Planning and Environment (Fees) Regulations 2016

Fees expressed in fee units. The central concept is that monetary amounts in the Regulations are expressed in fee units rather than dollars (Explanatory details, Fee Units). The Monetary Units Act 2004 fixes the dollar value of a fee unit each financial year and requires publication in the Government Gazette and a Victorian newspaper before 1 June in the preceding financial year. The Regulations state that, for the financial year commencing 1 July 2024, one fee unit equals $16.33, and that calculated amounts may be rounded to the nearest 10 cents. That mechanism separates indexation and dollar conversion from the Regulations themselves, enabling annual adjustment without amending the Regulations.

Classed fee schedules. The Regulations adopt a class system for permit applications (reg 9) and for applications to amend permits (reg 11). Each class attaches to types of permits, often keyed to the estimated cost of development for development permits to construct dwellings or other works. For example, reg 9 classes range from Class 2 (single dwelling ≤ $10,000) at 13.5 fee units through to Class 16 (development over $50,000,000) at 3894 fee units. VicSmart applications receive their own classes with lower fees (reg 9, classes 7-10).

Stage‑based fees for planning scheme amendments. Reg 6 divides the process for amending a planning scheme into four procedural stages, and fixes fees for "the whole or any part of a stage" at the amounts in the table (reg 6(1), Table). The table also specifies the person to whom payment is made for each stage and the timing of payment (reg 6(4), Table). Reg 6(2) and regs 7-8 create specific fee exemptions and alternate fees where the Minister prepares proposals or is exempted from procedural steps in s 20(4) or when s 20A classes apply.

Composite fee rules. For combined applications, the composite calculation applies: the fee equals the highest single fee that would apply if separate applications had been made, plus 50% of each of the other fees that would have applied (reg 10 for permit applications, reg 13 for permit amendments). This creates a mechanical rule that reduces the aggregate fee when multiple classes are combined.

Post‑notice amendments. If an applicant requests an amendment to an application after notice under s 52, a reduced fee applies: 40% of the original application fee for the class and any extra amount if the amendment would upgrade the class to a higher fee bracket (reg 12).

Waiver and rebate discretion, with record keeping. Planning authorities, responsible authorities and the Minister may waive or rebate whole or part of a fee in specified circumstances for scheme amendments (reg 19) and for matters not related to scheme amendments (reg 20). These rules set out enumerated grounds and, where subjective judgment is required, use the phrase "in the opinion of" the authority, thereby creating a discretionary standard. Where a waiver or rebate is granted, the authority must record in writing the matters taken into account that formed the basis for the decision (reg 21).

Payment timing and recipient specifics. For scheme amendment stages the Table at reg 6 sets the recipient (planning authority or Minister) and when the fee must be paid (e.g., Stage 1 at time amendment is requested; Stage 2 before the planning authority considers submissions; Stage 3 before adoption; Stage 4 when the planning authority submits the amendment to the Minister). For other fees, the Regulations either specify payment to the Minister (regs 7-8), to the person who is to make a determination (reg 18(2)), or leave the application fee mechanics to the administrative practice of the responsible authority as an implementation detail within the Act framework (reg 9 refers to s 47(1)(b)).

Sunset and dynamism. The Regulations incorporate an amendment history and a scheduled sunset under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994: these Regulations will sunset on 27 September 2026 unless remade (Endnotes, Table of Amendments; Endnotes, General information). Fee unit values are reset annually, so the dollar cost of each fee unit varies over time without amending the Regulations.

In short, the main concepts are: fee units as the indexing device, classed fee schedules keyed to activity type and estimated cost, stage fees tied to steps in scheme amendment processing, composite and reduced fee formulas to handle multi‑part applications or post‑notice amendments, and explicit waiver/rebate powers with a recording obligation.

Primary payers. The Regulations explicitly place the obligation to pay fees on applicants or requesters. For amendments to planning schemes reg 6(4)(a) states the fee is to be paid by "the person who requested the amendment" to the person indicated in Column 3. Reg 7(2) and reg 8(2) require payment to the Minister at the time of making specific requests for Minister‑prepared amendments. Reg 18(2) requires the person who seeks a determination about satisfaction of a matter to pay the fee to the decision‑maker when requesting the determination. For permits, reg 9 prescribes the fee amounts for the purposes of s 47(1)(b); while reg 9 does not restate the payee, the Act framework under s 47 requires fees in connection with permit applications, and practice is that the responsible authority collects permit application fees. The instrument therefore affects landowners, developers, applicants, and their agents who initiate planning scheme amendments, permit applications, amendments to permits, combined applications and requests for certificates.

