title: Amendment C151 - Post-Adoption Planning Scheme Change council: ballarat state: vic category: amendment classification: MINOR status: approved last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:
- web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt
- web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt
Amendment C151 - Post-Adoption Planning Scheme Change
Amendment C151 was a citywide policy amendment to the Ballarat Planning Scheme that inserted the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy into the local planning policy framework rather than changing land zoning, overlays, or site-specific permit controls. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317) The statutory effect was to amend Clauses 21.04 and 21.10, meaning the change operated through strategic policy direction and reference-document status rather than through direct land-use rezoning. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
Background
The City of Ballarat prepared Amendment C151 to the Ballarat Planning Scheme after the Minister for Planning authorised Council as planning authority under section 8A(3) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317) The preparation notice identified Authorisation A02091 and stated that the amendment affected all land within the City of Ballarat, with particular relevance to commercially zoned land. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317)
At exhibition, the amendment was described as implementing the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy (2011) through changes to Clause 21.04 and Clause 21.10 of the Ballarat Planning Scheme. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317) The preparation notice invited submissions from affected persons and set Monday 26 March 2012 as the closing date for submissions. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317)
The approval notice was published in Victoria Government Gazette No. G 17 on 26 April 2013. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) The Minister for Planning approved Amendment C151, and the amendment came into operation on the date of publication of the notice in the Government Gazette. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
Analysis
Statutory Mechanism
C151 was a Municipal Strategic Statement and reference-document amendment because the approval notice states that it amended Clauses 21.04 and 21.10 to implement the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy, 2012. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) Clause 21.04 sat within the strategic policy framework, while Clause 21.10 was used for reference documents, so the amendment’s practical mechanism was to make activity-centre policy more visible and usable in planning decisions rather than to create a new zone or overlay control. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
The preparation notice described the affected land as all land within the City of Ballarat, with particular relevance to commercially zoned land. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317) That wording means the amendment had a municipal policy footprint but a more concentrated practical effect on commercial areas and activity centres, because commercially zoned land was the land class singled out in the notice. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317)
The amendment did not announce any rezoning, Public Acquisition Overlay, Development Plan Overlay, Design and Development Overlay, or permit issued with the amendment in the Gazette notices reviewed. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317; Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) On the available evidence, C151 should therefore be treated as a policy-positioning amendment rather than a development-enabling amendment that directly changes land capacity, infrastructure liability, or parcel-level development rights. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
Activity Centre Implications
The amendment’s core planning function was to connect the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy to the statutory scheme by amending Clause 21.04 and Clause 21.10. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) In practical terms, that makes the activity-centre hierarchy and related strategic directions relevant to future planning decisions that rely on the Municipal Strategic Statement and reference documents. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
Because the source notices do not include the text of the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy, they do not identify the number of centres, their hierarchy, floorspace expectations, retail catchments, transport assumptions, or preferred roles for individual centres. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317; Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) The only defensible conclusion from the available documents is that C151 gave statutory support to an activity-centres strategy, not that it changed the performance settings for any named centre in a quantified way. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
The year attached to the strategy changed between the preparation and approval notices: the preparation notice referred to the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy (2011), while the approval notice referred to the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy, 2012. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317; Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) That difference indicates either a revised strategy version, a final adoption date, or a Gazette naming variation, but the available source documents do not provide enough detail to determine which explanation is correct. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317; Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
Amendment Lifecycle
The amendment was at preparation and exhibition stage by 23 February 2012, when the preparation notice was published in Victoria Government Gazette No. G 8. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317) The submission period closed on Monday 26 March 2012, giving the amendment a formal public notice pathway before approval. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317)
The amendment reached approval on 26 April 2013, when the Minister for Planning approved it and the Gazette notice brought it into operation. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) The available documents therefore show a statutory pathway from preparation notice in February 2012 to operative approval in April 2013, a period of approximately 14 months between notice of preparation and gazettal. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317; Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
Planning Significance
C151 is classified here as MINOR because the available Gazette notices show a policy and reference-document change, not a rezoning, infrastructure contribution plan, growth-area framework, public acquisition, or site-specific development approval. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) The amendment still matters because activity-centre policy can influence how later permit applications, retail proposals, centre planning, and commercial land-use decisions are assessed against the planning scheme. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
The amendment’s citywide scope means it sits upstream of later centre-specific planning work, but the available Gazette notices do not identify any centre-by-centre land budget, infrastructure trigger, transport upgrade, or built-form control. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317; Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) The correct analytical treatment is therefore to record C151 as an adopted statutory policy foundation for activity centres, while treating detailed centre outcomes as dependent on the missing Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy and any subsequent scheme provisions. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
Current Status
Amendment C151 is approved and operative because the Minister for Planning approved the amendment and the approval notice stated that it came into operation on the date of publication in the Government Gazette. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) The operative date is 26 April 2013 because that is the date of Victoria Government Gazette No. G 17 containing the approval notice. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
Dependencies
- Blocks: No direct blocker is identified in the available Gazette notices because the amendment changed Clauses 21.04 and 21.10 rather than creating a staged infrastructure, rezoning, or permit pathway. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
- Blocked by: No remaining statutory blocker is identified in the available Gazette notices because the amendment was approved and came into operation on gazettal. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
- Informed by: The amendment was informed by the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy, referred to as the 2011 strategy at preparation and the 2012 strategy at approval. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317; Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
- Implements: The amendment implemented the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy through Clauses 21.04 and 21.10 of the Ballarat Planning Scheme. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
- Conflicts with: No conflict with another planning initiative is identified in the available Gazette notices. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317; Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
Cross-Jurisdictional Links
No cross-jurisdictional infrastructure authority, adjoining council, regional body, or state-agency dependency is identified in the two Gazette notices reviewed. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317; Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) The amendment appears to be a Ballarat municipal planning scheme policy change rather than a cross-boundary servicing, transport, or regional growth initiative. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)
Gaps in This Analysis
The main analytical gap is the absence of the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy itself, because the Gazette notices identify the strategy but do not provide its centre hierarchy, policy directions, commercial land analysis, floorspace figures, transport assumptions, or implementation actions. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317; Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) A second gap is the absence of the amendment explanatory report, which would normally explain the strategic justification, policy changes, consultation issues, and any changes between exhibition and approval. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317)
The source set also does not include submissions, an officer report, panel material, adopted strategy text, or the final marked-up Clause 21.04 and Clause 21.10 controls. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317; Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879) Because those documents are missing, this page cannot quantify centre-specific land supply, retail demand, transport implications, built-form settings, or contested issues arising from exhibition. (Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-preparation-c151.txt, p.317; Source: web-research-L1-post-adoption-gazette-approval-c151.txt, p.879)