News and updates

From 6 July 2026, new applications filed with VCAT under section 82(1) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic), sometimes referred to as ‘objector review applications’, will benefit from reduced timeframes.

Planning cases will now be heard at Wyndham Law Courts.

We have created some tips to assist planners and planning support officers to complete practice note PNPE2 - Information from decision-makers.

Consumer and Planning Legislation Amendment (Housing Statement Reform) Act 2025 changes provisions of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (Vic).

Our information for filing common consent orders to end planning proceedings has been updated.

More planning cases will now be heard at VCAT locations outside the Melbourne CBD, specifically at Bundoora, Frankston and Oakleigh.

VCAT has prepared two short videos on preparing and presenting your submission at a planning or environment hearing.

We're making important changes to how cases are managed to make for shorter waiting times and faster case resolution.

To ensure your application proceeds as quickly as possible, we share a few reminders for when emailing us.

Practice day hearings deal with directions, interim orders or procedural applications. 

This decision provides a summary of the legislative framework for the determination of a ‘waterway’ under a planning scheme.

This article summaries a VCAT decision about a proposal for tourist accommodation which required various planning permissions under four planning controls. 

This article analyses the implications of a Supreme Court of Victoria ruling on a VCAT decision related to the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (PE Act).

In 2023, VCAT introduced changes for cases involving planning permits that set out how someone can be added as a party.