Decision makers and recipients. The decision makers and fee recipients are the planning authority, responsible authority, municipal council, referral authority, or the Minister, depending on the fee and stage. Reg 6 Table specifies whether the planning authority or the Minister receives the fee for scheme amendment stages. Reg 7 and reg 8 fees are paid to the Minister. Reg 18(2) specifies that a person requesting a determination pays the person who will make the determination. Waiver decisions are made by planning authorities, responsible authorities or the Minister depending on the fee type (regs 19-20).

Secondary affected parties. Bodies that must participate in the process, such as panels under Part 8 of the Act and referral authorities, are indirectly affected because the fee schedule covers the stages that finance actions like referral, assistance to panels, and panel submissions (reg 6(1)(b), (2), and Stage 2 activities). Local government entities acting as responsible authorities will develop administrative procedures to collect fees, apply waivers and keep records, which imposes internal administrative costs.

Who may be eligible for relief. The Regulations specify classes of applicants eligible for fee waivers or rebates, such as persons or groups "standing to gain no financial benefit" (reg 19(c)(viii)), charities for some matters (reg 20(d)), and certain amendments that primarily advance public policy or correct errors (reg 19(c)(ii)-(vii)). The Minister also benefits from some exemptions: reg 6(2) exempts Minister‑prepared amendments in specified circumstances from stage fees, and reg 3 revokes the interim 2015 Regulations so persons subject to the prior interim framework are displaced by this instrument.

Parties subject to timing and payment rules. The Schedule sets timing obligations for payment at certain procedural points (reg 6(4), Table). For instance, Stage 2 fee must be paid before the planning authority considers submissions. Applicants therefore must budget for staged payments and submit payment by the required procedural milestone to avoid potential administrative delays.

Practitioners and advisers. Planning lawyers, town planners, property developers, surveyors, conveyancers and accountants are affected by the Schedule because it influences project budgeting, the timing of application lodgement, and strategic decisions whether to combine applications or seek amendments after public notice. Reg 12 alters the cost of post‑notice amendments, which influences procedural strategy.

Public stakeholders. Members of the public who make submissions do not pay these fees directly, but the cost structure influences whether proponents proceed, how applications are structured, and therefore indirectly affects public consultation outcomes and panel workload.

In sum, the Regulations allocate monetary charges to the initiating party for a broad set of planning transactions, assign collection responsibility to planning authorities or the Minister depending on the process step, and create both procedural timing obligations and discretionary relief that private applicants and public authorities must manage.

Applicant duties: identify class, calculate and pay. An application or requestor must identify the correct class of permit, permit amendment or planning scheme amendment and pay the prescribed fee expressed in fee units (reg 6(1), reg 9, reg 11). Fees are to be calculated by multiplying fee units by the fee unit value fixed under the Monetary Units Act 2004; the Explanatory details give the 2024 value as $16.33 and direct rounding to the nearest 10 cents. Payment timing is prescribed for scheme amendment stages (reg 6(4), Table), for Minister requests (regs 7(2)-8(2)) and for determinations (reg 18(2)).

Duty to pay additional fee if class changes on amendment. If an amendment to an application after notice would change the class to a higher fee bracket, the applicant must pay the additional fee equal to the difference between the original class fee and the new class fee (reg 12(3)). This creates a duty to monitor the fiscal consequences of proposed amendments.

Duty to record waiver reasons for authorities. If a planning authority, responsible authority or the Minister grants a waiver or rebate under regs 19 or 20, they must record in writing the matters taken into account and which formed the basis of the decision (reg 21). That is an express procedural duty on the authority which grants relief.

