Town planning in the City of Boroondara.
Camberwell · Kew · Hawthorn · Balwyn · Surrey Hills · Canterbury · Glen Iris
Boroondara holds more heritage-listed properties than any other Victorian municipality, and its planning scheme is built around protection: Heritage Overlays across whole precincts of Camberwell, Kew, Canterbury and Hawthorn, Neighbourhood Character Overlays over the garden suburbs, and Neighbourhood Residential Zoning across most of the residential fabric.
The practical consequence is that projects other councils would treat as routine — an extension, a second dwelling, a new fence — often need a permit here, and the assessment is thorough. Success in Boroondara is about preparation: knowing the precinct citation, the character policy and the landscaping expectations before the first drawing is made.
Boroondara rewards applicants who engage with the heritage framework rather than fight it. We prepare applications with the citation open on the desk: which elements are primary, what the precinct statement actually protects, and where council's own heritage guidance leaves room for contemporary work. That discipline is the difference between a permit and a year at VCAT.
Controls you'll commonly meet in Boroondara.
Every property is different — these are the zones and overlays that most often shape applications in this municipality. Each links to the current ordinance in the Boroondara planning scheme.
Services we provide in Boroondara.
Residential
Single dwellings, dual occupancies, multi-unit and apartment developments — the backbone of our practice.
Feasibility Report
Can your block be subdivided? A planner-reviewed desktop report for any Victorian address — $275 inc. GST, delivered within 24 hours on business days.
Commercial Permits
Statutory planning strategy, lodgement and permit management for commercial, retail and industrial projects.
VCAT Appeals
Strategic advocacy at the Tribunal — for applicants fighting a refusal, and for objectors challenging a permit.
Strategic Planning
Planning scheme amendments, rezonings and structure plans for long-horizon projects.
Protection Works
Form 7 and Form 8 notices under the Building Act — acting for building owners, adjoining owners and surveyor referrals. Victoria only.
Questions we’re asked most.
If you have a question that’s not here, call us — we answer honestly, whether or not it leads to work.
- More often than anywhere else in Melbourne. Between the Heritage Overlays, Neighbourhood Character Overlays and Significant Landscape Overlays, a large share of Boroondara's houses carry at least one control that triggers a permit for extensions, outbuildings or tree removal. We check your property's controls and tell you exactly what is triggered before you spend on design.
Got a site, a permit, or a refusal on your desk?
An obligation-free conversation is the fastest way to see if we can help. We respond within 24 hours — usually much sooner.