The Victorian government has unlocked 12 more underused sites across the state will for housing to deliver more than 2,000 new homes.
The move is part of the government’s ongoing push to overhaul the state’s planning framework and accelerate housing supply.
The locations will be assessed under the state’s Unlocking Strategic Sites program, which bypasses traditional council rezoning bottlenecks.
The state government estimates that council-led rezonings currently take two years or more, whereas the streamlined state pathway aims to cut assessment times in half.
The newly targeted sites encompass a diverse mix of land, including former industrial hubs, disused livestock yards, surplus council property, and regional farmland.
Among the locations earmarked for assessment are:
- Vacant land near St Anne’s Catholic College in Kialla
- Surplus council property in Nunawading
- The former Warrnambool Livestock Exchange
- Industrial land near the Eureka Centre in Ballarat East
- Farmland parcels in Lang Lang, Cohuna, and Lake Tyers
- Commercial and industrial land in Frankston, Oakleigh, and Dandenong
The announcement builds on an initial seven sites identified in April, which are already undergoing assessment to unlock a potential 9,000 homes.
Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny said the initiative was critical to ensuring suitable urban and regional land does not sit idle while Victorians face housing affordability pressures.
“This program is unlocking thousands more homes by making sure suitable sites don’t sit idle for years,” Kilkenny said.
“Instead of suitable sites sitting in the planning system for years, we’re getting them assessed faster so more homes can be built sooner.”
All proposals channelled through the Development Facilitation Program will undergo formal planning assessments and community consultation, with every approved development mandated to include a minimum of 10 per cent affordable housing.