Right to reduced/alternate fees in specific circumstances. The Regulations give applicants specified entitlements to reduced fees in particular procedural circumstances. Examples include:

• First year after commencement discount: reg 6(3) provided a 50% reduction for one year after commencement. The effect was time‑limited and applied at commencement in 2016. That provision may no longer be operative but is in the text.
• Reduced fee where applicant requests a VicSmart permit: reg 9 creates lower classes for VicSmart applications (classes 7-10).
• Reduced fee for an application for a permit when an amendment to a planning scheme is requested: reg 14(1) sets the fee at 50% of the fee that would apply were the permit application made separately; if the permit involves more than one class, reg 14(2) applies the highest separate fee.
• Reduced fees for requests to amend an application after notice: reg 12(1) prescribes a fee of 40% of the application fee for that class.

Authority discretion to waive or rebate. Planning authorities, responsible authorities and the Minister have express powers to wholly or partly waive or rebate fees in a defined set of circumstances (regs 19-20). Those circumstances include administrative events such as withdrawal and resubmission, combining multiple requests into a single amendment, or qualitative policy grounds such as that the amendment "substantially assist[s] in the implementation of State, regional or local policy" (reg 19(c)(ii)), that the amendment "upgrades and improves the planning scheme in the public interest" (reg 19(c)(iii)), or that the application relates to land used exclusively for charitable purposes (reg 20(d)). The Regulations thus confer rights to relief but make grant of relief subject to the authority’s opinion in several cases.

Composite fee mechanics and their effect on duty. Under reg 10 and reg 13 the duty to pay for combined applications is to pay the highest applicable fee plus 50% of the other applicable fees. That defines an exact arithmetic obligation for combined applications and for combined amendments to permits.

Practical payment rights. Reg 17 differentiates the fee for a planning certificate depending on whether the application is made electronically: 1.5 fee units when not made electronically, 0.49 fee units when made and finalised electronically. Applicants therefore have the right to a lower fee if they use electronic lodgement and finalisation.

Limits on coverage. The Regulations specify some exclusions. Reg 9 states the fees are for the purposes of s 47(1)(b), and expressly excludes "an application under section 96(1) of the Act" from reg 9’s operation. That identifies boundaries for the fee schedule tied to particular sections of the principal Act.

Administrative duties for authorities. Authorities must follow the timing rules (e.g., Stage 2 fee paid before submissions are considered) and must record reasons for any waiver or rebate (reg 21). They must also apply composite fee arithmetic and manage additional payments when a class is changed by an amendment (reg 12(3)). The endnote requires authorities to apply the dollar value of fee units published by the Treasurer each year and to round calculated amounts appropriately.

Taken together, the Regulations specify detailed duties on applicants to identify class, compute and pay fees at specified times, and on authorities to collect fees, consider and record waiver decisions, and apply composite and amendment rules mechanically. They create rights to reduced fees in a number of defined circumstances and to seek administrative relief subject to authority discretion.

The Regulations themselves do not create standalone criminal offences or penalty units within their text. They are a subordinate instrument prescribing fees and administrative obligations under the Act. Enforcement and any penalty consequences for failure to pay or for non‑compliance with procedural obligations would arise under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and related administrative law and local government practice rather than from penalties within these Regulations. The instrument does contain some enforceable administrative mechanics that affect process sequencing and acceptance.

Payment timing triggers process consequences. The Tables at reg 6 set specific points when fees must be paid, for example Stage 2 fees "before the planning authority considers submissions" and Stage 3 fees "before the planning authority adopts the amendment" (reg 6(4), Table). Failure to pay at the required time gives the planning authority a procedural lever to decline to undertake the relevant action, or to delay progression until payment is made. That is an operational enforcement mechanism through process control rather than criminal sanction.

Fees as a condition precedent to processing. For many applications, the fee is the condition precedent to a statutory duty by an authority to consider an application. Reg 7(2) and reg 8(2) make payment to the Minister a precondition at the time of making the request. Reg 18(2) requires payment to the person making the determination upon request. Where payment is prescribed at lodgement or at another step, authorities can lawfully refuse to commence or progress their statutory functions until payment is made. The Act itself contains procedural provisions that tie to fees under s 47 and s 178A which are operationalised by these Regulations.

Waiver/rebate recording obligation as an enforcement‑adjacent requirement. Reg 21 requires written recording of the matters taken into account that formed the basis of a decision to waive or rebate a fee. Failure by an authority to record reasons could attract administrative review, scrutiny or public accountability consequences, and may be a ground for complaint under administrative review channels. The requirement creates a documentary trail that supports internal and external oversight.

