About the project

Bass Coast Shire Council has applied to the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) to rezone land for the Phillip Island Sporting Precinct. This is a required preliminary planning process before the proposed Sporting Precinct can progress to the next stages of development.

As part of this process, Council is seeking to change the planning zone that applies to the land within the proposed Sporting Precinct site. The land is currently within the Farming Zone (FZ). The proposal is to rezone the land to Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ), which is intended to provide for public open space, recreation and community sporting facilities.

The process also includes the proposed removal of the Public Acquisition Overlay (PAO) that currently applies to the land. A Public Acquisition Overlay (PAO) identifies land that may be required for a future public purpose and places restrictions on its development to protect it for that potential use, such as in this case, a sporting precinct. As the land has been acquired by Council, the control is redundant.

The rezoning from FZ to PPRZ and removal of the PAO are important preliminary steps in establishing the appropriate planning framework for the proposed Sporting Precinct.

Council is working with DTP through the relevant planning process, with the aim of establishing the appropriate planning controls for the future use of the site as a community sporting and recreation precinct.

Council lodged the amendment with the Department of Transport and Planning for authorisation on 4 September 2026. While the act prescribes a decision within 10 business days, delegates of the Minister for Planning have placed the amendment under "Further Review" through section 16G of the Planning and Environment Act, exempting them from that deadline. The letter is included in the document library.

No date has been provided by the Department of Transport and Planning for when they expect to make a decision on the authorisation request.

Following authorisation, Council will be able to commence exhibition of the amendment to the public. This process will run for at least a calendar month and formal submissions can be made on the proposed changes. It is important that submissions are held until that time to ensure they are captured through the formal process.