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More homes for regional living

Building great regional communities with great infrastructure, services and green space.

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Opening doors to more homes in regional Victoria

Thousands of people are discovering the lifestyle benefits to living and working in regional Victoria every year. There’s so much more to regional Victoria than a home amongst the gum trees.

Today, regional Victoria is home to 25 per cent of Victoria’s population, and by 2051, the population of Victoria’s regions is expected to grow from 1.5 million to 2.2 million.

A quarter of homes will be in regional Victoria by 2051, including 128,600 in Greater Geelong, 46,900 in Ballarat and 37,000 in Bendigo - but where these homes go matters.

Plan for Victoria

The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) has developed the first community-led strategic land use plan for all Victoria, consulting with over 110,000 Victorians.

Plan for Victoria is a long-term plan for the whole state that’s about delivering more homes, more jobs and great communities. It’s the 30-year blueprint for how Victoria will support a growing population while protecting and improving all that we love about the places we live, work and play.

Plan for Victoria replaces Plan Melbourne 2017-2050 and existing regional growth plans, ensuring Melbourne, regional and rural Victoria are all included.

Plan for Victoria has guidance around how more homes are created near transport, job opportunities and essential services in vibrant, liveable and sustainable regional centres over the next 30 years.

Regional Victoria will be supported to lead the way in Victoria’s energy transition while also protecting and enhancing Victoria’s agribusiness, food and fibre, advanced manufacturing and mineral resources sectors.

Learn how Plan for Victoria is helping shape the future of Regional Victoria at:

Regional housing targets

Using what the community told us in Plan for Victoria, we’ve set housing targets for every local government area across Victoria, specifying their share of the extra 2.24 million homes we need across the state.

Housing targets are important because:

The targets ensure that every planning scheme identifies enough realistic opportunities for new development to deliver the targeted number of homes.

View the map and A-Z list of regional local government housing targets(opens in a new window)

Learn more about the targets, why they’re set and how they’re set at Housing targets(opens in a new window)

Working with councils and industry

We’re working closely with Victorian councils to understand their plans and the barriers they face to opening doors to more homes, ensuring the final targets are accurate, fair and achievable.

Councils will be held accountable for meeting their targets. It’s up to councils to work together with Government and industry to unlock housing capacity in a way that’s right for each community.

Regional growth boundaries

One of the 22 key actions in Plan for Victoria is a commitment to “carefully manage the outward sprawl of regional cities and towns.”

As part of the Plan, regional boundaries will be developed in partnership with councils, and they will “only expand outward if this is consistent with the vision for these places and if and when councils and other authorities can provide the necessary infrastructure (such as water and sewerage) for more people.”

The Bass Coast, the Surf Coast, the Bellarine Peninsula and Macedon Ranges have (or will soon have) protected settlement boundaries to help them grow sustainably.

More than 200,000 additional homes will be built in Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo over the next 30 years - and here these homes go matters. We need to balance more homes with backyards for families alongside the strain on services for people already living there – and impact on agricultural land.

Regional boundaries are all about making sure growing areas can keep growing in a sustainable way – and preserving agricultural land, parks, forests, and natural resources.

Precinct Structure Plans

A Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) is a land use and infrastructure plan that guides the development of an area over time.

Precinct Structure Plans work within a growth boundary to set out preferred locations of residential and employment land and infrastructure, and provide guidance for transport and parking, urban design, heritage and character, open spaces and water management.

Precinct Structure Plans help open doors to more homes, more jobs and great communities, by embracing what makes every city, town and community special.

The Victorian Planning Authority undertakes consultation with communities to develop Precinct Structure Plans.

You can contribute to consultations using Engage Victoria(opens in a new window)

Or view the Precinct Structure Panning Guidelines(opens in a new window) used to build new communities in Victoria.

Opening doors to more social and affordable housing in regional Victoria

Our Big Housing Build is Australia’s biggest ever investment in public and community housing. We are building more than 12,000 new homes throughout metro and regional Victoria.

$1 billion has been invested in the Regional Housing Fund to deliver more than 1300 new homes across regional Victoria. The new homes will include a mix of social and affordable housing.

The $150 million Regional Worker Accommodation Fund will provide new housing options for regional communities where key workers are struggling to find affordable places to live.

More information about the Big Housing Build and affordable housing being developed as social housing visit Homes Victoria – Homes for regional and rural Victoria(opens in a new window)

Regional Housing Fund

The Regional Housing Fund is making a significant difference to housing Victorians who are in greatest need, such as people experiencing homelessness or financial hardship, as well as providing more affordable housing for regional and rural communities.

We’re using a range of methods to deliver the social and affordable housing across regional and rural Victoria as quickly and efficiently as possible in areas of greatest demand. This includes:

Learn more about the fund and how it’s opening doors to homes for Victorians in need at: Regional Housing Fund(opens in a new window)

Opening-up opportunities for rural and regional local government workforces

The Regional Planner Cadetship Program(opens in a new window) is opening-up new opportunities for planners to enter the rural and regional local government workforce, directly addressing a state shortage of planners that is slowing planning processes – and slowing down new homes.

This program operates alongside the Regional Planning Hubs support services program(opens in a new window) which places planning experts in regional and rural councils to support the planning and development of their local community.

These initiatives are designed to make processes faster, support regional and rural communities, and open doors to more homes, sooner.

Updated 12 June 2025

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