Victorian 40ha farm housing planning permit rules in chaos

Victorian rules allowing farmers the right to build a house on 40ha or more are in chaos, with conflicting rules being developed.

Looming loophole: Farmers may lose the right to build a home on 40ha or more without a permit, but then be granted the right to build “worker accommodation”.

Many Victorian farmers may lose the right to build a home without a planning permit on 40ha or more, but gain the right to build “worker accommodation” that may offset the loss.

The Andrews Government appears to be undermining its own strategy to strip landholders within 100km of Melbourne of their current right to build a dwelling on 40ha or more without a planning permit.

Last year Planning Minister Richard Wynne released a Planning for Melbourne’s Green Wedges and Agricultural Land Consultation Paper, which proposed removing the 40ha or more “dwelling as an as-of-right use in the Farming Zone within 100 km of Melbourne”.

The Government is yet to make a decision on implementing the proposal.

But two weeks ago Minister Wynne announced farmers would be able to build accommodation for up to 10 workers on 40ha or more without a planning permit, to “help secure a critical rural workforce”.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano said most farmers would be “pretty pleased” by the government’s latest proposal, given it would allow construction of accommodation on 40ha or more without the need for a planning permit.

The ruling appears to create a planning loophole that not only protect farmers’ dwellings rights within 100km of Melbourne, but override councils that have already wound back the 40ha dwelling rights.

The worker accommodation ruling may also undermine Macedon Ranges Council’s bid to dump the 40ha dwelling rule as part of its Draft Rural Land Strategy.

The Government is yet to release its VC202 worker accommodation planning amendment, which Ms Germano said may be because “they’ve started to understand the unintended consequences”.

She said the government was yet to even define what it meant by worker accommodation, asking if it could meant a home for farmers sons and daughters, who could easily be defined as workers.

But Planning Minister Richard Wynne’s spokeswoman said “rural worker accommodation must be for persons engaged in agricultural production and is subject to certain conditions, including those relating to water and electricity supply and that it is small scale.”

Macedon Ranges farmer and real estate lawyer Randall Gerkens said the government seemed to be wasting everyone’s time.

“They are so out of touch,” Mr Gerkens said. “Why not just leave things as they are (retaining the 40ha rule for dwellings)?”