Melbourne Has Least Restrictive Zoning Among Australian Capitals

Melbourne restricts 45 percent of residential land within 20 kilometres of its centre, the lowest share among Australian capitals, according to research released Sunday. The Australian Zoning Atlas, produced by YIMBY Melbourne, compared zoning rules across eight capital cities.

Hobart recorded the highest share of highly restricted land at 97 percent, followed by Adelaide at 92 percent. The report defined highly restricted land as areas subject to heritage protections, two-storey height caps or low-density zoning.

Inner-eastern suburbs face tighter limits Three Melbourne councils ranked among the five most constrained local government areas nationally. Boroondara, Yarra and Glen Eira each restrict at least 75 percent of their residential land. A proposal to redevelop a former orphanage site in Surrey Hills into 76 dwellings with four-storey buildings has drawn local opposition.

Residents cited the two-storey height limit and concerns over heritage buildings. The state planning minister can override normal limits under the Development Facilitation Program if the project includes a 3 percent contribution to social housing.

National code could add homes Researchers estimated a national townhouse code allowing three-storey development on non-heritage residential land would create 1.5 million additional homes in Melbourne. Victorian dwelling completions for the year to March totalled 54,842, the lowest annual figure in a decade, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data released last Tuesday.

The same period saw New South Wales complete 44,700 dwellings.