Victoria’s Four-Home VicSmart Announcement: What Buyers Must Check

Victoria announced on 2 September 2026 that qualifying developments of up to four homes on a block would enter a ten-business-day planning assessment pathway. The announcement expressly retains design standards, heritage controls and environmental protections. It does not turn every large backyard into four saleable homes.1

For a buyer, the useful question is whether the particular design on the particular title qualifies. This article verifies the announcement and explains the due-diligence sequence. It does not certify that an individual property is eligible under an operative planning-scheme provision.

Start with the application, not the land area

A listing that says “four townhouses STCA” is a proposal, not a permit. Ask a planner to identify the current zone and schedule, each permit trigger, the relevant VicSmart application class and the version of the provisions relied on. Save that advice with the date and the proposed drawing. A newspaper headline cannot do this work.23

Joey’s September video makes a useful distinction, paraphrased here in English: the opportunity lies in a block whose constraints have been understood, not merely a large block. Here, “clean” should mean investigated; an empty overlay box alone is insufficient.

Read the title as well as VicPlan

Generate the property report in VicPlan and check the actual parcel boundaries. Then obtain the title, plan of subdivision and the instruments referred to on the title. Map easements and read restrictive covenants with your conveyancer. A restriction can matter even where the zoning appears supportive.45

Do not assume a single-dwelling covenant has disappeared because housing policy changed. Equally, do not describe every covenant as impossible to vary. Its wording, date, beneficiaries and available legal process require individual assessment. Existing agreements and permit conditions also belong in the file.

Draw the scheme to scale before pricing the opportunity

Commission a feature and level survey, then test the retained house, proposed dwellings and access together. Include building envelopes, private open space, landscaping, parking where required, waste collection, drainage and the effect on neighbouring windows. Mark the trees and the space needed around them. Clause 55 and other applicable provisions govern more than the rectangles occupied by buildings.3

A long narrow block and a square block of the same area are different development propositions. So are a flat site and one that needs retaining walls. Request a drawing showing dimensions and a written list of unresolved constraints. A coloured concept without measurements is not enough to price a purchase.

Separate the approvals and completion milestones

Use a project schedule with distinct gates:

1. Confirm the planning pathway and assemble the required information and any necessary referral responses.
2. Obtain the planning decision and resolve conditions affecting the design.
3. Complete building approval, engineering, service design and procurement.
4. Carry out the work, inspections and occupancy requirements.
5. If separate titles are intended, complete the subdivision process, including certification, required compliance steps and registration.[2][6][7]

The VicSmart period concerns the planning decision. It includes the possibility of refusal. Preparation, incomplete information, service works and title registration do not vanish from the programme. Ask who owns each dependency and what evidence permits the next step.

Keep a slower scenario in the feasibility

Price the land against a documented feasible scheme, with design, demolition, construction, services, finance, contingency and selling costs. Test what happens if the fast pathway is unavailable, an extra service connection is needed or the completed homes sell below the assumed price. An earlier permit can reduce holding costs; it does not guarantee development profit.

Also distinguish an ordinary additional dwelling from Victoria’s small-second-dwelling pathway. The latter has its own rules and cannot simply be treated as a separately saleable lot.8 Read our granny-flat quote checklist and land assembly analysis before combining the strategies.

Questions buyers ask

Does a ten-day planning decision mean I can sell four titles ten days later?

No. Building, subdivision, servicing, compliance and registration have separate requirements and timelines. The planning assessment period is only one part of the project.

Is there one minimum block size that guarantees four dwellings?

No universal area figure establishes eligibility or a workable layout. The applicable planning controls and the measured design must be assessed together.

What should I request before making an offer based on development potential?

Request title documents, a dated planning assessment naming the applicable provisions, a dimensioned concept, service enquiries and a feasibility that includes a slower approval scenario. Start with an address-level planning check, then use the due-diligence process.

Source videos and verification scope

This article develops practical questions raised in the published videos below and checks them against the sources cited here. Case prices, forecasts and broad claims in a video do not establish the result for another property.

• Beat the VicSmart Rules: 4 Townhouses in 10 Days! 6 Steps to Buy Overlay-Free Melbourne Land