The State Government requires Council to plan for housing growth over the next 15 years, and it is a key initiative of our Council Plan 2021-31. A lot has changed since our last Housing Strategy was developed, including population growth, changing housing needs, increased issues with affordability, and greater focus on sustainability. The Housing Strategy is one of the main ways we seek to planning for our residents' current and future housing needs.

The Housing Strategy sets out a municipal wide housing Vision. This Vision will guide Council’s actions as we endeavour to respond to our key housing challenges and meet the housing needs and aspirations of our evolving community over the next 15 years. To achieve this Vision, the Strategy also sets out objectives, strategies, and actions.

The vision:

A City with liveable neighbourhoods and places to live that meet the needs of our diverse and growing community.

An evolving City that respects its rich history while adapting and looking to the future. A City of safe, distinct, inclusive, interconnected neighbourhoods. A City that continues its long-standing commitment to providing affordable housing and is a home to our diverse community. A City that is sustainable and resilient to meet the challenges of a changing environment.

Objective 1: Ensure adequate housing supply.

Ensuring there is sufficient land available to accommodate projected population growth.

Objective 2: Direct new housing to appropriate locations.

Locating new housing in appropriate locations close to jobs, public transport, open space, and other key facilities and services

Objective 3: Ensure new housing responds to neighbourhood character and heritage values of established residential areas.

Ensuring that new housing respects heritage and responds to preferred neighbourhood character.

Objective 4: Encourage a range of housing options to support our diverse community.

Ensuring access to housing choices that are fit for purpose for people at different life stages and of varied abilities and needs.

Objective 5: Support new housing that is well designed and resilient to the impacts of climate change.

Access to housing choices that are well-designed, consider the environment as well as health and wellbeing of occupants.

Objective 6: Facilitate the provision of more affordable housing.

Access to housing choices that are affordable to live in regardless of changing social or economic status (affordable housing).

The Residential Development Framework Plan (the Framework Plan) primarily aim to implement Objective 2: Direct new housing to appropriate locations (close to jobs, public transport, open space, and other key facilities and services).

It does so by identifying four types of future housing change areas (minimal, incremental, moderate, substantial) in different parts of Port Phillip. This will provide certainty to the community about where different level of growth will be encouraged.

The Framework Plan affirms that majority of the residential zones applied in Port Phillip are still fit for purpose.

These housing change areas are:

You can find out more about the Framework Plan and how it was developed in the Residential Development Framework Plan factsheet and the FAQs we have prepared . It is important to note that not all individual sites will meet all the criteria, the focus has been ensuring their location will be within broader areas where a specific level of change is envisaged.

It is important to guide the look and feel of new housing in our neighbourhoods, while also protecting the valued existing character.

Many areas in our municipality are already covered by planning controls such as the Heritage Overlays (HO), Design and Development Overlays (DDO), and Neighbourhood Character Overlays (NCO). In these areas, the future development will continue to be shaped by these controls.

The Preferred Neighbourhood Character statements apply to areas not covered by such controls. In these areas, the future built form would be guided by Preferred Character Statements that have been developed as part of the Neighbourhood Character Study.

You can find out more about Neighbourhood Character in the Neighbourhood Character factsheet and the FAQs we have prepared.