Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny has announced developments of up to four homes on a block will now get their applications assessed in just 10 business days.

Under the current system, homeowners often face delays and uncertainty due to council processes, complex paperwork and lengthy appeals – often taking more than 60 days and making it harder to build homes.

Last year, a 10-day planning permit process to build two homes on a block faster.

These new projects will use the same fast-track pathway.

Quicker decisions mean less waiting, lower costs, and more homes being built sooner.

Projects must still meet the requirements of Victoria’s Townhouse and Low-Rise Code, including standards for setbacks, landscaping, privacy and design.

If the application meets these requirements, the council can assess it through the fast-track pathway.

Proposals that do not meet these standards must go through the normal planning process.

Heritage controls, environmental overlays, and other planning protections will continue to apply.

The reform builds on the success of the Townhouse and Low-Rise Code introduced in March last year.

Since introduction, applications for townhouses and low-rise developments have increased by almost 50 per cent.

Planning permits for multi-dwelling developments in Melbourne’s middle suburbs have also increased from around 2,000 to more than 3,100.

Victoria continues to build and approve thousands of more homes than any other state, and our leading reforms are making it easier to deliver them.

A proven mentoring program that has already helped more than 500 First Nations young people will be expanded.

Minister for Youth Luba Grigorovitch announced a $666,000 investment for five Aboriginal organisations to deliver youth mentorship opportunities across Victoria.

This will ensure young First Nations Victorians can access one-on-one mentoring and support.

Marram Nganyin pairs young people with mentors.

It also supports activities focused on leadership, community participation, wellbeing and connection to culture.

The program takes a strengths-based approach that puts young people at the centre of designing their journey.

The organisations sharing in the funding are:

• Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation
• Rumbalara Football and Netball Club
• Weenthunga Health Network
• Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place
• Bunjilwarra Koori Youth Healing Service

A Melbourne startup is developing a needle-free IVF treatment to transform patient care globally.

Minister for Economic Development Anthony Carbines has announced a $1 million investment in GonGlobal through Innovation Victoria’s $100 million University Innovation Platform.

Innovation Victoria and RMIT University are each investing $500,000 to support GonGlobal’s development of Ovulair™ – a new IVF drug delivery system that allows medicines to be inhaled rather than injected.

The partnership brings together RMIT’s engineering expertise with GonGlobal’s innovation.

For people experiencing infertility, IVF is physically and emotionally demanding – requiring many patients to endure hundreds of self-administered injections across multiple treatment cycles.

Australia has one of the world’s highest rates of IVF use, with more than 100,000 cycles performed each year.

The company was co-founded by Dr Igor Gonda and his daughter Ellen after her experience undergoing IVF left her feeling like “a human pin cushion” – inspiring them to develop a needle-free alternative.

Victoria is home to more than 4,400 startups valued at $139 billion.

Melbourne ranks third globally for startup creation – overtaking Sydney, Singapore and Berlin.

Land for housing across Victoria is being unlocked, fast tracking the delivery of thousands more homes.

A dozen sites across Victoria set to deliver more than 2000 homes will be assessed through the Unlocking Strategic Sites program.

The program fast-tracks the rezoning of underused land for new homes, jobs and investment.

Right now, rezoning land through councils can take two or more years.

The latest sites include former industrial land, vacant land, surplus public land and former livestock yards:

• Vacant land surrounding St Anne’s Catholic College – Kialla (Waterbird Creek Precinct)
• Farmland – Cohuna
• Vacant land – Maryborough
• Industrial land near Kananook Station – Frankston (Sub Precinct 1A, Kananook)
• Surplus council land – Nunawading (Silver Grove Precinct)
• Farmland – Lang Lang
• Farmland – Lake Tyers
• Commercial and warehouse land – Oakleigh
• Industrial land – Dandenong
• Former Warrnambool Livestock Exchange – Warrnambool
• Industrial land near the Eureka Centre – Ballarat East
• Vacant land near existing industrial and commercial precincts – Ballarat

It follows seven sites announced in April already being assessed, with the potential to deliver more than 9,000 homes.

Every project will be subject to planning assessment and community consultation.

Projects will require a minimum of 10 per cent affordable housing.

This new pathway will be delivered through the Development Facilitation Program.

The state government is delivering a spring works blitz to cut congestion and keep Victoria moving. 

The new Melton Station opened this morning, with trains now running on elevated rail bridges over Exford and Coburns roads.

