Subdivision fee savings for Victorians
The Victorian Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) has secured a decision on the Metropolitan Planning Levy (MPL) that will mean significant savings in subdivision fees.
The Minister for Planning signed off on the MPL Planning Practice Note this month, which has been welcomed by Victorian institute chief executive Danni Addison.
“It’s gratifying to get to this result after a tireless advocacy campaign by the institute and its members.
“Based on average development sizes and development costs for greenfield projects, this will amount to a saving of over $50,000 for applicants proposing a standard 500-lot subdivision,” Addison says.
In calculating the “estimated cost of development”, the practice note states:
“For all leviable types of development, including subdivision, only the works requiring a permit should be included in the calculation of costs.”
Since the MPL’s introduction on July 1, 2015, the institute has been persistent in seeking a practice note to confirm the applicability of the MPL.
The UDIA held the position that the calculation of “estimated cost of development” does not include works exempt from a planning permit, and the release of the practice note confirms this position.
This means that for many works associated with a subdivision, their costs are not included within the application’s “estimated cost of development”.
For more detail on the types of works, you can access Clause 62 of the Victorian Planning Provisions.
Refunds?
For applicants that were required to incorrectly include the cost of all works associated with a subdivision, this news comes as some relief. Under refunds and exemptions, the practice note states:
“If an applicant has previously incorrectly calculated the estimated cost of development, based on costs of works associated with a subdivision but not in themselves requiring a planning permit, a request for a refund can be made in writing to the State Revenue Office.”
The SRO contact details are:
State Revenue Office
GPO Box 1641
Melbourne, VIC 3001
The Victorian UDIA and the Property Council have joined efforts to get a fairer and more equitable deal on infrastructure charges. The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) are more thoroughly analysing existing Development Control Plans (DCPs). If all or some of their recommendations for the methodology is adopted, this could mean significant savings.
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