The City of Wodonga received a Streamlining for Growth grant and Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) assistance for the development of a toolkit for regional councils to guide the implementation, administration and financial management of Development Contributions Plans (DCP). Fifteen (15) other regional Councils signed up to the initiative guiding the project via a Project Control Group and a Technical Working Group. The VPA was a member of the Project Control Group.
The project is now complete and had two phases:
Information gathering, which included interviewing member councils to better understand:
- Different development contexts
- Different levels of knowledge and experience of infrastructure planning and delivery
- Different approaches to infrastructure planning and delivery
- Risks, challenges and mitigation measures associated with infrastructure planning and delivery
The information gathering informed a series of recommendations and the preparation of a DCP Toolkit that guides member councils on how to improve DCP implementation.
The DCP Toolkit addresses matters such as:
- Education and upskilling of regional planners
- How to review DCPs
- Internal governance frameworks, policies, procedures as well as defined roles and responsibilities
- Risk assessments of existing DCPs
- Innovation in how to manage financials and reporting requirements
This project was the platform for local government-led regional collaboration, information-sharing and upskilling associated with DCP planning and delivery, supported by the VPA.
The DCP Toolkit is available for download:
- Regional DCP Toolkit – Development Contributions Information Manual – July 2020 (PDF)
- Regional DCP Toolkit – Development Contributions Policies & Procedures – July 2020 (Word)
- Regional DCP Toolkit – Development Contributions Fact Sheet – July 2020 (Word)
- Regional DCP Toolkit – Excel Templates – July 2020 (Excel)
Contact
Jim Ingemann
Manager Infrastructure Coordination and Contributions
03 8644 8803
Jim.Ingemann@vpa.vic.gov.au