No planning permit required: Rural and farming zone building limits eased

Planning permit rules for sheds and home extensions have been eased for Victorians living in farming and rural zones.

Anyone in a rural zone can now build a shed or outbuilding up to 250 square metres in size without a planning permit, under state planning rule reforms.

Victoria’s planning rules have been freed up to allow rural residents to make larger extensions to their homes and construct out-buildings, without the need to gain a planning permit.

Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny has amended the Victorian Planning Provisions to lift the area thresholds under which a permit is required to alter, extend a home or build a shed in the farming, rural living and rural activity zones.

The area threshold above which a permit is required to alter or extend an existing dwelling has been raised from a footprint of 100 square metres to 200 square metres in all three zones.

Out-building such as garages, associated with an existing dwelling, can now be constructed without a planning permit across the rural and farming zones, if they are less than 250 square metres – previously the threshold was 100 square metres.

Anyone in the farming zone operating a feedlot, large poultry operation, winery or host farm will still have to obtain a planning permit to alter or extend an agricultural building that is more than 250 square metres in area (previously 200 square meters).

All other types of farming operations do not require a planning permit to construct an agricultural building.

However, the Victorian Farmers Federation urged anyone building or extending a home or shed to still check permit requirements with their local council before starting work.

Meanwhile it appears the Andrews Government has abandoned stripping farmers’ right to build a dwelling on 40ha or more without a permit on farming zoned land within 100kms of Melbourne.

In the leadup tro the 2018, election Labor promised to protect more rural land by restricting subdivsions.

However, two rounds of public consultation over four years yielded nothing more than a May 2020 Planning for Melbourne’s Green Wedges and Agricultural Land Consultation Paper that recommended the 40ha right be extinguished across all farm land within 100km of Melbourne.

Since then nothing has happened.

Just prior to the 2022 December state election, a government spokesman said: “The recommended actions and responses following the consultation on the green wedges and agricultural land project are still under consideration.

“This includes the question of whether it’s appropriate to require a planning permit for the construction of a dwelling in the farming zone within 100km of Melbourne.”