Coburns Road will close between 6 and 24 September to remove the rail tracks and resurface the road.

In Newport, Maddox Road is now closed until 15 September – when the new rail bridge will open.

In Dandenong, Hammond and Cheltenham roads will have detours until 22 September, when a new underpass opens, replacing the Webster Street level crossing.

As North East Link crews upgrade the Doncaster Road interchange, the Eastern Freeway will close between Chandler Highway and Tram Road from 10:00pm, 11 September to 5:00am 14 September, and a weekend in mid-October.

Bulleen interchange works will close part of Bulleen Road from 18 September to early October.

The M80 Ring Road Plenty Road ramps will close on some weekends and overnights, and part of Grimshaw Street will close for a weekend in September.

In Clyde North, final asphalt works will close the Thompsons Road and Berwick-Cranbourne Road intersection from 18-24 September – with the upgraded intersection to open to traffic in October, seven months ahead of schedule.

In Berwick, part of Clyde Road will be closed for two weekends in September, and the Princes Freeway outbound under Clyde Road will be closed for a weekend in October.

Point Cook Road bridge will have restricted movements until September, when the intersection opens with new traffic signals. The old freeway exit ramp will also close from mid-September to early November.

In Wyndham Vale, asphalt and line-mark works will close the Ballan Road intersection for a weekend in November.

The Northern Highway intersection upgrade will close the eastern side of the Watson Street and Northern Highway intersection from 18 September to 5 October.

On the Suburban Rail Loop, Bay Road will close for one day in late September as part of underground service works.

On the Seymour, Shepparton, Bairnsdale and Albury lines, maintenance and Inland Rail works will see coaches replacing trains at various times across September.

For information on planned works in spring, visit bigbuild.vic.gov.au/disruptions.

The state government says it is right that Victoria recognises the service of former senior public officials with dignity and respect.

It is also right that governments are careful with taxpayers’ money while doing it.

State funerals and memorial services mark important moments in Victoria’s history.

Their significance comes, in part, from the fact they are reserved for exceptional circumstances.

Because taxpayers meet the cost, clear and consistent protocols should apply.

The independent panel will make recommendations about the appropriate frequency, scale, arrangements and costs of these services.

Statues commemorating former public officials

A policy automatically recognising long-serving Victorian Premiers with a statue on Treasury Place was introduced in 1999 by then-Premier Jeff Kennett.

We respect the service of former Premiers.

But an automatic taxpayer-funded statue is no longer consistent with community expectations about how governments should spend money.

Premier Ben Carroll is ending the Kennett statue policy.

He has also directed that work on the statue of Victoria’s 48th Premier Dan Andrews cease.

The existing contract will not be cancelled, avoiding unnecessary costs to taxpayers.

Instead, the independent panel will recommend an alternative subject and location for the commissioned work.

New traffic and pedestrian lights, signalised turning lanes and improved lighting are now in place at the Graham Street and Hayes Street intersections with the highway, making the daily commute safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists in Shepparton.

On Graham Street, a new raised pedestrian crossing over the highway’s western service road strengthens the link to the local health precinct.

At Hayes Street, new raised safety platforms improve visibility for people walking and riding to the Victoria Park Lake precinct and encourage vehicles to slow down.

The upgrades form part of Greater Shepparton City Council’s Strategic Cycling Corridor, connecting locals to key destinations across the city.

Grants of up to $40,000 will be delivered to 13 organisations to ensure all Victorians can access support closer to home.

These grants build on the more than 180 grants delivered right across Victoria, including to Mallee Family Care, Melbourne Queer Film Festival and consent and inclusion training provider Let’s Talk About X.

Rainbow Dads Victoria will get support to train more volunteers in child safety and run extra playgroups.

Midsumma will be supported to upgrade their online presence and build their creative resource index to elevate LGBTIQA+ artists.

Yarrawonga Mulwala Community Learning Centre will use their grant to establish a cross-border LGBTIQA+ network to improve service delivery for the region.

For more information go to vic.gov.au/lgbtiqa-organisational-development-grants.

The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) has updated its determination for authorising electoral material, making it easier for voters to identify who is behind election-related material.  

The updated determination, which is now in effect, follows the reinstatement of Part 12 of the Electoral Act 2002 (Vic) (the Act) and other recent changes to the Act. It provides clearer guidance about who must authorise electoral material and how they identify themselves.

Electoral Commissioner Sven Bluemmel said the changes strengthen transparency and help voters understand who is responsible for electoral messaging.

