Factsheet:
VicSmart for Planning Applications
What types of planning applications are eligible for VicSmart processing?
VicSmart proposals include the following (subject to submission of the prescribed required information):
Subdivision
Subdivide land to realign the common boundary between two lots.
Subdivide land into lots each containing an existing building or car parking space.
Subdivide land into an approved development into two lots.
Buildings and works
Construct or extend a front fence within 3 metres of a street in a residential zone
and/or Design and Development Overlay.
Construct a building under $50,000 in value in a Mixed Use, industrial or commercial
zone, and not within 30m of a residential zone and not associated with a dwelling in a
Mixed Use zone.
Buildings or works – permit triggered by a Special Building Overlay.
Minor buildings and
works in a Heritage
Overlay
Demolish, remove and/or construct an outbuilding (including a car port, garage,
pergola, verandah, deck, shed or similar structure).
Demolition, remove and/or construct a fence.
Externally alter a non-contributory building.
External painting.
Construct and install domestic services normal to a dwelling; a non-domestic disabled
access ramp; a vehicle crossover; a domestic swimming pool/spa and associated
equipment and fencing.
Construct a rainwater tank and/or a solar energy facility attached to a dwelling.
Construct or display a sign.
Advertising signs
Display a sign in a commercial or industrial zone not within 30m of a residential zone;
not a pole sign, sky sign, reflective sign, internally illuminated, floodlit, electronic or
animated and total display size does not exceed 10 square metres.
Carparking reduction by no more than five spaces in all
zones.
Loading and unloading reduction or waiver in all zones.
Please note, if a proposal meets the criteria for a VicSmart application, Council must assess the application within
10 business days using the VicSmart process. We cannot choose to assess the proposal using the regular permit
process, even if it is submitted on a standard planning permit application form.
Our enquiries counter at St Kilda Town Hall
is open from 8.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday
T: 03 9209 6424 F: 03 9536 2740 E: [email protected]
www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/planning_building.htm
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Factsheet:
VicSmart for Planning Applications
Further information requests
What is VicSmart?
Key features of VicSmart include:
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A 10 business day permit process
Applications are not advertised
Prescribed information must be submitted
with an application
What information is required for a
VicSmart application?
The minimum information required to be submitted
is as follows:
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Completed VicSmart planning permit
application form (including signed declaration)
Current full copy of Certificate of Title
(obtained within the last three months)
Melbourne Water VicSmart approval
documentation for sites in a Special Building
Overlay
The prescribed fee
Photographs of the subject site and the street
All documentation as noted in the relevant
VicSmart Checklists (NB if your proposal falls
into more than one VicSmart class of
application you must complete all relevant
VicSmart Checklists)
Completed VicSmart Checklist/s
Please provide all the necessary information with
your application. If insufficient information is
provided with your application, a decision will be
delayed until all the information is provided.
Should information submitted with the application be
inadequate or missing we will contact you within five
business days of receiving the application to request
further information. A due date will be advised.
Once a satisfactory response is received we then
have a further 10 days to decide the application.
If further information is not received by the due date
the application will lapse and cannot be
recommenced. A new application must be lodged
and a new fee paid.
The due date can be extended as long as the request
to do so is made before the due date.
Amend a VicSmart application
A VicSmart application can be amended after
lodgement. The day Council receives the request for
the amendment becomes the lodgement date of the
application.
Deciding a VicSmart application
As long as further information is not required, a
decision should be made within 10 business days.
Where a decision can be made but has been
inadvertently delayed, a Council officer will inform
you and will make a decision as soon as practicable.
Under VicSmart, after 10 business days you have the
right to a review by the Victorian Civil and
Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for failure to decide
but you are not compelled to do so. Before applying
to VCAT, please check with us as to when a decision
will be made. In most cases a decision will be made
within a reasonable timeframe.
Our enquiries counter at St Kilda Town Hall
is open from 8.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday
T: 03 9209 6424 F: 03 9536 2740 E: [email protected]
www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/planning_building.htm
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Updated 12/11/14
Factsheet:
VicSmart for Planning Applications
Review rights
Third parties (eg objectors) are not provided with
review rights as part of the VicSmart process.
Applicants may apply to VCAT for a review for:
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Failure to grant a permit within the prescribed
time – 10 business days
Refusal to grant a permit
Conditions in a permit
Refusal to extend the time to commence or
complete a development or use.
For further information about this and other review
situations please refer to VCAT Review Process for
VicSmart.
Where can I download the form,
checklists, guidelines, etc?
www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/VicSmart.htm
www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/planning-forms.htm
VicSmart information provided by the Department
of Transport, Planning, and Local Infrastructure
(available from our website):
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Applicant’s Guide to Lodging a VicSmart
Application and
How to Apply for a VicSmart Planning Permit
under the Special Building Overlay (when
Melbourne Water consent is also required)
VCAT Review Process for VicSmart
Then ensure you have all required documentation
and have completed the VicSmart application form.
Lodge your VicSmart planning permit application in
person at the Planning and Building Counter at
reception of St Kilda Town Hall, between 8.30am
and 5pm Monday to Friday (99A Carlisle Street, St
Kilda). No appointment is required.
A Planner will check your application while you are
there to ensure it is eligible and that all required
information has been provided.
Fast Track Service
Council also offers a Fast Track Service to speed up
the process for some minor planning applications
that are not eligible for VicSmart.
Some planning applications are considered to be
minor and are able to be processed without
advertising or the need for external referrals. This
means they are able to be dealt with more quickly
than other planning applications.
For more information about our Fast Track Service
please read the Fast Track Service Factsheet which can
be downloaded from our website at
www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/fast-track-service.htm
If I have some other questions, how do
I contact you?
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Phone the Statutory Planning department on
03 9209 6424
How do I submit my VicSmart
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Email [email protected]
planning permit application?
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Visit the Planning Counter St Kilda Town Hall,
between 8.30am and 5pm Monday to Friday
(99A Carlisle Street, St Kilda). No
appointment is required.
Please contact us to discuss your proposal’s eligibility
for VicSmart processing prior to submitting your
application.
Our enquiries counter at St Kilda Town Hall
is open from 8.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday
T: 03 9209 6424 F: 03 9536 2740 E: [email protected]
www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/planning_building.htm
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