Rural planning decisions update

Stay up to date with how the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) interprets rural planning matters.

Summaries are released every three months and highlight recent VCAT decisions about:

  • rural land use
  • development
  • subdivision.

It focuses on rural zones and includes links to the full cases. The summaries come directly from VCAT rulings to keep them accurate.

The update is highly valued by council planners and consultants. It supports consistent decision-making, builds awareness of emerging issues, and provides a quick, reliable reference for rural planning matters.

View the guide to zones and overlays to learn more about zone and overlay codes.

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To subscribe or request a copy of a previous update email agvic.planning@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Current edition: October 2026, cases from July to September 2026

Dwelling - use of land

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Geoffrey Code, Senior Member

Zone: GWZ

Overlays: RO HO5

Outcome: Council decision set aside, remitted

Summary:

‘Relocation’ of existing dwelling

Heritage Overlay; Restructure Overlay; Existing use rights;

  1. ... I will direct the Council to consider whether clause 63.10 applies in reconsidering the permit application.
  2. The proposal must therefore be characterised as including the demolition or removal of the second dwelling. The notice of decision fails to grant permission for a necessary part of the proposal.
  3. If the land has not been consolidated in accordance with the restructure plan, there is a question as to whether permission could be granted to construct the second dwelling in a different location on the land because the grant of the permission would not be in accordance with the restructure plan.

View full case

Rachel Naylor, Senior Member

Zone: FZ

Overlays: SMO, BMO, EMO

Outcome: Council decision set aside, permit granted

Summary:

The overall proposal is to develop and use the land with a dwelling, outbuilding and dam, vegetation and native vegetation removal, and associated land management.

  1. …. There are few Tribunal decisions about the SMO and what the purpose of the SMO is intending to achieve. For the reasons explained, I have decided to grant a permit, and the SMO has been a key consideration in this case.

View full case

Cassandra Rea, Member

Zone: FZ

Overlays: none

Outcome:

Summary:

  1. Whilst the respondent argues that there is not a loss of productive agricultural land as the land has not been used for permanent and ongoing agricultural use over several decades, I find the use and development of a dwelling on the site will result in a permanent loss of land available for agricultural purposes.
  2. Whilst one of the purposes of the FZ is ‘to encourage the retention of productive agricultural land’, there is a similar, but different, purpose ‘to provide for the use of land for agriculture.’
  3. One purpose recognises the importance of existing productive agriculture businesses, whilst the other purpose seeks to accommodate broader agricultural uses.
  4. I find the potential role that the site may have to support a broader farming enterprise has been overlooked by the respondent.  In particular, land does not need to be intensively farmed to contribute to productive agriculture.  The land could be purposeful for various supplementary activities including, but not limited to, extra grazing capacity, storage, produce handling, stock management and quarantine, notwithstanding it’s compact rural size.
  5. The dwelling site will have an abuttal to land that can accommodate a variety of agricultural operations, without further planning approval.  If approved, the dwelling will be exposed to impacts arising from usual farming activities including machinery noise, dust, odour and the like, or impacts from the construction of farming infrastructure such as bulk, glare or obscuring of views.  This is contrary to policy that seeks to ensure the use or development of land is compatible with adjoining and nearby land uses, and specifically a matter addressed by the decision guidelines within the FZ.
  6. I find that the proposed use and development of the dwelling will cause an unacceptable constraint on agricultural activities on the adjoining site.

View full case

Christopher Harty, Member

Zone: FZ

Overlays: DDO2

Outcome: Council decision set aside, permit granted

Summary:

The use and development of a second dwelling.

The subject land is … 39.89 hectares in area … with an existing dwelling and … is currently used for farming purposes comprising horses, up to 25 Angus cattle and breeding of working dogs. The surrounding area is farming land with a diversity of property sizes …

  1. Any intensification of non-agricultural use on the site with another dwelling will not, in my view, change its effects or impacts on agricultural activity either on the site or on the surrounding area. The site is already used for agricultural production, and I do not see the proposed second dwelling changing that situation. If the second dwelling can assist the applicant to improve and broaden the scope of agricultural production and improve the environmental condition of the land, then I consider that outcome an acceptable one.

View full case

Subdivisions

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Jane Tait, Member

Zone: GWZ

Overlays: ESO4, ESO17, ESO28, VPO2, EMO7, BMO

Outcome: Council decision upheld, no permit granted

Summary:

  1. … the applicant is proposing to re-subdivide two existing lots by excising 0.86 hectares around the existing dwelling … and consolidation of the balance of the lot … comprising 53.05 hectares…
  2. I have decided to affirm Council’s decision to refuse this application as there is limited policy support for the creation of an exclusively residential lot in a GWZ. Whilst I acknowledge the proposal creates a larger, consolidated lot that can be used for agricultural purposes, it also creates a small lot that has no capacity for any agricultural activities. I find this fragmentation problematic as it could impact the future viability of the agricultural land on the review site and the surrounding land due to residential amenity expectations of future owners of Lot 1.

