VicPlan: how to get a free Planning Property Report

VicPlan is the Victorian Government's free online planning map. You search an address or parcel, click the property, and choose "Create planning property report" to download a free PDF listing the planning zones and overlays that apply to the land, with maps and links to the local planning scheme. It takes a couple of minutes and needs no account. Here is how to do it, what the report tells you, and what it leaves out.

LayeredGeo is not part of VicPlan or the Victorian Government. VicPlan is a free government tool, and for zones and overlays in Victoria it is the right place to start.

How to look up a property in VicPlan

1. Open VicPlan at mapshare.vic.gov.au/vicplan. It is a state-wide map viewer for planning scheme information.
2. Use the address or parcel search. Type the street address, or the lot and plan number if you have it from the listing or contract, and pick the match from the list. You can also pan and zoom the map and click on the land.
3. Select the property. The property information panel opens, showing the zones and overlays at that spot, their codes and links to the matching clauses of the planning scheme.
4. Turn layers on and off to look around. Zones are coloured by type, and overlays sit on top of them. Look at the lots next door as well as your own: a flood or heritage overlay that stops at the fence still tells you something about the street.

Tip: if the property is made up of more than one parcel, check each one. The report notes when a parcel is one of several that make up the property.

How to get the free Planning Property Report

With the property selected, choose Create planning property report on the property information panel. The report is generated as a PDF you can download, save and send to your conveyancer or builder. There is no fee. You can also get the same report from the Planning Victoria website by searching the address there.

Because it is free and quick, it is worth pulling one for every property on your shortlist, not just the one you end up making an offer on.

What the Planning Property Report shows

The report is a short summary of the planning information for the land:

• Property details: the lot and plan number, Standard Parcel Identifier, council and planning scheme.
• Planning zones: the zone and schedule, for example General Residential Zone - Schedule 3, with a zone map.
• Planning overlays: separate maps for each overlay that affects the land, such as a Heritage Overlay, Land Subject to Inundation Overlay or Bushfire Management Overlay, and a list of overlays nearby that do not touch the land.
• Designated bushfire prone area: whether the parcel is in one. The report states that a vendor may rely on it for the bushfire prone area statement in a section 32.
• Other information: utility providers (water corporation and power distributor), state electorates, the Registered Aboriginal Party for the area, and depending on the property, whether it is on the Victorian Heritage Register or in an area of Aboriginal cultural heritage sensitivity.
• Native vegetation: a note on when a permit may be needed to remove native vegetation.

The zone tells you what the land can be used for and roughly what can be built. The overlays are where the surprises usually are, because each one brings its own permit triggers. If you see a Heritage Overlay, our guide to checking a heritage listing before you buy walks through what it can stop you doing.

What the Planning Property Report does not cover

The report itself is clear about its limits, and buyers should be too.

• It is not a planning certificate. The report says it is not a Planning Certificate under section 199 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. A planning certificate is ordered through Landata.
• It leaves out exhibited amendments. Planning scheme changes on exhibition are not included, so a rezoning or new overlay in the pipeline will not show.
• It does not show zones that abut the land. For neighbouring properties you need to run their reports separately.
• It does not tell you what an overlay means for your plans. It links to the clauses, but working out whether your extension or second dwelling needs a permit means reading the schedule or asking the council.
• It is not a title search. Easements, covenants and other interests on the title come from the title and the section 32, not the planning report.

Then there are things a planning map was never built to answer, which matter if you are building or renovating:

• Flood depth. A Land Subject to Inundation Overlay tells you the land is in a mapped flood area. It does not tell you how deep the water is modelled to get on the lot.
• Ground conditions. Soil reactivity, geology, fill and groundwater are not planning layers. These drive footing design and slab cost, and they vary a lot across Melbourne. Our article on why the same clay classifies differently in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide explains why.
• Everything in one place. The report covers planning zones and overlays. Utilities around the lot, slope, past land use and nearby development applications all mean visiting other sites.

Putting the planning layers in one PDF

VicPlan is the official source, so start there. If you are comparing several properties, or want the planning layers plus other site data together in one document, LayeredGeo's Property Report pulls zoning, flood, bushfire, heritage, vegetation and environmental overlays for an address into a single PDF, with a map and a plain-English note for each, alongside contours, registered easements and the water, sewer and stormwater mains the utilities publish. The map preview is free and the PDF is $9. Pop in your address or check out a sample report.

If you are building, a separate geotechnical desktop study covers the geology, soils, indicative soil reactivity range and groundwater for the address. It does not replace a site investigation, which is what decides the site classification.

Common questions

Is the VicPlan planning property report free? Yes. VicPlan and the Planning Property Report are free Victorian Government services. You search the address, select the property and download the report as a PDF with no fee and no account.

Is a planning property report the same as a planning certificate in Victoria? No. The report says it is not a Planning Certificate under section 199 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. A planning certificate is a separate document ordered through Landata, and it is the one usually attached to a section 32.

How do I find the zoning of a property in Victoria? Search the address in VicPlan and select the property. The property information panel shows the zone and any overlays, and the Planning Property Report lists them with maps and links to the planning scheme.

Does VicPlan show if a property floods? It shows flood overlays such as the Land Subject to Inundation Overlay and Floodway Overlay where the planning scheme maps them. It does not give a modelled flood depth for the lot, and land without an overlay can still be affected by local drainage.

LayeredGeo's Property Report pulls together public planning and site data for property due diligence across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania, so you can understand a place before you commit.

About this article. Published by LayeredGeo. It is general information about how property and ground conditions are assessed in Australia, not engineering, planning, legal or financial advice, and it is not specific to any property. Check anything that matters against the source dataset or a suitably qualified professional before you rely on it. If you spot something wrong, tell us at hello@layeredgeo.com.au and we will fix it.

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