Subdividing land in Victoria: how the process works

A subdivision in Victoria is three approvals stacked on top of each other, and they only happen in one order. Planning permit from council. Certification of the plan by that same council. Statement of compliance once the works and contributions are done. The plan then goes to Land Use Victoria, and the new lots do not exist until the Registrar records it.

That last part catches people out. You can hold a planning permit for eighteen months, have the driveway poured and the sewer connected, and still own exactly one title.

The corridor we work in sits mostly inside Casey and Cardinia, so the growth-area rules matter here in a way they do not closer to town.

The sequence, start to finish

1. Planning permit. You apply to council. It may advertise the application and refers the plan to the servicing authorities. The permit comes back with conditions, and the conditions are the real work.
2. Engineering and works. Roads, drainage, water, sewer and power get designed, approved, built and inspected. On a two-lot backyard subdivision that can be a service connection and a crossover. On a 40-lot estate it is a civil construction program.
3. Certification. Your surveyor lodges the plan with council, which checks it under section 6 of the Subdivision Act 1988. A technical check, not a fresh planning decision.
4. Statement of compliance. Council issues this under section 21 once the public works requirements are met, or once there is an agreement to secure them.
5. Lodgement. The certified plan, the statement of compliance and the survey documents go to Land Use Victoria through SPEAR, the state's electronic subdivision system.
6. Registration. Section 24 says registration takes effect the moment the Registrar records the plan. That is also when land shown as road or reserve vests in council, or whichever body the plan names, freed of any mortgage, charge or lease.
7. Titles issue. SPEAR moves the application to "Registered at Land Use Victoria" and a title allocation letter from the Victorian Online Titles System is attached automatically.

Nothing can be settled, mortgaged separately or transferred as a new lot until step 7.

Who does what

That last row is not a hedge. A licensed conveyancer in Victoria practises under an exemption covering conveyancing work only. Challenging a permit condition at VCAT, a dispute with a neighbour over an easement, and advice on how the development should be owned for tax all sit outside it. Better to hear that early than late.

Certification, and how long council actually has

Certification is council checking the plan against the permit and the Act. Under section 6, every referral authority must have consented and any alterations they or council required must already be made.

The clock is set by the Subdivision (Procedures) Regulations 2021. Council must certify within:

• 14 days for a procedural plan
• 21 days for a general plan that is not referred to a referral authority
• 49 days for a general plan that is referred to a referral authority

Read that as a best case. Where a referral authority or council requires an alteration, the regulations suspend the time for considering the plan until the altered plan comes back. A plan needing two rounds of changes can sit for months without council ever breaching the prescribed time.

Statement of compliance is where the money lands

This is the gate, and two costs usually crystallise here.

Public open space

Council can require you to set aside land for public open space, pay money instead, or do some of each. Which rule sets the ceiling depends on your planning scheme.

Where the scheme does not specify an open space requirement, section 18 of the Act caps it at 5 per cent, taken as land intended for residential, industrial or commercial use, as a payment of 5 per cent of that land's site value, or as a combination.

Where the scheme does specify one, section 18A applies instead and the section 18 ceiling does not. The scheme sets the rate, so read your own scheme's open space schedule rather than assuming 5 per cent. Under section 18A the money has to reach council before it issues the statement of compliance, unless council agrees to take it later.

GAIC, if the land is in a contribution area

The growth areas infrastructure contribution is a one-off charge on land in Melbourne's designated growth areas. A statement of compliance for a plan of subdivision triggers it, and the State Revenue Office lists seven municipalities where it applies, including Casey and Cardinia.

It does not reach every block in Casey, only land in the contribution area. For 2026-27 the rates are:

For the same year, interest on deferred GAIC runs at 5.6063 per cent, calculated daily at the 10 year bond rate. A building permit is a trigger in its own right where the estimated cost of the works is above $1,528,532.

GAIC is recorded against the title, and the recording restricts dealings until the right certificate is issued. It appears as a Notice under section 201UB of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, and you need a certificate and a notice to transfer land or register a subdivision. That is conveyancing work, and one reason growth-corridor files run longer.