Audit and financial accountability. Because fees are public money, responsible authorities and the Minister will be subject to public sector accounting and audit regimes. The Regulations set amounts and recipients; public sector financial controls and audit requirements enforce appropriate collection, receipting, and use of those funds under the general public finance regime. The Explanatory details note that fee unit values are published and amounts rounded to the nearest 10 cents; financial controls should reflect those prescriptions.

No monetary penalties specified within the Schedule. The Regulations do not specify fines, infringement notices, or penalty units for late payment, incorrect classification, or non‑payment. Any such enforcement consequences, including the right of an authority to refuse to accept or process an application pending payment, would be found in the main Act or administrative practice rather than in these Regulations. Practitioners should therefore consult the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and relevant local authority procedures for enforcement details tied to non‑payment or misstatement.

In summary, enforcement is exercised through process control, the authority to require payment at specific procedural points, the statutory framework within the Act that links fees to powers and functions, an obligation to record reasons for discretionary fee relief, and standard public finance oversight. The Regulations do not create new criminal penalties or specify monetary sanctions themselves.

Primary reliance on the Planning and Environment Act 1987. These Regulations are made under s 203 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (reg 2). They operationalise fee obligations and procedures that are referenced within the Act, for example s 47 (application for permits), s 72 (amendment of permits), s 96A (application when an amendment to a planning scheme is requested), s 97N (certificate of compliance), s 178A (agreement under s 173), and s 198 (planning certificate). The Regulations therefore interlock with those specific Act provisions and supply the monetary and timing detail the Act delegates to subordinate legislation.

Interaction with Monetary Units Act 2004. The Regulations express fees in fee units and explicitly rely on the Monetary Units Act 2004 structure for conversion to dollars (Explanatory details, Fee Units). The dollar amount of each fee therefore depends on the Treasurer’s annual determination under the Monetary Units Act. The Regulations instruct calculation and rounding rules that follow s 7 of the Monetary Units Act.

Links to the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994. The Endnotes state that the Regulations will sunset 10 years after making on 27 September 2026, under s 5 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994. That interaction creates a temporal limit on the instrument unless remade.

Reference to the Subdivision Act 1988. Reg 9 class 21 explicitly references the Subdivision Act 1988 for fees concerning creating, varying or removing a restriction within the meaning of that Act, or creating or removing rights of way or easements. The Regulations therefore interact with subdivision procedures and associated rights created under the Subdivision Act.

Administrative law and public sector financial rules. Because the Regulations create payment obligations and give authorities discretionary waiver powers, they interact with administrative law doctrines of lawful exercise of discretion and with public sector financial accountability frameworks. Reg 21’s written reasons requirement supports administrative transparency and potential judicial review challengeable conduct must be recordable under administrative law principles, though the Regulations themselves do not define judicial remedies.

Local government and council procedures. The responsible authority for many permit and amendment functions will be a municipal council acting under the Act. The municipal council’s internal revenue, billing, IT and lodgement systems will therefore implement these fees, interact with local government rateable property data, and coordinate electronic lodgement where lower fees for electronic finalisation apply (reg 17(b)).

No conflict with federal law evident. The Regulations concern Victorian planning procedure and fees and interact primarily with Victorian statutes cited in the text. They do not purport to displace or contradict Commonwealth legislation. Any overlap with Commonwealth environmental approvals will need to be managed under the respective statutory frameworks but is outside the explicit text of these Regulations.

In short, the Regulations sit as subordinate law operationalising the fee and timing dimensions of numerous sections of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, are indexed through the Monetary Units Act 2004, are subject to temporal limits under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, and cross‑reference other Victorian Acts such as the Subdivision Act 1988 for particular permit types.

The instrument records a series of amendments since enactment. The Table of Amendments in the Endnotes lists the following Statutory Rules that have amended these Regulations:

• Planning and Environment (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2018, S.R. No. 156/2018, made 10 October 2018, commenced 1 November 2018; reg 9 and reg 11 tables were substituted by S.R. No. 156/2018 (the text notes "Reg. 9 substituted by S.R. No. 156/2018 reg. 5" and "Reg. 11 (Table) substituted by S.R. No. 156/2018 reg. 6").
• Planning and Environment (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2019, S.R. No. 107/2019, made 6 November 2019, commenced 6 November 2019.
• Planning and Environment (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2021, S.R. No. 100/2021, made 17 August 2021, commenced 17 August 2021.
• Planning and Environment (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2023, S.R. No. 17/2023, made 15 March 2023, commenced 15 March 2023.
• Planning and Environment (Fees) Further Amendment Regulations 2023, S.R. No. 93/2023, made 29 August 2023, commenced 29 August 2023.
• Planning and Environment (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2024, S.R. No. 100/2024, made 1 October 2024, commenced 2 October 2024.

