Extractive resources

Strategic Extractive Resource Areas

Victoria’s population is projected to exceed 10 million people by 2050. As Victoria grows and more houses, schools, hospitals, roads, and renewable energy projects are delivered, the demand for quarry resources, including rock and sand, will significantly increase.

We need to protect quarries close to where the demands for resources are, to reduce transport costs and minimise emissions, helping to make construction projects more affordable and sustainable.

It is also important to ensure ‘sensitive’ land use and developments, such as houses, schools, sports grounds, shops and wineries, are not built too closely to land where quarrying may occur.

Securing quarry resources within Strategic Extractive Resource Areas (SERAs), particularly in places close to demand for construction, is a key part of delivering Helping Victoria Grow: Extractive Resources Strategy and supporting Victoria’s Housing Statement: The decade ahead 2024-2034.

Find out more about the Victorian Government’s Strategic Extractive Resource Areas program.

Have your say: Strategic Extractive Resource Areas in Lang Lang, Oaklands Junction and Trafalgar

The Department of Transport and Planning is inviting feedback between 2 October and 8 November 2024 on the draft planning controls for securing important quarry resources in:

• Lang Lang (Shire of Cardinia)
• Oaklands Junction (City of Hume)
• Trafalgar (Shire of Baw Baw).

If you would like to provide feedback about the proposed changes or learn more about the public consultation, visit the Strategic Extractive Resource Areas in Cardinia, Hume and Baw Baw page on Engage Victoria.

The feedback will inform the preparation of amendments to the Baw Baw, Cardinia, Hume and South Gippsland planning schemes.

The proposed planning scheme changes follow planning reforms introduced in 2021 via Planning Scheme Amendment VC196. These reforms resulted from a pilot project run in the Shire of South Gippsland and City of Wyndham from 2020 to 2021 that investigated the planning changes needed to help secure quarry resources with local communities.

Extractive industry operation

On 22 March 2022, we introduced changes to all planning schemes in Victoria to support the ongoing operation of extractive industry across Victoria and increase amenity protection for nearby accommodation in rural zones.

Amendment VC219 introduced a permit requirement for accommodation, building and works associated with accommodation located within 500 m from the nearest title boundary of land on which a work authority has been applied for or granted under the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990.

Find out more about amendment VC219.

More information about extractive and mining activities in Victoria can be found at GeoVic - Earth Resources.

Identifying land with a work authority

Mapping information on work authorities can be found at VicPlan. VicPlan is a maping service for property information, including whether a work authority application has been made or approved under the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act.

1. Go to VicPlan
2. Select the ‘Map’ menu at top of screen
3. Select ‘Layer Catalog’
   
4. Select from the list  ‘Extractive Industry Work Authorities’
5. Tick ‘Extractive Industry Work Authorities – Applications’ and ‘Extractive Industry Work Authorities - Current’ and select ‘OK’.
   
6. Enter an address in the search field.
7. The results will show:
   • Property information under the ‘Property Information’ tab at the bottom of the page
     
   • Work authority information under the ‘Layers’ tab at the bottom of the page. Current /approved (granted) work authorities are shown in orange and work authority applications are shown in blue.
     

Identifying accommodation within 500 m of land with a work authority

1. Complete the steps 1 - 7 above to locate land with a work authority.
2. Select the ‘Tools’ menu at the top of screen.
3. Select ‘Distance’ and ‘Enable Snapping’.
   
4. Double click the boundary of the land and the end point. The map will provide the distance between the two points.

For help using VicPlan, go to Using VicPlan.

Page last updated: 02/10/24