Tuesday 2 December 2025 at 9:00 pm
The Allan Labor Government is delivering more homes close to public transport, jobs, schools, shops and services – while also delivering more local infrastructure like roads, parks and bike paths.
Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny today announced changes to outdated car parking requirements which will make it cheaper and easier to build homes in well-connected areas – plus plans to extend the existing infrastructure contributions system to more Train and Tram Zones.
While we’re building more homes, Liberals continue to block them. They still oppose our Bill to overhaul Victoria’s planning system and deliver more homes for young people near transport, jobs and services.
Making it cheaper and easier to build homes in areas well-connected to public transport
Outdated car parking rules written half a century ago have become a handbrake on homebuilding.
Rules from the 1970s assumed every household needed car spaces no matter where they were built, even if they were next to train stations. That might have made sense fifty years ago when fewer people used trains and Melbourne lacked a City Loop or a Metro Tunnel – but it doesn’t make sense now.
Across inner Melbourne, up to 40 per cent of residential car parks now sit empty – especially in areas well served by trains and trams. Developers are still forced to make space for all of them, instead of unlocking space for homes. If they want to reduce the requirements, they need to go through a lengthy planning process to get permission.
The Grattan Institute estimated that providing parking in line with the current rules costs about $70,000 per dwelling for a newly built six storey apartment building in Melbourne.
That’s why the Labor Government is bringing the rules into the modern day, saving homebuilders time and money.
Our changes are all about aligning car parking requirements with access to public transport. As part of the changes, homes built next to high-frequency public transport will no longer be required to provide the same number of car parks as homes built further away from a train station.
Requirements for accessible car parks (e.g. for people with disabilities) will not change. Developers will be able to apply for a planning permit if they wish to build more car parks than the number set under the new requirements.
These changes align Victoria’s car parking requirements with the transport system, reducing costs and speeding up the delivery of new homes where they’re most needed – near trains, trams, jobs and services.
Delivering more local infrastructure like roads, parks and paths in train and tram zones
Melbourne’s Train and Tram Zone Activity Centre Program is unlocking more homes in areas that have already seen major investments – upgraded train stations, level crossing removals and upgraded schools and facilities.
The next step is making sure that funding for local infrastructure – like roads, intersections, parks, paths, schools and community facilities – continues to grow alongside new homes.
In 2024, the Government announced a simple infrastructure contributions system will be put in place across the first 10 pilot Activity Centres, which includes well-connected areas such as Camberwell and Frankston – starting on 1 January 2027.
Today, the Government confirms that from July 2027 this program will be expanded to include the additional 50 Train and Tram Zone Activity Centres (except the two in inner-Melbourne that cover the entire Local Government Areas of Melbourne and Yarra).
As part of the program, developers contribute a consistent share of the cost of new homes to help fund the infrastructure communities need as they grow. If there is an existing Developer Contribution Plan in place in a certain council area, the amount developers will contribute through the new program will be reduced.
The infrastructure contributions amount will be set at $11,350 per each new dwelling built on a site. In combination with the changes to car parks and other massive planning reforms to make it faster and easier to build, industry is better off. With local infrastructure contributions, communities in train and tram zones are better off, too.
By 2051, this program is expected to provide more than $4 billion worth of infrastructure across these centres to help deliver better public transport, parks, upgraded roads, expanded schools, and facilities in the areas that build more homes.
Funding will be linked to the local area where homes are built, with most of the funding going directly to local councils so they can deliver what their communities need. Every cent collected and received by councils and the State Governent must go to infrastructure that benefits a local area. Projects funded could include:
Upgrades to local roads, intersections and footpaths
Active transport, including bike paths and walking trails
Recreation and community infrastructure, including early childhood education, maternal and child health facilities, and community centres
Parks, including playgrounds, shelters, toilets, landscaping, pathways
Upgrades to major roads, new and upgraded bicycle and foot paths, and traffic signalling
Public transport infrastructure, including more accessible bus stops, and tram stops
Schools
These reforms add to the Government’s bold agenda to get more homes built across the state – including delivering the biggest overhaul of Victoria’s planning laws in decades, setting housing targets for every council, ‘automatic’ townhouse approvals, and slashing stamp duty for off-the-plan apartments.
While the Labor Government is building homes, Jess Wilson and the Liberals are blocking them. They voted against the Government’s planning changes to build more homes for young people.
Quotes attributable to Premier Jacinta Allan
“Old rules from Victoria’s lowest era of train usage are now blocking new homes for people who rely on public transport. We’re changing them, because the status quo doesn’t cut it.”
“As we build more homes near public transport, we’re also delivering funding for the local parks, roads, schools and facilities that keep these communities great places to live.”
“All up, this is a win for industry who build new homes near public transport, a win for young people who’ll buy them – and a win for their neighbours in the local community.”
Quote attributable to Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny
“While we’re cutting red tape to get more homes built, the Liberals are busy standing in the way. Jess Wilson and the Liberals want to block homes from being built, locking out young Victorians from living close to the things that matter to them.”