‘Authorisation requirements help ensure Victorians know who is responsible for electoral material,’ Mr Bluemmel said.

‘The updated determination provides clearer guidance for political participants and improves transparency by making it easier for voters to identify the people and organisations behind election-related communications.’

The revised determination reflects recent changes to electoral laws that now prescribes those that must include authorisation statements on their electoral material. This includes registered political parties, candidates and groups of candidates, elected members, associated entities, third party campaigners and certain donors required to provide disclosure returns.

These regulated entities must also now authorise electoral material in their own name, for example the name of the registered political party or candidate, making it easier to identity who produced the material.

The determination clarifies what is considered electoral material and electoral matter, including how the requirements apply to printed, digital and online communications.

There is no change to the requirement for electoral material to include a geographical address, typically a street address and locality or suburb. Under the Act, a post office box cannot be used in an authorisation statement.

The revised authorisation determination is part of a broader review of VEC published determinations following the reinstatement of Part 12 of the Act and other recent changes to the Act. Most updates ensure alignment with the current legislative framework and provide clearer guidance on the administration of electoral funding, disclosure, auditing and authorisation requirements.

Other published determinations include:

• claimable and non-claimable administrative expenditure for administrative expenditure funding
• VEC principles for determining policy development expenditure
• form of audit certificates for annual returns and other financial statements
• clarifications to display signage at voting centres.

The updated determinations take effect from the date they are made by the Electoral Commissioner. As a practical transitional measure, electoral material produced before Friday 21 August can continue to be used without being reprinted or amended to include the name of the entity responsible for the electoral material.

For more information visit vec.vic.gov.au

A secure domestic timber supply will be essential to meeting Australia’s future housing needs, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) said at Parliament House at the launch of National Forestry Day.

HIA Chief Executive Industry and Policy, Simon Croft, said Australia’s forestry and timber industries play a vital role in supporting housing construction, regional economies and the nation’s growing population.

“Australia’s rising population will require hundreds of thousands of additional homes in the years ahead, and a secure domestic supply of timber is fundamental to achieving that outcome,” Mr Croft said.

“On National Forestry Day, it is important to recognise the thousands of Australians working across the forestry and timber supply chain who make an essential contribution to housing, regional communities and the broader economy.”

Mr Croft said the residential building industry relies heavily on a stable supply of locally produced timber products, including structural framing, engineered wood products, flooring, cladding and other essential building materials.

“Timber remains one of the most important building materials used in Australian homes and is a cornerstone of residential construction across the country.

“A strong domestic forestry sector gives builders and consumers confidence that key building materials will be available when needed and at competitive prices.”

Mr Croft said recent years had highlighted the importance of supply chain resilience and the need for long-term planning to support future housing demand.

“The experience of recent years demonstrated how quickly supply constraints can affect housing affordability, construction costs and project delivery timelines.

“As governments work to increase housing supply across Australia, it is critical that building material supply keeps pace with demand.”

HIA supports policies that encourage long-term investment in forestry resources, timber processing capacity and regional manufacturing to strengthen Australia’s supply chain resilience.

“Australia needs a long-term vision for timber supply that recognises the role forestry plays in supporting housing construction, regional employment and economic growth.

“Investment decisions made today will determine whether future generations have access to the building materials needed to construct the homes, schools, hospitals and infrastructure our growing population will require.”

Mr Croft said sustainable forestry and responsible timber production should be recognised as important contributors to Australia’s housing future.

“The forestry and timber sector supports jobs, regional communities and the delivery of new housing across the country.”

 Victorians can help choose the next design of the Youth myki with voting now open for the top three designs. 

The designs can be viewed and voted on at the Melbourne Museum or through the EngageVic website until Sunday, 30 August.

The winning design will be announced in September.

The new design will be available next year, which will be used by young Victorians all over the state and will feature on the new Youth myki cards from next year.

The designs were assessed on their originality, creativity, and the artistic interpretation of Victoria’s public transport network.

The winner will receive a prize of $1,000, with each runner-up receiving $500.

More than nine million Youth myki taps have been recorded – helping young people travel to school, work, sport and see friends and family.

Youth myki cards are available to purchase for $5 at all staffed stations, online and at myki retailers.

To vote in the Youth myki design competition, visit engage.vic.gov.au/youthmyki.

Ambulance Victoria has welcomed more graduate paramedics to its ranks, as well as four highly skilled intensive care paramedics from overseas and interstate.

The four fully-qualified Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) paramedics will join ambulance branches in regional Victoria – and includes Ambulance Victoria’s first ever intensive care paramedic recruit from Vanuatu.

“Ambulance Victoria has some of the most highly trained and skilled paramedics in the world,” Ambulance Victoria Chief Executive Officer Jordan Emery said.

“We are very excited to welcome four recruits from Vanuatu, the UK and New South Wales to our MICA workforce.

“Their professionalism and expertise will deliver the very best specialist care for Victorians facing the most critical life-threatening emergencies.”

The new MICA paramedics will be based in Mildura (one), Horsham (one) and Wonthaggi (two), hitting the road from 14 September 2026.

Among the four is Jeff Mabbett, who was the CEO of the Vanuatu Emergency Services Association between 2024 and 2026. Jeff was originally from New Zealand. He will be based in Mildura.

He said he was drawn to Ambulance Victoria as a world-leading ambulance service.

“Ambulance Victoria has an international reputation for clinical excellence, innovation and evidence-based practice. For a MICA paramedic, it has some of the most advanced clinical practice guidelines. That was the drawcard – that I can keep all the skills I have and learn more,” Jeff said.

“I’m looking forward to working in Mildura. I’ve always enjoyed rural work because you have a mix of the rural city and large agricultural communities. Mildura also is a good family environment, so will be a great place for my kids to grow up.”

A group of 24 new graduate ambulance paramedics also started their careers with Ambulance Victoria on 17 August 2026, coming on top of 53 new recruits that started last month.

This latest intake of new graduate paramedics will complete their four-week Ambulance Victoria induction program before hitting the road on 14 September 2026. Of the 24 graduate ambulance paramedics, for their on-road training:

• 20 will be placed in metropolitan Melbourne ambulance branches including Clyde North, Montrose, Coolaroo, Point Cook, Werribee (2), Hillside, St Albans, Rosebud, SRC North in Campbellfield, Eltham, Watsonia, Heidelberg, Moonee Ponds, Ferntree Gully, Waverley, Caulfield, Kew, South Melbourne and Yarra Junction.
• Four will be placed in regional ambulance branches, including Belmont, Geelong, Kilmore and Gisborne.

Having completed their university degree, all new graduate paramedics start at Ambulance Victoria with a comprehensive four-week induction and training program, giving them the ‘real world’ skills they need to hit the road alongside experienced paramedics.

During this induction, recruits learn and refresh vital skills such as safely moving and loading patients to prevent injuries and safely driving ambulance vehicles.

MICA paramedics can perform advanced medical procedures such as advanced airway management including intubation, manage complex trauma injuries, administer intra-osseous (into bone) medications, treat life-threatening respiratory conditions and provide advanced management of cardiac conditions.

Their training includes a more detailed understanding of anatomy, physiology, patho-physiology and pharmacology to greatly increase the capacity to make complex clinical decisions and provide exceptional clinical leadership, in the pre-hospital environment.

“Working as a paramedic is an extraordinarily unique experience. Very few jobs will have such a profound and deep impact on peoples’ lives,” Mr Emery said.

“Our paramedics, first responders, volunteers and support staff are our greatest strength. It is through them that we lead the way in patient care, including the nation’s best cardiac arrest survival rates.

“We now have more than 5,600 on-road paramedics delivering the very best life-saving care, everywhere, and it’s great to see more joining our ranks.

“I truly wish all our new graduate and MICA paramedics the best for long and rewarding careers at Ambulance Victoria.”

More new graduate and qualified paramedics will continue to join Ambulance Victoria throughout 2026-27

Labor is making sure our emergency services have the tools they need to keep Victorians safe.

Minister Edbrooke joined Fire Rescue Victoria and Country Fire Authority to showcase the new technologies putting firefighters on the front foot.

Getting firefighters there faster 

Victoria’s first electric fire truck EVIE is already making a difference.

Real-world testing shows a big improvement in response times.

Responding to more than 500 incidents, EVIE cut average travel time by 26 seconds – an 11 per cent improvement.

EVIE also cut the time it took crews to start fighting a fire by 45 seconds and to provide emergency medical care by 33 seconds.

EVIE is now ready for action across metropolitan Melbourne to help Victorians when they need it most.

Training for the toughest calls 

The simulators will put crews through scenarios that are difficult and dangerous to recreate in real life like vehicle rollovers and emergency driving with lights and sirens blaring.

