South East Economic Corridor Strategic Context Report to 2060

The South East Economic Corridor Strategic Context Report to 2060 (SEEC Report) (PDF) will support and guide Melbourne’s southern metropolitan region to remain one of Australia’s most economically significant and diverse regions which offers the economic and social potential to be home to one million residents and 500,000 jobs within its boundaries

Plan Melbourne and the Melbourne Industrial and Commercial Land Use Plan (MICLUP) identify state and regionally significant employment precincts, a national employment and innovation cluster, health and education precincts, activity centres and future PSPs in Melbourne’s south east.

The six remaining employment PSPs (e-PSPs) yet to be prepared in the South East support more than 2,500 hectares of land for jobs and will each play a unique role in the future economic growth of the region in the longer term.

Next steps

The SEEC Report does not constitute adopted Government policy, but provides evidence base intended to inform policy development and decisions by Councils and Government agencies. In this way, the strategy presents a scenario to drive employment development to key sites and existing employment nodes to support broader and previously agreed employment objectives.

The e-PSP dashboards and drafting instructions will be implemented through the preparation of the six e-PSPs under the reformed PSP 2.o process.

SEEC Report

The SEEC Report outlines a suggested vision and a number of strategic imperatives proposed to support economic and employment growth in the SEEC and seeks to define the strategic role and drafting instructions of the six future e-PSPs through a series of “dashboards”. Please find a link to the:

The SEEC Vision

By 2060:

  • The SEEC will support the Southern metropolitan region to remain one of Australia’s most economically significant and diverse regions
  • The region will realise its economic and social potential, improving the lives of over 1 million residents, and provide over 500,000 jobs
  • SEEC residents will have diverse local employment options within 20 minutes of where they live
  • The SEEC will be a nationally significant region for advanced manufacturing and engineering
  • The Casey/Cardinia Officer Pakenham State Significant Industrial Precinct will evolve to replace the Southern SSIP as the most significant industrial precinct in Melbourne’s South east
  • Growing and value adding of agricultural produce, products and services will be an important export industry and employer in the region
  • The Dandenong National Employment and Innovation Cluster will be the largest business district in the region, with the Fountain Gate / Narre Warren Metropolitan Activity Centres offering substantial jobs and services.
  • The prosperity of the region’s residents, businesses and visitors will be supported by key health and education anchors and transport gateways, such as Port Hastings and a potential SE airport.
  • Anchors and gateways will support population and knowledge-intensive activities and services, are complemented by a network of activity centres and employment precincts
  • Residents will live in highly connected, attractive and liveable 20-Minute Neighbourhoods

The Three-horizon Approach

The 40-year timeframe of the SEEC strategy requires planning for uncertainty and the evolution of employment areas to 2060 and beyond.

The SEEC Report seeks to address this challenge by promoting flexibility, whilst protecting strategically identified future employment land through a Three-horizons approach:

  • Horizon 1: Consolidate the existing hierarchy of employment areas and support long term options
  • Horizon 2: Reinforce and augment a maturing SEEC economy
  • Horizon 3: Transform the SEEC economy through innovation, major investment and new opportunities.

Planning should occur in parallel across all horizons, with short, medium, and long-term actions for each horizon, acknowledging the benefits for horizon 2 and three will be realised over a longer period in line with population growth.

Flagship actions are identified in the SEEC Report to support achievement of the vision and strategic imperatives.

COVID-19

While the current COVID-19 situation is the greatest source of change and uncertainty for the SEEC, the impact of the pandemic was still unfolding at the time of writing the SEEC Report and no detailed data on the long- term impacts were clearly known.

The potential economic impact will play out differently by sector and location and will depend on the structure of the local economy. Some longer-term COVID-19 impacts may accelerate trends discussed in the SEEC Report.

COVID-19 requires a live strategy response, that is monitored and adapted over the next 24 months. While the repercussions of the pandemic may impact the timing of development and the exact types of businesses that establish in the SEEC, the strategic vision remains valid.

Whole-of-government approach

The SEEC Report was prepared in collaboration with a number of local and state government project partners to fast-track strategic planning and obtain consensus on planning directions for future e-PSPs.

Project partners:

Contacts

Brent McLean
Director Outer Melbourne
(03) 9651 9674
Brent.Mclean@vpa.vic.gov.au