Strategic assessment of Melbourne's urban growth boundary
Under section 146 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts 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 terms of reference for a report on the impacts to which the agreement relates.
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 Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts 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 better reflect the intention of this assessment.
- Strategic assessment agreement with the finalised terms of reference (PDF - 1.96 MB)
- Strategic assessment agreement - Attachments (PDF - 233 KB) | (RTF - 3.1 MB)
Public comment
The Victorian Government released a series of draft reports for public comment between 17 June and the 17 July 2009 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).
Endorsement
On 2 February 2010 the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts 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.
- Information sheet - The Melbourne Strategic Assessment (PDF - 233 KB) | (Word - 243KB)
- Victorian Government reports for this strategic assessment
Further information
- Melbourne @ 5 million
- Strategic assessment agreement for future Melbourne growth
- Melbourne urban growth boundary strategic assessment fact sheet (PDF - 543 KB) | (RTF - 35 KB)
- Strategic assessments
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