Equipped with VR headsets and eye-tracking technology, firefighters can sharpen their skills and decision-making before facing these situations in the field.

The five simulators will tour the state, with the first rolling out to the Ballarat region later this month.

Too many girls and young people across Victoria experiencing pelvic pain are facing barriers and delays in diagnosis.

In a Victorian-first, a dedicated Kids and Teens Pelvic Pain Clinical Network is now available at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

A special Nurse Navigator will triage and connect patients with the right care, closer to home.

This care will be delivered via a network of clinicians across metro Melbourne and regional Victorian.

This network includes specialist GPs, physios, dietitians, occupational therapists, nurses and gynaecologists.

For complex cases, the RCH will continue to provide specialised care.

The Nurse Navigator will also provide three-month check ins to follow up on patients’ experience and treatment outcomes.

Also launching today will be a new website with dedicated, easy-to-understand online resources.

It will be available for young people, families and health professionals to improve their experience in accessing care.

This new service is one of 20 Women’s Health Clinics being delivered by Labor across Victoria and responds directly to Victoria’s Inquiry into Women’s Pain.

The clinics are part of a landmark $153 million women’s health package.

The package is already transforming the way women’s healthcare is delivered in Victoria, and also includes:

• 20 sexual and reproductive health hubs
• a virtual women’s health clinic
• a mobile women’s health clinic
• a dedicated and first of its kind Aboriginal women’s health clinic.

COSBOA and LPO Group say Australia Post’s retail network should evolve to deliver more value for small businesses and communities, with the Senate inquiry an important opportunity to examine its long-term sustainability, accessibility and role in delivering essential face-to-face services.

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) and LPO Group have each made submissions to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee inquiry into the management of, and plans for, Australia Post’s retail network.

Licensed Post Offices (LPOs) are themselves independent small businesses, while Australia Post says 88 per cent of its customers are small businesses.

For many communities, particularly in regional, rural, remote and outer metropolitan Australia, the local post office provides access to services that are increasingly difficult to find face-to-face, including banking, identity verification, passport and government services.

COSBOA CEO Skye Cappuccio said the discussion about the future of LPOs needed to consider not only how many outlets remained open, but what people and businesses could actually do when they walked through the door.

“For small businesses, a local post office provides access to services they rely on every day,” Ms Cappuccio said.

“For a small business, having to travel to another town or suburb to do banking, send freight, verify documents or complete an important transaction costs time and money, and takes someone away from running the business.

“We absolutely understand that Australia Post has to change, as the way Australians communicate, shop and send goods changes.

“This isn’t about trying to preserve the past. Rather, we should be asking how we make the most of an extraordinary national network that already exists in communities across Australia – from banking and identity services to government transactions and parcels – while making sure the small business owners operating much of that network have a sustainable business model.”

COSBOA’s submission also raises concerns about the commercial pressures facing LPO operators, including whether remuneration reflects the cost of delivering services and the impact that changes to licence arrangements could have on operators who have invested in their businesses.

Ms Cappuccio said small business operators should not be expected to carry disproportionate commercial risk where they have limited control over key decisions affecting their revenue and costs.

“If these small businesses are going to continue playing such an important role in the national network, the commercial settings have to stack up for the operators delivering those services,” Ms Cappuccio said.

“LPO operators employ people, pay rent, invest in their premises and carry the same rising costs as every other small business. They need fair, transparent commercial arrangements and a genuine voice when decisions are being made that affect the viability and value of their businesses.”

LPO Group Chair Scott Etherington said the inquiry should look beyond headline outlet numbers and examine the services available through the network.

“An outlet can remain on the map while the services available from the counter change significantly. The real measure is not simply presence – it is capability,” Mr Etherington said.

“Banking, identity and government services give people a reason to use their local post office and help sustain the independent small businesses operating them.

“Parcels are an essential part of Australia Post’s future and nobody is suggesting otherwise. But parcels and services should work together.

“We have an established national network, trained people and infrastructure already in place. The opportunity is to make better use of it and give communities more reasons to use their local post office, not fewer.”

Ms Cappuccio said the inquiry was an opportunity to consider how the network could evolve while maintaining access to the face-to-face services small businesses and communities rely on.

“Modernisation shouldn’t mean fewer options for small businesses and communities.

“Australia already has an extensive network of local post offices, operated in large part by small business owners. We should be looking at how we support their long-term viability and make the most of the services and infrastructure already in place,” Ms Cappuccio said.