NDIS and town planning – important changes to Victorian planning schemes

Planning Scheme Amendment VC226 amended the Community Care Accommodation provisions at clause 52.22 of all Victorian planning schemes on 4 November 2022. This has important implications for specialist disability accommodation providers.

Clause 52.22, among other things provided and continues to provide, an exemption from the normal public notice requirements for use and development of Community Care Accommodation. In effect, this limited third party objector review to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

One of the issues has concerned the scope of when that exemption applies. Previously, the exemption was contingent upon whether or not to use was carried out or funded by a Commonwealth public authority department. A question that arose was whether this meant proposals for specialist disability accommodation funded by the NDIS fell within the scope of the exemption.

Different approaches have been taken by different councils on this issue.

Clause 52.22 now expressly refers to NDIS-funded proposals. There may still be debate around the scope of the exemption, but on the face of it the amended wording is more commercially beneficial to specialist disability accommodation providers than before. The wording is set out below:

Before:

• “The use [/development] is funded by, or conducted by or on behalf of, a government department or public authority, including a public authority established for a public purpose under a Commonwealth Act.”

Current:

• “The use [/development] is:
  • funded by, or carried out by or on behalf of, a government department or public authority, including a public authority established for a public purpose under a Commonwealth Act; or
  • funded by, or carried out by, a registered National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provider if the design of the building is certified to the NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation Design Standard by an accredited third party NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation assessor.”

If you have any questions about these changes, please contact partner Joseph Monaghan or Tony Rutherford, or a member of our planning or construction team in the Key Contacts section below.

Disclaimer
The information in this article is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavour to provide accurate and timely information, we do not guarantee that the information in this article is accurate at the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future.

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