Planning permit application decisions and appeals

When assessing a planning permit application, we first consider all submissions and prepare an officer report.

The report outlines the proposal, the relevant policies in the Yarra Planning Scheme, submissions and referral comments.

Who makes the decision?

Depending on the nature of the application, and the number of objections received, a decision is made by:

A senior council planner under delegation
The Development Approvals Panel (a committee of senior planning officers), or
The Planning Decisions Committee (formerly called the Internal Development Approvals Committee)

Approval: if there are no objections, we can issue a planning permit.
Notice of Decision: if we want to approve the application, but there are objections, we must issue a Notice of Decision to Grant a Permit (NOD). All submitters are sent a copy of the NOD notice and will have 28 days to lodge an application for review at VCAT. If no objectors lodge a review with VCAT during this time, council will grant the planning permit. Similarly, if the applicant is unhappy with any of the proposed permit conditions, they can apply to VCAT to have the conditions reviewed.
Refusal: we can decide to refuse a permit even if there were no objections to it. If a permit is refused, we will issue a ‘Refusal to Grant a Permit’ notice. This notice will detail why the permit has been refused. The notice will be sent to the applicant and all other parties who made submissions on the application.

For information about the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) process you can:

When assessing a planning permit application, we first consider all submissions and prepare an officer report.

The report outlines the proposal, the relevant policies in the Yarra Planning Scheme, submissions and referral comments.

Depending on the nature of the application, and the number of objections received, a decision is made by:

A senior council planner under delegation
The Development Approvals Panel (a committee of senior planning officers), or
The Planning Decisions Committee (formerly called the Internal Development Approvals Committee)

Approval: if there are no objections, we can issue a planning permit.
Notice of Decision: if we want to approve the application, but there are objections, we must issue a Notice of Decision to Grant a Permit (NOD). All submitters are sent a copy of the NOD notice and will have 28 days to lodge an application for review at VCAT. If no objectors lodge a review with VCAT during this time, council will grant the planning permit. Similarly, if the applicant is unhappy with any of the proposed permit conditions, they can apply to VCAT to have the conditions reviewed.
Refusal: we can decide to refuse a permit even if there were no objections to it. If a permit is refused, we will issue a ‘Refusal to Grant a Permit’ notice. This notice will detail why the permit has been refused. The notice will be sent to the applicant and all other parties who made submissions on the application.

For information about the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) process you can: