Strategic assessment of the impacts of the proposal to revise Melbourne's urban growth boundary
Strategic assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, June 2009
Download
- Strategic assessment agreement with the finalised terms of reference (PDF - 383 KB) | (RTF - 4.7 MB)
Under section 146 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), the minister may agree to undertake a strategic assessment on the impacts of actions under a policy, plan or program. Section 146 of the EPBC Act also provides for a terms of reference for a report on the impacts to which the agreement relates.
In December 2008, the Victorian Department of Planning and Community Development released a report entitled Melbourne @ 5 million. The report provided forecasts for Melbourne's future population growth, and detailed the need to accommodate an additional 600,000 new dwellings over the next twenty years within a revised urban growth boundary.
On 4 March 2009, the Minister for Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Peter Garrett signed an agreement with the Victorian Government to undertake a strategic assessment under the EPBC Act of the expansion of Melbourne's urban growth boundary. On 16 June 2009, the strategic assessment agreement and terms of reference were amended to include areas inside the existing urban growth boundary for which a planning scheme amendment to introduce a Precinct Structure Plan had not commenced, and are available for download at the link above.
Public consultation process
The Victorian Government has released a series of draft reports including:
- Delivering Melbourne's Newest Sustainable Communities: a report describing the urban growth boundary expansion,
- Delivering Melbourne's Newest Sustainable Communities: a report describing the regional rail link,
- Delivering Melbourne's Newest Sustainable Communities: a report describing the outer Melbourne ring road, and
- Delivering Melbourne's Newest Sustainable Communities: a report describing the impacts on matters of national environmental significance for the strategic assessment (EPBC Act).
All reports will be available for public comment from the 17 June until 17 July and can be accessed at the Victorian Government's website: Victoria Online - Delivering Melbourne's newest sustainable communities
Following the consideration of public comments, the Victorian Government will finalise the reports and submit them to the Minister for consideration as part of the strategic assessment.
Further information
- Victoria's process for expanding the urban growth boundary (Melbourne @ 5 million)
- Strategic assessment agreement for future Melbourne growth
- Strategic assessments
- Melbourne urban growth boundary strategic assessment fact sheet (PDF - 543 KB) | (RTF - 35 KB)
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