The Victorian Government has put the heat on local councils in wealthy or inner suburban areas, saying that councils will lose their planning powers if they do not contribute their fair share of new housing supply.

The Victorian Government has released the final version of its statewide housing targets.

The targets set out the number of new homes which each local council area is expected to accommodate by 2051.

The targets aim to take pressure off outer suburbs and to rebalance growth to ensure that wealthy inner councils accommodate their fair share of new housing development.

According to the government, the pattern of housing growth particularly in Melbourne has been grossly uneven over recent decades.

This has placed immense pressure on these areas in terms of infrastructure, congestion and local amenity. It has also forced those seeking new homes to liver further away from the best employment prospects in the CBD.

Over the past 30 years, housing in the outer local government areas of Melton, Wyndham and Casey has grown by 433 percent, 346 percent and 211 percent.

Over that same timeframe, councils such as Boroondara and Bayside recorded housing growth of just 24 percent and 28 percent respectively.

The burden of growth has also been disproportionately shouldered by Melbourne’s western and northern suburbs.

Since 1996, the western suburbs of Melbourne collectively grew 114 per cent, and the north and the southeast grew 75 per cent.

By contrast, inner southeastern and eastern suburbs grew  by only 32 per cent and 36 per cent respectively.

Under the new housing targets, 70 percent of new housing in Melbourne between now and 2051 will need to be accommodated within existing established areas.

This will place additional pressure on some municipalities who have been dragging their feet on new housing supply.

Boroondara, for example, will need to accommodate and additional 65,500 new homes between 2023 and 2051. This represents an 88 percent increase on its 2023 housing stock of 74,600.

Over that same period, Bayside will need to boost its housing stock by 30,000 to go from 44,100 to 74,100 – an increase of just under 70 percent.

By contrast, required growth rates in Melton and Wyndham will ease back to a more manageable 158 percent and 95 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, regional areas are expected to accommodate up to 25 percent of the state’s housing growth.

According to the Government, targets have been based on several factors.

These include proximity to employment, services and transport (existing and planned), environmental hazards (flood, bushfire risk etc.), development trends and places already identified for more homes and development potential in established regions and cities.

Speaking of Boroondara, for example, it said that the targets are suitable given available space for gentle infill, opportunities to unlock strategic sites, busy commercial precincts in Camberwell, Hawthorn and Kew and an inner-suburban setting close to well-serviced trams and train lines that have had every level crossing removed.

Meanwhile, the Government says that it will hold local councils to account if they fail to adequately plan to meet housing targets.

A soon-to-be released Plan for Victoria will contain a declaration that Government will hold councils accountable with explicit directions to change planning schemes if they are not providing enough housing capacity. If required, the Government will step in to update planning schemes.

This could mean that the Government acts through means such as rezoning to unlock more space for homes.

The Minister for Planning will also retain her powers to intervene or fast-track developments.

(Outer suburban muncipalities such as Melton have recently been forced to shoulder a disproportionate share of new housing growth in Melbourne over recent decades. The new targets plan to rebalance this so that inner suburbs take a fairer share of new housing growth. Image source: Google Maps)

In a statement, Premier Jacinta Allen encouraged councils to work with the Government in order to deliver on targets.

But she warned that the state will act in cases where local governments fail to do so.

“It’s simple – work with us to unlock space for more homes or we’ll do it for you,” Allen said.

“It’s not fair that Victorian families and young people have been completely locked out of living in some areas, while other parts of Melbourne have had to bear the brunt of all that growth.”

“We’re in a housing crisis and the status quo is not an option. It’s time to shake things up.”

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