Victoria's Townhouse and Low-Rise Code introduces a deemed-to-comply pathway that promises faster, more certain permit outcomes for medium-density residential projects — but only if your proposal meets every applicable standard, precisely and in full. This post explains how the pathway works, what "deemed-to-comply" actually means for your approval timeline, and the most common points where projects fall over before or after lodgement.

What the Townhouse and Low-Rise Code Is

The Townhouse and Low-Rise Code sits within Victoria's reformed residential planning framework and applies to townhouses, dual occupancies, and low-rise apartment buildings (generally up to three storeys) in residential zones where the code is enabled. It operates primarily through Clause 55 of the Victorian Planning Scheme — the long-standing multi-dwelling residential standard — but with a significant structural change: a formal deemed-to-comply pathway that, in theory, removes the need for a council to exercise discretion over standards your design already meets.

The policy intent is clear. Victoria needs more housing, medium-density is the dominant delivery mechanism in established suburbs, and the existing ResCode framework has produced inconsistent outcomes because every standard was, in effect, negotiable at the discretion of the responsible authority. The code is meant to change that by making compliance binary: you either meet the standard or you don't.

For developers and landowners, that sounds like good news. And it can be — but the devil is in the detail of what "meeting the standard" actually requires.

How Deemed-to-Comply Works in Practice

Under the deemed-to-comply pathway, if your design meets every applicable standard in the code — setbacks, site coverage, private open space, wall heights, overlooking, overshadowing, car parking, waste management, and more — the responsible authority must approve it without applying additional discretion to those matters. Councils cannot substitute their own aesthetic preferences or neighbourhood character judgements for a standard your project demonstrably satisfies.

This is a meaningful shift. Under the previous Clause 55 framework, a standard might be met on paper but a council could still raise it as a concern in the context of neighbourhood character or built form response. The deemed-to-comply mechanism is designed to close that door — if the number is met, the number is met.

The practical implication: your design documentation needs to be precise, complete, and explicitly demonstrate compliance with each standard. Shadow diagrams, setback schedules, site analysis, private open space calculations, and materials schedules all need to do real work in your application. Vague or incomplete drawings that leave compliance to interpretation will slow the process down, because councils will — and should — require clarification before they can make a determination.

When the Pathway Applies

The deemed-to-comply pathway only applies where:

The site is in a zone where the code is enabled (check the scheme for your specific municipality)
The proposal falls within the building typologies the code covers — townhouses, dual occupancies, and low-rise apartments up to three storeys
No overlay triggers a separate discretionary assessment that cuts across the code standards (more on this below)
The application is for a planning permit under the relevant residential provisions

If your site has a Design and Development Overlay, Neighbourhood Character Overlay, Heritage Overlay, or Significant Landscape Overlay, the code's deemed-to-comply pathway may be partially or entirely displaced. These overlays sit above the code in the hierarchy of the planning scheme and introduce separate decision-making frameworks that council retains discretion over. A site in a Heritage Overlay, for example, will still be assessed against heritage policy regardless of how neatly it meets the code's built-form numbers.

Where Projects Fall Over — The Compliance Failure Points

In practice, the projects that struggle in the deemed-to-comply pathway tend to fail at one of a handful of recurring pressure points.

Site Coverage and Permeability

The code sets specific maximum site coverage figures and minimum permeability requirements. These are not approximate — they are percentages that must be met. Projects on awkward lot shapes, lots with generous garaging requirements, or sites where the client wants to maximise building footprint frequently hit the site coverage ceiling before they've resolved everything else. Permeability requirements — the proportion of the site that must remain permeable to stormwater — add a further constraint that isn't always picked up early in architectural concept work.

Private Open Space Dimensions and Solar Access

The code doesn't just require a minimum area of private open space — it specifies minimum dimensions and, critically, solar access requirements. A secluded courtyard that's the right size but oriented entirely to the south, or overshadowed by the building itself for most of the day, won't meet the standard. On narrow lots with north-facing street frontages, this creates genuine design challenges because the primary outdoor space often ends up behind the building, in shadow.

Overlooking and Habitable Room Windows

Clause 55 has always contained overlooking requirements, but the code applies them with renewed precision. Windows and balconies of habitable rooms above ground floor must not allow direct views into the secluded private open space or habitable rooms of adjacent dwellings within a 9-metre radius at 45 degrees. In practice, this often requires screening or redesign of upper-level windows on side elevations — something that isn't always resolved until late in the design process when it's expensive to change.

Car Parking Under Clause 52.06

Off-street parking must meet the requirements under Clause 52.06 of the planning scheme. The code doesn't override this — it operates alongside it. Projects in areas with parking overlays or reduced parking schedules need to be clear about which standards apply and document compliance accordingly. Tandem parking arrangements are scrutinised carefully, particularly for dwellings other than the primary residence on a lot.

Waste Management

This is the compliance point most commonly missed at concept stage. The code requires adequate provision for bin storage and collection, including clear sightlines and access for council collection vehicles where kerbside collection is expected. On sites with narrow frontages or deep lot configurations, this isn't automatically resolved by the building design.

What to Check Before You Lodge

If you're evaluating a site for medium-density development and want to understand whether the deemed-to-comply pathway is genuinely accessible, here's a practical pre-lodgement checklist:

Confirm the zone and overlay configuration — pull the planning scheme maps for your municipality and identify every overlay on the site. Each overlay needs to be assessed for whether it introduces separate discretion.
Check the applicable schedule — zone schedules can vary minimum lot sizes, setbacks, and other requirements from the default code standards. The schedule for your specific zone, not the generic code, governs your project.
Run the numbers early — site coverage, permeability, private open space areas and dimensions, and setbacks should be calculated at concept stage, not resolved during documentation.
Get a pre-application meeting or development advice — most councils offer pre-application meetings, and a skilled planning consultant can identify discretionary pressure points before you commit to a design direction.
Understand what "complies" means for shadow diagrams — overlooking and overshadowing compliance requires properly prepared diagrams at the equinox, not rough sketches. This is technical work that needs to be done properly.

The Realistic Expectation

The deemed-to-comply pathway is a genuine improvement to the Victorian planning system for medium-density residential development. It creates clearer rules, reduces the scope for inconsistent council decision-making, and gives developers a more predictable approval environment — provided the design actually complies.

What it doesn't do is make planning simple. The standards are specific, the overlay interactions are real, and getting documentation to a standard where the pathway actually functions requires careful preparation. A project that almost complies is not a deemed-to-comply project — it's a discretionary assessment by another name.

For developers and landowners working through site feasibility, understanding exactly where your proposal sits relative to these standards before you spend money on full architectural documentation is the most useful investment you can make at the front end of a project.

Perry Town Planning has been advising developers, landowners, and architects on medium-density residential projects across Melbourne since 1999. If you're working through a townhouse, dual occupancy, or low-rise apartment project and want a clear-eyed read on whether the deemed-to-comply pathway is accessible for your site, we're happy to have that conversation. Reach out to Frank or Alistair Perry for an obligation-free discussion about your project.

Victoria's Townhouse Code: What Deemed-to-Comply Really Means