Section 173 agreements

A section 173 agreement is a contract between you and council under section 173 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. Permit conditions in growth areas often require one before the plan can be certified. Section 174 says it must be under seal and must bind the owner to its covenants, which can prohibit, restrict or regulate how the land is used or developed.

The part that matters for resale is section 182. Once the agreement is recorded in the Register, the burden of the covenant runs with the land and council can enforce it against anyone who later takes title, even where the obligation is positive rather than restrictive. It has to be disclosed in the section 32 vendor statement, and the buyer's representative on any sale of that lot will read it closely.

Section 178A lets an owner apply to council to amend or end an agreement, with the prescribed fee. That is a planning process, not a conveyancing one.

Owners corporations on multi-lot plans

If the plan contains common property, an owners corporation is not optional. Section 27A says such a plan must provide for one, and Consumer Affairs Victoria confirms it is created automatically when the plan is registered at Land Use Victoria.

Common property is whatever the plan says it is. On a four-unit development in Cranbourne East that is usually the shared driveway and the bin area. Two-lot subdivisions sharing a driveway create one too, which surprises people doing a dual occupancy. It brings duties to insure and maintain, and every future sale needs an owners corporation certificate.

Selling off the plan before the titles exist

You can sell lots before registration. The Sale of Land Act 1962 limits how.

The deposit is capped at 10 per cent of the purchase price of the lot, and must be held on trust until the plan is registered. That is section 9AA, and Consumer Affairs Victoria states the same cap on its buying off-the-plan page. Three buyer protections then sit over the contract:

1. The 18 month rule. Under section 9AE(2), if the plan is not registered within 18 months of the contract date, or another period the contract specifies, the purchaser can rescind at any time after that period and before registration.
2. Plan amendments. Section 10 lets a purchaser avoid the sale before registration if the plan is amended in a way that restricts or limits the use of their lot, unless the amendment came from a recommendation of a public authority or government department.
3. Sunset clauses. Where the lot is to be used for residential purposes, section 10B stops a vendor rescinding under a sunset clause unless the plan is unregistered or the occupancy permit unissued at the sunset date, and even then the vendor must obtain each purchaser's written consent after giving at least 28 days written notice setting out why, the reason for the delay, and the fact that the purchaser does not have to agree. The alternative is a Supreme Court order under section 10E.

Worth knowing if you are pricing lots. The temporary off-the-plan duty concession covers contracts entered into on or after 21 October 2024 and before 21 April 2027 with no price threshold, but only for a lot in a strata subdivision that has common property. A townhouse plan in Cranbourne usually qualifies. A vacant lot in a Clyde estate does not.

Questions people actually ask

How long does a subdivision take in Victoria?

There is no standard answer. The permit and works stages depend on your council, your referral authorities and your contractor. Certification alone has a prescribed window of 14, 21 or 49 days, and that clock pauses whenever alterations are required. A simple two-lot subdivision is measured in months, a multi-stage estate in years.

Can I sell a lot before the plan is registered?

Yes, as an off-the-plan sale, with the deposit capped at 10 per cent and held on trust until registration. Your buyer keeps a statutory right to rescind if the plan is not registered within 18 months, or whatever longer period the contract sets. Put a realistic date in the contract, not an optimistic one.

Do I need a planning permit to subdivide?

Almost always. It turns on your zone, any overlays and the planning scheme provisions for your land. A surveyor or town planner will tell you quickly whether your block is straightforward.

Will GAIC apply to my block in Clyde North?

Only if the land sits in the contribution area, which is growth area land zoned for urban use and development. Being inside the City of Casey is not enough on its own. A GAIC status certificate from the State Revenue Office sets out the potential liability, and we can arrange one as part of the file.

Talk it through before you lodge

The useful conversation happens before the plan goes in. We handle the conveyancing side of subdivisions across Cranbourne, Clyde North, Botanic Ridge, Officer and the rest of the corridor: contracts for the new lots, section 32 statements, State Revenue Office certificates, duty and settlement.

Our office is at Level 1, 105A High Street in Cranbourne, open Monday to Friday, and available on weekends by appointment. Call +61 450 016 397, email convey@wisestep.com.au, or ask us for a quote. Already have a contract in front of you? Send it through for a contract review.

This article is general information about Victorian conveyancing and is not legal advice for your particular transaction. Speak to us about your specific circumstances.