door to reviewing stamp duty<\/a>, the tax paid on the purchase of homes, which economists have long argued is highly inefficient. The party\u2019s new platform has vowed to consider its effectiveness.<\/p>\n

Kilkenny\u2019s planning overhaul will mean applications to build up to four homes on one block that meet building codes will from next month be approved within 10 business days. The existing process can take more than two months.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Premier<\/a><\/p>\n

The government last year implemented a 10-business-day approval process for landowners subdividing a property in half<\/a>, which it said had prompted a 50 per cent increase in applications for townhouses and low-rise developments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a small step, but it\u2019s going to make a difference,\u201d Kilkenny said of the latest move.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means four homes that comply with the townhouse code will be approved in 10 days. Council will not be able to object to the planning application.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kilkenny made the announcement at a housing policy debate hosted by the Australian Property Developers Association on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Opposition housing spokesperson David Southwick, One Nation\u2019s Victorian leader Warren Pickering and Family First\u2019s Alex Van Der End were also present at the debate, moderated by former ABC journalist Michael Rowland.<\/p>\n

Van Der End replaced Greens housing spokesperson Gabrielle de Vietri, who was absent attending to a family medical situation, the audience was told. Southwick and Pickering received a generally warm reception from the crowd of property developers compared with Kilkenny, who has served as planning minister for nearly four years.<\/p>\n

\"PlanningPlanning Minister Sonya Kilkenny announced the subdivision overhaul during a debate on Wednesday.Chris Hopkins<\/p>\n

In 2023, the state government pledged to build 800,000 homes over the next decade, including through higher density activity centres around transport hubs in established suburbs. Kilkenny defended Labor\u2019s record<\/a>, despite only about 50,000 homes being built annually since then, below its 80,000 target.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery state in Australia and nations around the world are struggling with this issue of a housing challenge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Housing was a key feature in the Labor Party\u2019s new policy platform, which noted the party would work to \u201csupport fast approvals for planning applications, building on reforms already made\u201d.<\/p>\n

The platform also stated Victorian Labor would work to \u201cconsider the effectiveness of stamp duty\u201d, a tax paid to the government on property sales that is a major source of revenue. It is due to bring in $10 billion this financial year, according to budget forecasts.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Labor has abolished stamp duty for homes under $600,000, and it is applied at lower rates for properties up to $750,000.<\/p>\n

While the policy platform included a foreword from Premier Ben Carroll, it was created by the Labor Party in consultation with stakeholders and does not necessarily represent future government policy.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Property industry figures argue government red tape and taxes have restricted their ability to deliver housing for Victorians. Kilkenny acknowledged there were challenges facing the sector, but pointed to construction material costs and also \u201cevents that are happening elsewhere in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will talk up Victoria because I know that Victoria is the fastest-growing economy over the past 10 years,\u201d Kilkenny said during the debate.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne in three first home buyers in Australia are from Victoria. We have the most affordable homes for first home buyers. We have the most affordable rent here in Victoria.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Coalition, if elected, will abolish stamp duty for homes up to $1 million and focus on lowering property taxes, boosting supply in outer-urban greenfields and expanding high-density housing in the inner city.<\/p>\n

Southwick said the Coalition would offer certainty and hope to property developers, guaranteeing that it would not impose new or increased taxes on the industry should it form government after November\u2019s state election.<\/p>\n

Southwick said the government\u2019s plan to build high-density housing around activity centres was \u201ctrying to redirect people\u201d to established suburbs, rather than letting demand guide supply.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe opposition will focus on boosting housing supply by targeting outer-urban greenfields and already high-density inner-city electorates. Joe Armao<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people want to live in an apartment in inner Melbourne, then great. If someone wants to live in high rise, low rise, great,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s important for the market to dictate that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said property developers should be consulted more often.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to build homes alongside the people in the room today,\u201d Southwick said.<\/p>\n

Pickering also said One Nation would look at rolling back all property taxes and red tape needed to be cut.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing red, blue, black and green tape become an impediment to all projects across the state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Pickering said a One Nation government would impose a \u201ctwo-out-one-in policy\u201d on red tape to reduce regulation. He said businesses should receive a guarantee from the government that regulatory goalposts would not shift in the time between approvals and delivery.<\/p>\n

Pickering did not go into details over One Nation\u2019s housing policy. Asked if the party had modelled the impact of cutting all property taxes, he said it lacked access to resources the major parties had.<\/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

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\"AngusAngus Delaney<\/a> is a state political reporter at The Age. Email him at angus.delaney@theage.com.au or contact him securely on Signal at angusdelaney.31Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 2, 2026 \u2014 4:45pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":877341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-877340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=877340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/877341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=877340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=877340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=877340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}