EPBC Act

Public notices

Strategic assessment of Melbourne’s urban growth boundary

Under national environment law—the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)—the federal environment minister may agree to undertake a strategic assessment on the impacts of actions under a policy, plan or program. The legislation also requires that a terms of reference be developed to guide such a strategic assessment.

Background

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 20 years within a revised urban growth boundary.

Agreement

On 4 March 2009, the federal environment minister signed an agreement with the Victorian Government to undertake a strategic assessment under national environment law of the expansion of Melbourne’s urban growth boundary. On 16 June 2009, the strategic assessment agreement and terms of reference were amended to better reflect the intention of this assessment.

Public comment

The Victorian Government released a series of draft reports for public comment between 17 June and the 17 July 2009 including:

Endorsement

On 2 February 2010, the federal environment minister endorsed the program document Delivering Melbourne's Newest Sustainable Communities: Program report (December 2009). This is the first strategic assessment in Australia to reach the endorsement stage. The endorsement of this program allows the minister to consider giving approval to actions that are taken in accordance with the endorsed program.

Approvals

To date the Minister has approved two classes of actions under the endorsed program.

Prescriptions for matters of national environmental significance

On 16 April 2010,  the federal environment minister approved several prescriptions for ecological communities and threatened species associated with the Melbourne strategic assessment. These prescriptions specify requirements for protection of nationally protected matters that must be followed in preparing precinct structure plans and in undertaking individual developments. Prescriptions have been approved for:

These prescriptions can be found on the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment’s website .

Victorian Government websites for the Melbourne strategic assessment

Recent changes to Melbourne's urban growth boundary

The expansion of Melbourne's urban growth boundary has now passed through the Victorian Parliament (amendment VC68). This amendment also puts in place Public Acquisition Overlays for the proposed 15,000 hectare native grasslands reserve. The Victorian Government gazetted this amendment on 6 August 2010.

More detailed information on the new amendment can be found on the Victorian Department of Planning and Community Development's website.

Further information

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