Amendment GC222

What the amendment does

The amendment removes reference to the incorporated document ‘Goulburn-Murray Water Native Vegetation Code of Practice, February 2011’ from 26 planning schemes.

Specifically, the amendment makes the following changes:

· Amends the Schedule to Clause 72.04 Incorporated Documents to delete the ‘Goulburn-Murray Water Native Vegetation Code of Practice (February 2011)’

The ‘Goulburn-Murray Water Native Vegetation Code of Practice’ (CoP) is a former agreement between the Secretary to the then Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), now the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) which enabled Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) to maintain and construct its utility assets efficiently while providing for appropriate management of native vegetation. It did this by providing an exemption from the need for a planning permit for the removal, destruction or lopping of vegetation under Clause 52.17 of the planning schemes where the CoP applied.

On 25 February 2021, the Secretary wrote to GMW, providing it with a conditional agreement to rely on the utility installations exemption within Clauses 52.16 and 52.17 of the Victoria Planning Provisions (VPP). This supersedes the CoP.

On 18 August 2023, a letter was sent to the 26 affected councils on behalf of the Minister for Planning. The correspondence included draft amendment materials for consideration and invited submissions about the proposed amendment. No submissions were received.

Clauses 52.16 and 52.17 of the VPP provide exemptions from the need for a planning permit for the removal of native vegetation where a water service provider has obtained a written agreement from the Secretary and complies with the procedure to rely on the ‘Utility installations exemption in planning schemes: Water service providers’.

Prescribed amendment

The amendment is a prescribed class of amendment listed in regulation 8 of the Planning and Environment Regulations 2015. The amendment has been prepared under section 20A of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (the Act). Exhibition and notification requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act do not apply in respect of this amendment.