The explanatory notes identify particular substitutions and amendments to specific regulations. For example, reg 9 was substituted by S.R. No. 156/2018 (reg 5), and reg 11’s table was substituted by the same instrument (reg 6). Reg 17(b) (the electronic planning certificate rate) has been substituted and amended several times across S.R. Nos 156/2018 reg 7, 107/2019 reg 3, 100/2021 reg 3, 17/2023 reg 3, and further amended by S.R. Nos 93/2023 reg 3 and 100/2024 reg 4. The Endnotes therefore identify multiple technical adjustments over time, especially to permit fee classes and the planning certificate electronic fee provision.

Historic transitional measures. Reg 6(3) provided a temporary first‑year discount of 50% for stages of plan amendment fees for one year after commencement. That provision was tied to the commencement date in 2016 and operated as a transitional concession. The instrument also revoked the Planning and Environment (Fees) Interim Regulations 2015 (reg 4), replacing the interim arrangements.

Fee unit indexation changes. The ongoing amendments have left the fee unit approach intact, but historical substitutions of specific fee tables (noted above) changed the fee unit amounts attached to classes, indicating periodic policy adjustments to reflect administrative priorities and economic conditions.

Practical effect of amendments. Substitutions of reg 9 and reg 11 in 2018 indicate a significant restructuring of permit and permit‑amendment fee classes at that time. Subsequent small‑scale amendments, including to the electronic planning certificate fee and other numeric adjustments, reflect iterative refinement. The Endnotes do not provide policy rationales, but the pattern is consistent with periodic fee schedule reviews and technical updates.

Sunset notice. The Endnotes state that the instrument will sunset on 27 September 2026, reflecting the ten year limit under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994. That creates a natural deadline for any review or remaking of the instrument.

Recording amendments for practice. Practitioners must check the version "incorporating amendments as at 2 October 2024" (the header) or the current consolidated version on the Victorian legislation website to ensure they are applying current fee classes, because the fee unit value and the substituted tables have changed historically and may change again prior to sunset or remaking.

This statutory rule does not list or cite any litigation. The instrument itself is a schedule of fees and does not include case law citations. The Endnotes and explanatory details supply legislative history and technical commentary but not court decisions.

Because the Regulations are subordinate legislation implementing fee mechanics under the Planning and Environment Act 1987, any litigation that engages these provisions would most likely arise in administrative law contexts involving the Act or disputes about fee application, waiver decisions or procedural compliance. The Regulations require authorities to record reasons for waiving or rebating fees (reg 21), and that written record could form part of the material subject to judicial review or merits review in particular matters under the Act and applicable review schemes.

Practitioners needing litigation precedents should therefore consult:

• The Planning and Environment Act 1987 for statutory rights of review and appeal (for example Part 8 provisions for panels and other adjudicative mechanisms).
• Administrative law jurisprudence on discretionary relief, reasoned decision‑making and statutory interpretation where authorities exercise "opinion of" discretions such as those in regs 19-20.
• Any cases that have directly litigated the application of the fee rules or the legality of a waiver decision, noting that such cases would appear in the general corpus of Victorian planning and administrative law, not in this instrument.

Because no cases are named or summarised in the text, the Regulations themselves provide no litigation history. That absence should not be read as proof that no disputes have arisen in practice; it only means the instrument does not record litigation.

Fee unit arithmetic and annual variation. Fees are expressed in fee units and converted annually under the Monetary Units Act 2004. The Explanatory details give the 2024 fee unit value as $16.33 and require rounding to the nearest 10 cents. Practitioners must confirm the current fee unit value for the financial year in which they are lodging an application because dollar amounts will change annually. Failure to use the current fee unit value will produce incorrect payments. See Explanatory details, Fee Units.

