Policy

Developers warn planning delays are restricting new housing supply

Industry submissions to the Victorian reform panel put the average assessment time for apartment projects at 14 months.

Tom Brennan/25 August 2026/Updated 12:57am/5 min read
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Submissions to the Victorian planning reform advisory panel published this week put the average assessment time for apartment projects above 50 dwellings at 14 months, roughly double the 2018 figure.

Developers identified referral authorities as the largest single contributor, accounting for about a third of elapsed time on a typical application. Several submissions proposed statutory response windows with deemed approval where the window lapses.

Councils, in their own submissions, pointed to under-resourcing and to applications lodged with incomplete documentation, which they said generated most requests for further information.

The panel is due to report in November. The state government has not committed to implementing its recommendations.

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