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Transparent, accountable & efficient planning

Transparent decisions. Genuine participation. End centralisation.

Principle

Planning should be transparent, accountable and efficient, with clear rules, genuine community participation and planning powers that are not concentrated in the Planning Minister’s office.

Why it matters

As planning authority has become increasingly centralised, the role of councils has been reduced, community participation has been weakened and independent oversight has diminished. Good planning requires open decision-making in the public interest, genuine consultation and clear checks and balances.

What this requires

  • Clear, transparent planning rules set upfront.

  • Council-led planning with genuine, early community consultation.

  • Restoration of democratic planning: with the right to notice, objection and to seek review of decisions at VCAT. 

  • Repeal of deemed-to-comply pathways that bypass proper assessment by local planners.

  • Public release of the evidence supporting major planning reforms.

  • Open and accountable planning decisions with clear reasons provided.

  • Streamlined planning pathways that improve certainty and consistency.

  • Reduced ministerial discretion through stronger checks, balances and parliamentary oversight of planning powers.

A better planning system is transparent, accountable and shaped with communities, not imposed on them.