Payment timing traps for scheme amendments. Reg 6(4) ties payment to specific procedural moments. For example, Stage 2 fees must be paid "before the planning authority considers submissions" and Stage 3 fees "before the planning authority adopts the amendment." If payment is not made at those moments, the authority may decline to proceed with the next procedural step. Applicants should therefore budget for staged payments rather than assuming a single consolidated payment at lodgement.

Composite fee calculation incentives. The composite formula in reg 10 and reg 13 reduces the aggregate fee relative to the arithmetic sum of separate applications, because the fee is the highest applicable fee plus 50% of each other fee. That creates an incentive to file combined applications rather than separate ones in many circumstances. Conversely, where an applicant can structure proposals to fall into a single lower fee class rather than multiple classes, there may be a fiscal incentive to split or reformat proposals, but the composite rule generally favours combination. Practitioners should run numeric simulations using the fee units to verify which filing strategy minimises cost for the client.

Post‑notice amendment costs. Reg 12 reduces the fee for a post‑notice amendment to 40% of the class fee, but adds an obligation to pay the difference if the amendment would change the class to one with a higher application fee (reg 12(3)). That means that after public notice, strategic changes to an application may increase the applicant’s outlay. Practitioners should cost the risk that an amended proposal will cross a cost threshold.

VicSmart fee application. VicSmart applications have designated classes with lower fees (reg 9, classes 7-10). However, the definition of "VicSmart application" is set by reg 5 and by the planning assessment process in applicable planning schemes. An applicant should confirm that a particular application is eligible for VicSmart treatment and thus the lower fee, rather than assuming eligibility.

Exemptions where the Minister is the planning authority. Reg 6(2) provides that no fee is payable for an amendment prepared by the Minister in respect of which the Minister has exempted himself or herself from the requirements of s 20(4) of the Act, or where the amendment is to a class prescribed under s 20A(1). That can lead to scenarios where the same amendment attracts a fee when requested by a private party but attracts no fee when initiated by the Minister. Practitioners should confirm whether Ministerial exemptions apply in any particular matter.

Electronic lodgement savings. Reg 17 provides a substantially lower fee for planning certificates that are made and finalised electronically (0.49 fee units versus 1.5 fee units for non‑electronic applications). Failure to use the electronic pathway where available will cost the applicant more.

Waiver discretion is broad but subjective. The waiver/rebate provisions in regs 19-20 contain a mixture of objective conditions (e.g., application withdrawn and resubmitted) and subjective ones requiring the authority's "opinion" (e.g., "no appreciable burden" or "assists the proper development"). Authorities therefore have latitude in exercising relief. While reg 21 insists that reasons be recorded, the presence of broad subjective language can result in inconsistent outcomes across different responsible authorities.

Rounding. The Explanatory details require rounding to the nearest 10 cents. That small rounding rule can produce anomalies when comparing aggregated fees across multiple applications, and practitioners should ensure fee schedules and invoices respect the rounding rule.

Sunset risk. These Regulations are scheduled to sunset on 27 September 2026 under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 (Endnotes). If the instrument is not remade, transitional uncertainty or replacement fees might arise. Practitioners should monitor legislative action ahead of sunset.

No explicit enforcement penalties in the Regulations. Because the instrument does not itself specify penalties for non‑payment, practitioners must be aware that the consequences of non‑payment are administrative (process refusal or delay) and financial/accounting, rather than express fines in this instrument. Consult the Act and local practice for enforcement mechanisms.

Be careful with table layout and class mapping. Several multi‑line table entries (for example, reg 9 classes that describe different thresholds and exceptions) require careful reading to map a particular application to the correct class. Misclassification will lead to underpayment or overpayment and attendant administrative complication.

In sum, the key pitfalls are annual fee unit changes, payment at specified procedural moments, composite and post‑notice fee mechanics, reliance on subjective waiver criteria, and the need to use electronic lodgement where possible to obtain lower fees for planning certificates.

Step 1: Identify the correct statutory basis and class. Determine whether the matter is a planning scheme amendment, an application for a permit under s 47, an application to amend a permit under s 72, a permit application combined with a scheme amendment (s 96A), a certificate of compliance (s 97N), a planning certificate (s 198), or a request to the Minister under s 20 or s 20A. Use reg 5 for definitions such as "VicSmart application" and the appropriate tables at regs 6, 9 and 11 to map to the correct fee class.

