Do I need a planning permit?

In many cases, you'll need a planning permit to start a business.

What about home businesses? 

You can run a business from your home without a planning permit if it meets the requirements specified in Clause 52.11 Home-Based Business of the Whittlesea Planning Scheme. If your home-based business doesn't meet the requirements, you may need a planning permit to vary some of the requirements, or you may need to operate the business from a suitable commercial area.

Find out about planning permits to start a business

In many cases, you'll need a planning permit to remove, prune, lop or destroy native trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses. This includes dead vegetation and trees.

We recommend you contact the Building and Planning department on 03 9217 2170, or at buildplan@whittlesea.vic.gov.au to find out if you need a permit. 

Find out about planning permits to prune or remove a tree on private property

Subdivision is the process of creating individual titles for land parcels, units, apartments, shops and commercial and industrial buildings so they can be sold separately. 

Can I subdivide my residential land without building dwellings or units first?

In most instances, you'll need to apply for a planning permit for the development (for example, the construction of a second dwelling) before you can apply to subdivide the land. Once the development permit is approved, you can lodge a separate permit application for the subdivision. This is generally a very straightforward process.

In some cases, applicants may choose to lodge development and subdivision permits together.

A home extension can include building an upstairs area, a pergola or a larger living area.

In certain areas, you may need a planning permit to construct a single dwelling or extend a single dwelling. The need for a planning permit may be triggered by zoning specifications or overlays, including: 

• green wedge zone
• rural conservation zone
• heritage overlay.

You don't need a planning permit for a home extension if your land meets all of the following criteria.

• Is in a residential zone
• Is bigger than 300 m² in area
• Has no planning overlays like a heritage overlay, a special building overlay or land subject to inundation overlay
• Has no covenants or restrictions on the Certificate of Title

Check which zones or overlays apply to your lot

You may need to apply for a planning permit to change the way you use your land.

Our Building and Planning team can advise whether your proposed use requires a planning permit. You can contact us on 03 9217 2170, or at buildplan@whittlesea.vic.gov.au

Advertising and/or promotional signs can be used to identify a business, promote an event or product or provide information about a service. 

In most cases, advertising signs require a planning permit and must meet the requirements of Clause 52.05 Signs in the Whittlesea Planning Scheme. We recommend contacting our Building and Planning team to discuss your signage requirements on 03 217 2170, or at buildplan@whittlesea.vic.gov.au.

Community board signs are displayed on Council land to promote local educational, cultural, political, religious, social or recreational events. There are specific locations allocated for these. 

The Community Cultural Development team manages this process. You can contact them on 03 9217 2170 or at events@whittlesea.vic.gov.au. 

Many land uses require a specific number of car parking spaces.

Sufficient car parking must be provided on land before:

• a new land use begins
• a new building is occupied
• the floor or site area of an existing use is increased
• the number of patrons, seats or practitioners at an existing use is increased.

Car parking areas and access ways must meet the specific design requirements in the Whittlesea Planning Scheme and relevant Australian standards.

If you want to reduce the number of car parking spaces, you'll need a permit. This includes reducing the number of spaces to zero. You may need to prepare a traffic impact assessment with your application.

You'll need a planning permit for most uses and developments on rural land.

These include:

• house siting
• building dams or other structures across creeks
• filling in waterways
• removing locally native trees or vegetation including grasses
• constructing a dwelling
• building sheds or other structures
• importing soil or fill
• undertaking major earthworks including building driveways or tracks
• rock removal, including rocky knolls, outcrops and rock walls
• storing shipping containers
• dumping or storing building waste or material. 

A restrictive covenant is a private agreement between landowners to restrict land use and development. 

Applying for a planning permit is the standard way of removing a covenant. However, the landowner should obtain legal advice to consider whether any other available methods are more appropriate. Covenants and covenant removals are complicated and can involve questions of property and planning law.

The Department of Transport and Planning website has more information on restrictive covenants.