View full case

Christopher Harty, Member

Zone: FZ

Overlays: DCPO1, BMO

Outcome: Council decision upheld, no permit granted

Summary:

To re-subdivide two existing lots each containing an existing dwelling into Lot 1 with an area of 3.3 hectares and Lot 2 with an area of 69.16 hectares.

  1. The outcome of the proposal will be to convert an existing dwelling on the site to a small lot with no relationship to agriculture, apart from being located adjacent to such activity. In my view, this creates a land use conflict risk. It may well be that the current occupants of the southern dwelling don’t mind what happens with regards to agricultural activity now. But when a new lot is created it can be disposed of at any time in the future and may well become occupied by someone who may not like what occurs around them.

View full case

Uses associated with agriculture

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Margaret Baird, Senior Member

Zone: FZ

Overlays: None

Outcome: Council decision varied, permit granted

Summary:

Tourism enterprise including on-site cheese, milk and cream production with a 60 seat café and display workshop building, animal petting zoo, farm accommodation (four x two bedroom cabins), two agricultural sheds, a reduction in car parking, and signage. The proposal provides 36 on-site car spaces.

  1. The dispute is whether a spray seal is necessary for the on-site parking and access areas, or whether ‘an engineered gravel surface’ (in the applicant’s words) is satisfactory to address amenity impacts (notably dust).
  2. There can be more than one acceptable solution. While the condition requiring a spray seal may be acceptable, I also find that the engineered gravel treatment explained through the expert evidence, and sought by varied permit conditions, is acceptable. …

View full case

Alison Slattery, Member

Zone: FZ

Overlays: SCO

Outcome: Council decision varied, permit granted

Summary:

Use of the land for rural workers accommodation, where Section 1 conditions are not met

  1. … I have decided to vary the Council’s decision and issue a planning permit with the number of workers accommodated to be a maximum of 8 in line with the updated Land Capability Assessment (‘LCA’). …
  2. Mr Costa submitted to me that the proposed use and development of the land for a rural workers accommodation furthers the purposes of the Farming Zone, and I agree with this assessment for the following reasons:
    1. The surrounding land within the FZ will not be altered as a result of the location of the rural workers accommodation on the review site.
    2. This small site is an appropriate location for this use and maintains the surrounding area for farming purposes whilst locating the more sensitive rural workers accommodation to a corner site where there will be no reciprocal amenity impacts either to or from the use. This will ensure that the rural workers accommodation, being a non-agricultural use, does not adversely affect the use of land for agriculture.
    3. As noted above, the development of the site for a rural workers accommodation will further enable more efficient management of this site and others in the area in a manner where farm work can be better undertaken with the assistance of rural workers.
    4. In providing for a rural workers accommodation on the site employment in the construction of the rural workers accommodation will occur, but more importantly, the use brings in rural workers which serves to bolster population within this rural community.

View full case

Christopher Harty, Member

Zone: GWZ1

Overlays: ESO3, VPO1

Outcome: Council decision set aside, permit granted

Summary:

To undertake earthworks associated with the construction of an above ground dam.

  1. The applicant says the proposal will support agriculture and represents an acceptable planning outcome. It complies with the relevant elements of the planning scheme and should be supported.
  2. The issues raised within the context of this review relate to the impacts arising from the earthworks, particularly in terms of changes to the rate of flow or discharge point of water across property boundaries.
  3. Having considered all submissions and evidence presented regarding the applicable policies and provisions of the planning scheme and assisted by my inspection, I find the proposal achieves an acceptable outcome.

View full case

Agricultural use

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Margaret Baird, Senior Member

Zone: RLZ

Overlays: None

Outcome: Council decision upheld, no permit granted

Summary:

Use and development of the land for horse husbandry including a harness-racing training track.

  1. Put simply, there is a need for the proposed use to be able to acceptably co-exist with other land uses, particularly residential uses to the north (and also to the west where land is in a Low Density Residential Zone).
  2. Horse husbandry may be an appropriate use, and would not be unusual use, in the RLZ. … It is relevant to consider how the proposed land use would operate, and whether and how any potential impacts can be managed to not adversely affect the amenity of surrounding land uses. The infrastructure and activities associated with the training of harness racing horses comprising a private trotting track is less common in the RLZ than the keeping of horses.
  3. I consider concerns about off-site dust impacts are reasonably founded….
  4. … I am unable to conclude that the proposed use and development provide for agricultural land use which will not adversely affect the amenity of surrounding land uses.

View full case

Other use

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Alison Slattery, Presiding Member

Christopher Harty, Member

Zone: FZ

Overlays: ESO3

Outcome: Council decision upheld, no permit granted

Summary:

The proposal seeks to use and develop the review site for a service station which includes the creation of access (TRZ2 road) removal of vegetation and the display of signage.

View full case

Teresa Bisucci, Deputy President

Zone: GWZ

Overlays: SLO5, SLO1, EMO7, EMO1, ESO9, ESO28, BMO, VPO2

Outcome: Council decision invalid, amended permit granted

Summary:

Material mistake – Issue of amended permit without giving notice of decision to objector – Council voids amended planning permit – Issue notice of decision to grant an amended permit after an amended planning permit has been issued

View full case

Bill Sibonis, Senior Member. Michael Deidun, Member

Zone: GWZ

Overlays: None

Outcome: Council decision upheld, no permit granted

Summary:

Use and development of the land for a place of worship

View full case

Ian Potts, Senior Member. Joel Templar, Member

Zone: RCZ, GWZ, PPRZ, PUZ

Overlays: ESO1, SLO2, LSIO, aHO124

Outcome: Council decision upheld, no permit granted

Summary:

Retrospective approval is sought for the construction of earthworks. The earthworks comprise of a concrete sealed accessway that is approximately 1,600 metres long and 3 metre wide.

Works completed on land owned by De Bortoli, Warburton Rail Trail and Melbourne Water.

View full case

Donna D’Alessandro, Member

Zone: RCZ

Overlays: BMO

Outcome: Council decision varied, permit amended

Summary:

Amendment to the existing permit to allow for an outbuilding to house collectable motor vehicles.

The amendment to the outbuilding involves modification to the architecture, roof form modification, height increase, and extension to the canopy areas around the building.

View full case

Alison Slattery, Member

Zone: GWZ

Overlays: ESO3, VPO1

Outcome: Council decision upheld, permit granted

Summary:

Buildings and Works for a shed

The site contains an existing place of worship (approved under planning permit 99/697 on 7 August 2000)

View full case

Susan Whitney, Member. Shiran Wickramasinghe, Member

Zone: FZ

Overlays: ESO7

Outcome: Council decision set aside, remitted for re-consideration

Summary:

Use and development of racecourse (greyhound racing) and racing dog training

View full case

Tracy Watson, Member

Zone: GWZ

Overlays: SLO8, DCPO2, MAEO1, MAEO2

Outcome: Council decision set aside, permit granted

Summary:

To construct a building which is within the following setbacks: 20 metres from a road other than a road in the Transport Zone 2 or 3; and 100 metres from a dwelling not in the same ownership.

Construction of a building and construction or carrying out of works for a telecommunications facility.

View full case

Sarah Porritt, Senior Member. Gino Mitrone, Member

Zone: FZ

Overlays: ESO1, LSIO, VPO2, FO, BMO

Outcome: Council decision set aside, rating classification Farmland

Summary:

  1. The applicant has sought a review of the council’s decision to classify the land at 110 Marong-Serpentine Road, Marong (‘site’) for rating purposes as ‘vacant land’.
  2. The applicant says that the land is not vacant land but that it is being used for farming purposes and that it should be rated on the basis that it is a farm property not vacant land.

View full case

Ian Potts, Senior Member

Zone: RLZ, FZ

Overlays: None

Outcome: Council decision set aside, permit granted

Summary:

Use of land for extractive industry.

Construct a building or construct and carry out works in association with a use in section 2 use

Use and develop land for earth and energy resources industry

View full case

Teresa Bisucci, Deputy President. Cassandra Rea, Member

Zone: RCZ

Overlays: ESO1, BMO

Outcome: Enforcement order allowed

Summary:

Application under s 114 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) for an enforcement order

  1. The application as originally filed by council alleges breaches of the Cardinia Planning Scheme (‘scheme’) with respect to:
    1. the placing of an estimated 6000 cubic metres of fill;
    2. the modification of the topography of the land at 990 Pakenham Road, Pakenham Upper (‘land’) to extend a flat pad; and
    3. the removal of 16 native trees.

View full case

Member

Zone: FZ

Overlays: ESO1

Outcome: Application to amend the permit is refused

Summary:

To amend an existing permit which allows aerobic composting of non-prescribed organic waste from off-site – including shredded green waste. Compost to be used in worm farming with surplus vermicast sold by retail-farm gate sales, internet phone/sales and through farmers markets.

View full case

This quarter's case in focus

None this quarter.

Guide to zones and overlays

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Rural zones

Residential zones

Commercial zones

Industrial zones

Public land zones

Special purpose zones

Environmental / landscape overlays

Heritage / built form overlays

Land management / hazard overlays

Other overlays

Page last updated: 07 Oct 2026