No. A planning application in Victoria is not automatically advertised, and a notice on one property does not mean every application in the area will receive one. Whether notice is required, who must be told, and how they are told are all decisions made for the particular application, under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the relevant planning scheme.
Where the decision comes from
The starting point is section 52 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. In summary, the responsible authority must give notice of an application, unless it requires the applicant to give the notice. The people to be notified include the owners and occupiers of adjoining land (unless the authority is satisfied that granting the permit would not cause material detriment to any person), the municipal council where relevant, anyone the planning scheme says must be notified, owners and occupiers who benefit from a registered restrictive covenant in certain covenant cases, and any other person the authority considers may suffer material detriment.
The phrase that matters most is material detriment. If the authority is satisfied that a permit would not cause material detriment to anyone, it does not have to notify adjoining owners and occupiers. If it considers that someone could be materially affected, it notifies them, and it can also decide that other people should be notified as well.
Exemptions in the planning scheme
The planning scheme can exempt particular classes of application from the usual notice requirements. These exemptions are written into the scheme, can carry conditions, and differ depending on the zone, the overlay and the type of application. The covenant-related notice requirements are the exception: the Act does not allow a scheme to exempt them.
Streamlined processes also exist for straightforward applications. Victoria's VicSmart process, for example, has fewer steps and shorter timeframes than a standard application. Whether notice applies to a particular VicSmart application depends on the scheme's provisions, so it should be confirmed with the authority rather than assumed.
How notice is given
When notice is required, the authority chooses the method. The Act lists a sign on the land, a notice in local newspapers and personal delivery or post as options, and allows other appropriate methods. For applications that involve certain covenants, the Act requires both a sign on the land and a newspaper notice unless the applicant is directed to give notice themselves.
In practice, authorities often split the work. One council may post letters to neighbours while the applicant puts up the site sign; another may arrange everything itself. That is why two applicants in neighbouring suburbs can have very different experiences.
| Question | Where the answer is found |
|---|---|
| Is notice required at all? | The responsible authority's decision under section 52 and the planning scheme |
| Who must be notified? | Section 52 and the scheme; the authority's advertising instructions |
| Which methods apply? | The authority's instructions for the application |
| Who carries out each task? | The authority's instructions (council, applicant or both) |
What applicants should do
Do not guess. Ask the responsible authority whether the application will be advertised, then work from its written advertising instructions. If you are told to arrange a sign, keep the instruction with the job and follow it exactly, including the number of signs, their position, and the dates. The Act also contains provisions about what happens when an authority does not say whether notice is required within a set time; because those provisions carry consequences, take advice or ask the authority directly instead of relying on a summary like this one.
If an authority has asked you to display a notice and you would like help with the physical work, send us the instructions and the approved notice. We install, photograph and remove notices to the instructions we are given; we do not decide whether notice is required.
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