Tough new laws have been introduced to strengthen Victoria’s building system and provide greater protection for heritage-listed places.
Minister for Planning, Richard Wynne said the new provisions under the Planning and Environment Act 1987, would prevent developers from benefiting from the unlawful demolition or neglect of heritage buildings.
Mr Wynne said the changes to the Act allowed the State to regulate the development of land where a heritage building had been unlawfully demolished, in whole or in part, or left to fall into disrepair.
“The legislation will allow the Government to prohibit development on these sites for up to 10 years if the owners are charged with unlawful demolition,” Mr Wynne said.
“Fines shouldn’t just be the cost of doing business,” he said.
“Preventing those who illegally demolish our heritage from redeveloping means they can no longer reap windfall gains from selling or rebuilding on their land.”
Mr Wynne said the Bill would enable existing permits to be revoked and allow for new permits to be issued for specific purposes, such as building a park or reconstruction or repair of the heritage building.
“These new provisions are a significant strengthening of the current enforcement regime and are expected to act as a powerful deterrent to the unlawful demolition of buildings of heritage significance,” the Minister said.
He said the reform complemented the enforcement measures introduced in 2017, which made it an indictable offence for a builder or manager of building work to carry out works without a permit.
Mr Wynne said the new Bill also improved the efficiency and operation of Victoria’s planning system, its publication of notices, inspection of documents and for panel hearings.
