When do you need a planning permit?

You may need a planning permit if you are renovating or extending your house. This might include:

• adding an extra room
• building a pergola or deck
• building an outbuilding such as a garage, carport or shed
• building a front fence
• installing a new driveway
• installing services like solar panels, a water tank or an air conditioner
• installing a shipping container as a residential dwelling

You won't always need a planning permit for your renovation. This will depend on the zones and overlays on your property.

See a copy of Yarriambiack Shire’s map of Zones and Overlays to check how your property is zoned and for any overlays.

Refer to the Yarriambiack Planning Scheme for information on whether a planning permit is required.

The best way to find out whether you need a planning permit for your renovation is to speak to a planning officer before you lodge an application.

You can do this either by emailing planning@yarriambiack.vic.gov.au or by contacting us on (03) 5398 0110.

If is an overlay on the property, you may also be required to get a planning permit for certain types of developments. This includes if you want to build a front fence, pergola, veranda, deck, disabled access ramp, garage or carport. It may also include if you want to remove, destroy or lop vegetation or subdivide land. 

Types of overlays that are common include:

• Land Subject to Inundation
• Bushfire Management
• Environmental Significance
• Heritage

You might need to apply for a planning permit if you are:

• starting a business
• changing the layout or purpose of your business
• changing the location of your business
• adding a liquor license to your business
• displaying new signage.

This includes starting a home-based business.

You will need to apply for a planning permit for a home-based business if:

• there are more than two people who do not live in the home working at the business at the same time
• the total floor area used for the business is more than 200 square metres, or more than one-third of the whole house
• more than one commercial vehicle is present on site.

Other requirements for permits for businesses at home

There may also be other requirements that you will need to meet if you want to run a business from home. These include requirements for running a home-based food business. 

If you would like advice regarding a home-based business, you will need to contact us via email on planning@yarriambiack.vic.gov.au or 5398 0110.

You will need a planning permit to build more than one dwelling on a lot. A dwelling includes a house, unit or townhouse.

The number of dwellings you can build depends on the zoning of your land and the design of your development. Your proposal will need to meet the requirements of the Yarriambiack Planning Scheme plus any other relevant legislation.

Some of the factors that affect how many dwellings you can build will include:

• site orientation to the sun in relation to shadowing on neighbouring properties
• car parking and space for cars to turn
• windows on abutting land that are close to the boundary
• the slope of the land.

Once you have a set of plans, we recommend you request a pre-application meeting.

When assessing your plans, we will consider:

• the size of your development
• how it fits in to the neighbourhood (or, if in a zone for increased density development, whether it makes a positive contribution to the area)
• the impact it has on the rest of the neighbourhood
• what car parking is needed
• the features of the site.

Contact us via email on planning@yarriambiack.vic.gov.au or on (03) 5398 0110.

If you are dividing land or a building into two separate lots, this is called subdivision which will require a planning permit.

If you are subdividing your backyard or a vacant lot of land, we recommend that you submit a planning permit application for a multi-use development before you submit one for subdivision. This will make your subdivision application simpler.