Step 2: Determine fee units and convert to dollars. Use the current value of a fee unit fixed under the Monetary Units Act 2004 for the relevant financial year. The Explanatory details indicate $16.33 for the year commencing 1 July 2024. Multiply the prescribed number of fee units by the current fee unit value and round the calculated amount to the nearest 10 cents as required. For example, under the 2024 figure: a Class 1 permit at 89 fee units equals 89 × $16.33 = $1,452.37, rounded to $1,452.40. Always confirm the Treasurer’s published fee unit value before calculating.

Step 3: Compute composite and amendment fees where relevant. If your application spans more than one fee class, apply the composite rule in reg 10 (for permit applications) or reg 13 (for amendments): pay the highest fee that would apply for a single class, plus 50% of each of the other fees that would have applied. If seeking to amend an application after notice, calculate 40% of the relevant class fee under reg 12(1)-(2) and add any difference under reg 12(3) if the amendment changes class to a higher fee.

Step 4: Observe timing and pay to the correct recipient. For scheme amendment stages see reg 6(4), Table for the person to whom payment must be made and the timing. For Minister requests under regs 7-8, payment must be made to the Minister at the time of making the request. For determinations under reg 18(1)-(2) pay the 22 fee unit amount to the person who will make the determination when requesting it. If the regulations or local authority practice state a beneficiary (planning authority, responsible authority, municipal council or the Minister), remit payment to that entity at the prescribed point.

Step 5: Use electronic lodgement where it reduces fees. If seeking a planning certificate, prefer electronic lodgement and finalisation to access the lower fee under reg 17(b) (0.49 fee units). Confirm the authority’s electronic system supports finalisation electronically; incomplete or partially electronic lodgement may not qualify.

Step 6: Budget for staged payments. For planning scheme amendments expect staged payments: Stage 1 at request (206 fee units), Stage 2 before submissions are considered (1021-2727 fee units depending on the number of submissions), and Stage 3/4 at later procedural milestones (reg 6, Table). Plan cashflow accordingly.

Step 7: Consider combining applications strategically. Evaluate whether combining related applications into a composite application reduces total fee outlay under reg 10 or reg 13. Run numeric comparisons using current fee unit values to determine cost‑effective strategy. Remember combining applications may also change procedural risks, public notice obligations and panel involvement.

Step 8: If eligible, request waiver or rebate in advance, and provide evidence. If your matter appears to fall into the conditions in regs 19 or 20 (for example, charitable land use, an application that "assists the proper development" or corrects an error in the planning scheme), apply in writing to the responsible planning authority or Minister requesting a waiver or rebate and provide supporting evidence. Authorities have discretion in "opinion" based grounds, so documentary substantiation increases the chance of relief. If an authority grants relief, it must record the reasons in writing per reg 21; request a copy of that record for your file.

Step 9: Keep auditable records and receipts. Because the Regulations interact with public finance and auditing practices, retain proof of payment, receipts and any written correspondence concerning waivers or rebates. If a waiver is granted, obtain the written reasons required under reg 21 to document the basis for the relief.

Step 10: Monitor legislative change and sunset. These Regulations are subject to amendment (see the Table of Amendments) and are scheduled to sunset on 27 September 2026 unless remade. Check the current consolidated version on the Victorian legislation website and confirm fee unit values annually before calculating fees.

Step 11: Cross‑check with the Act and local authority practice. Because some enforcement and procedural consequences are governed by the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (for example, s 47, s 96A, s 178A), confirm any Act‑level requirements that interact with fee obligations. Also consult local responsible authority fee policies and lodgement guides, because practice around collection, electronic finalisation, classification assessments and refund processes will affect practical compliance.

Step 12: If in doubt, obtain a written pre‑lodgement position from the authority. Where classification is ambiguous or where a planned amendment may trigger a higher fee class, seek a written pre‑lodgement statement from the responsible authority or Minister setting out the anticipated class and fee treatment. That reduces the risk of later unexpected additional payments under reg 12(3) or procedural delay.

Following these steps will align practice with the prescribed mechanics in the Regulations and reduce the likelihood of procedural error, delayed processing or unintended extra cost.