Overlays and zone
What can you build
on your block?
Before cost comes permission. Enter a Melbourne address and see which planning overlays apply, what each one means for a renovation, and which of them will shape your design before you have drawn anything.
Check an address
Start typing and pick your address from the list. Addresses and overlays both come from the state datasets, updated weekly.
Why this matters before you budget
Overlays are the reason renovation projects get redesigned. People commission drawings, fall in love with them, and then discover a heritage control means the second storey has to be set back six metres, or that a flood overlay dictates the floor level. Both are fixable at sketch stage and expensive afterwards.
They also cost real money. A heritage overlay adds roughly 15% to construction and three to six months to approval. A special building overlay changes floor levels and drainage. An environmental audit overlay can require a full audit before a residential permit issues.
What this is and is not
It is a fast read of the state planning dataset for the location we matched your address to — enough to know what you are dealing with before spending money on a designer.
It is not a planning property report and it is not advice. Address matching can be imprecise, particularly on large or recently subdivided parcels, and overlay schedules carry detail this summary does not. Before you rely on any of it, generate the official report at planning.vic.gov.au — it is free and it is definitive.
Find out what it costs
The estimator applies the heritage adjustment as its own visible line, so you can see exactly what an overlay adds to your project.
Common questions
How do I find out if my property is in a heritage overlay?
Enter your address above for an immediate read, then confirm it with the free planning property report at planning.vic.gov.au. The overlay will appear as HO followed by a schedule number, which is what your council uses to identify the specific control.
What is the difference between a zone and an overlay?
A zone sets what the land can be used for — residential, commercial, industrial. An overlay sits on top and controls a specific characteristic, such as heritage value, flood risk or vegetation. A property has one zone and can have several overlays, or none at all.
Does an overlay mean I need a planning permit?
Usually, for buildings and works, though the schedule sets out exemptions. A property with no overlay and a straightforward proposal can often proceed on a building permit alone, which is considerably faster.
How current is this data?
Vicmap Planning zone and overlay data is updated weekly by the Department of Transport and Planning. Our results are cached for up to a week, so a very recent amendment may not appear immediately.
Why did my address not match?
Try including the suburb and postcode, and use the street number rather than a unit number. New subdivisions and rural properties are the most common failures. If it still does not match, the official planning property report accepts parcel searches as well as addresses.