CEO Update – March 2025

It’s been some months since you last received a VPA CEO Newsletter update from Stuart Moseley and there have been considerable changes of the organisation’s governance and leadership while we have continued to focus on the delivery of the State Government’s Housing Statement agenda.

The most obvious change, and the reason you are receiving this update from me, is that the Victorian Planning Authority has now become part of the Department of Transport and Planning. Stuart Moseley, our leader for the last seven years, is now the Deputy Secretary of a new group in the Department, the Housing, Building and Land Delivery (HBLD) group, of which the VPA is a division.

‘HBLD’ was created in a departmental realignment driven by the new DTP Secretary Jeroen Weimar to ensure that all the constituent parts of the planning and building functions of the Department were gathered. The focus is to ensure that housing and employment land in Victoria is zoned more efficiently and quickly resolving barriers to the co-ordination of the delivery of infrastructure to new communities.

Specifically, HBLD’s purpose is to:

• Create capacity – zoned and available – for development in designated areas 
  
• Build better – consumer confidence in the building system and better design quality
  
• Bring government land to market

It’s in this new context and I’m excited to take the role of Acting CEO VPA to deliver our work program. It’s a great moment for us at the VPA, to be inside the departmental ‘tent’ with the ability to have much greater influence over key decisions that impact our ongoing work. This includes delivering the ‘10 Year Greenfield Pipeline’, the Activity Centres Program in established Melbourne, and our growing work program in regional Victoria.

Officer South (Employment) PSP

The Officer South (Employment) was approved by the Minister for Planning and gazetted on 27 February 2025.

The precinct is located approximately 45km southeast of Melbourne’s central business district within the municipality of Cardinia. The precinct covers an area of approximately 1,069 hectares, bound by Cardinia Creek to the west, the Princes Freeway to the north, Lower Gum Scrub Creek to the east and the Urban Growth Boundary to the south. The precinct is expected to provide approximately 22,000 jobs and deliver around 1,600 new homes as it is developed.

Officer is also the first VPA PSP to include ‘Staging provisions’. These provisions set out the sequence in which land is developed to ensure infrastructure keeps pace with growth. It helps match land supply with infrastructure capacity, supporting new communities with transport, drainage and community facilities and is essential to support growing communities. Staging provisions will be considered for all future VPA Precinct Structure Plans. You can find out more about Staging provisions here and Officer South (Employment) here.

Croskell (Employment)

The Croskell (Employment) draft PSP is now before Planning Panels Victoria VPA Standing Advisory Committee. In preparation since 2022, in collaboration with the City of Casey, the precinct is located approximately 40km southeast of Melbourne’s central business district within the City of Casey.

Croskell is a regionally significant commercial precinct with more than 6,500 jobs, along with a mix of housing types, community facilities, drainage infrastructure, roads, pedestrian/bike paths and open space that builds on the character of the surrounding Cranbourne and Clyde community. You can find out more about Croskell here.

Community Consultations

Community Consultations for Melton East, Casey Fields South (Employment) and Devon Meadows commenced on the 3rd of March and will conclude on the 31st of March 2025 marking an important milestone in the development of these new industrial and residential communities.

The Melton East precinct is located 35km north-west of Melbourne’s CBD, to the east of the existing Melton township. The precinct encompasses an area of 1,005ha, bounded by Kororoit Creek to the north-east, Western Freeway to the south, Leakes Road to the east and the Melton Highway to the north-west.

The precinct will complement existing surrounding development through the provision of residential and commercial opportunities. The precinct is included in the Melbourne Strategic Assessment area and includes Biodiversity Conservation Strategy conservation areas along Kororoit Creek. You can find out more about Melton East here.

The Casey Fields South (Employment) and Devon Meadows precincts are adjacent to one another, located on the edge of the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) within the City of Casey municipality, sharing the South Gippsland Highway as a boundary.

Casey Fields South (Employment) is approximately 50km south east of Melbourne’s CBD and covers an area of about 275 hectares.

The Devon Meadows Precinct covers an area of about 261 hectares and will deliver zoned land for both employment purposes and new housing. You can find out more about these projects here.

Community and other key stakeholder interest in these projects has been high during the consultation period and we look forward to working with the feedback received to refine our plans before they move to assessment by the VPA Standing Advisory Committee.

Other VPA Governance and Leadership Changes

As I mentioned earlier the VPA became part of the Department of Transport and Planning on January 1 2025 and our Board Directors have been replaced by a Sole Commissioner, the Secretary of the Department of Transport and Planning Jeroen Weimar, who will oversee and assume responsibility on behalf of the Minister for Planning for all VPA roles and functions previously undertaken by the VPA Board. You can find out more about the new governance arrangements here.

My move to the role of Acting CEO sees Alex Mulholland move to the role of Acting Executive Director Regional Victoria, People & Performance. You can find out more about our leadership team here.

Looking Ahead

Over the coming months we are moving towards a series of public consultations for projects in regional Victoria including Bannockburn South East, East of Aberline in Warrnambool and Ballarat North.

As always, I thank you for your interest and ongoing support as we plan for prosperous, liveable, and sustainable urban communities across a growing Victoria.