title: Amendment GC101 - Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan council: mitchell state: vic category: amendment classification: MAJOR status: approved last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:
- GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf
Amendment GC101 - Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan
Amendment GC101 matters because it turns the Donnybrook-Woodstock Precinct Structure Plan infrastructure list into a statutory funding mechanism across land in both Mitchell Shire and City of Whittlesea. The incorporated ICP applies a residential monetary levy of $201,499.42 per net developable hectare and a public purpose land contribution of 15.05% of residential NDA, so the amendment is not just a planning control: it is the cost-recovery and land-transfer machinery for roads, bridges, intersections, community facilities, sports reserves and local parks needed to urbanise the precinct (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.1, 24, 29-30).
Background
The Donnybrook-Woodstock ICP was prepared by the Victorian Planning Authority with assistance from Whittlesea City Council, Mitchell Shire Council, service authorities and other major stakeholders (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.4). It was prepared in conjunction with the Woodstock and Donnybrook PSPs, which identify the future urban structure, infrastructure projects, public purpose land, encumbrances and parcel-specific net developable area for the precinct (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.5).
The ICP is implemented through Schedule 1 to Clause 45.10, the Infrastructure Contributions Plan Overlay, in both the Whittlesea Planning Scheme and the Mitchell Planning Scheme, and is an incorporated document under Clause 81 (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.4). The plan adopts a long-term development outlook, is projected to run until development is complete about 20 years after gazettal, and is expected to be reviewed every five years or more frequently if required (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.5).
Analysis
Funding Mechanism and Levy Burden
The ICP covers 1,785.94 gross hectares but charges the monetary levy only against 1,032.78 hectares of residential NDA; the incorporated document identifies no commercial or industrial NDA in the ICP area (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.5, 38). This means 57.83% of the total precinct area is treated as net developable residential land for levy purposes, while 753.16 hectares is outside NDA because it is allocated to transport, schools, conservation, waterways, utilities, open space, existing developed land or other excluded categories (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.38).
The residential standard levy is 200,689 per NDHa, made up of 114,062 for transport and 86,627 for community and recreation (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.29). The supplementary levy adds 810.42 per residential NDHa for transport, producing a total residential monetary levy of 201,499.42 per NDHa (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.29-30). Across the identified 1,032.78 residential NDHa, the ICP expects to collect 208.105 million through the monetary component, comprising 207.268 million in standard levy revenue and 0.837 million in supplementary levy revenue (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.1).
The mechanism is simple in planning terms: subdivision or development creates a payment obligation, and the levy is tied to net developable hectares rather than gross land area (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.29-31). Payment is generally required after certification of a plan of subdivision and no more than 21 days before statement of compliance, with staged subdivisions able to pay stage-by-stage if a schedule of infrastructure contributions is submitted (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.30-31). Where development proceeds without subdivision or without a building permit trigger, the ICP still requires payment before development commences unless the collecting agency agrees otherwise through a section 173 agreement (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.31).
Transport Infrastructure as the Largest Standard Levy Driver
Transport is the largest uncapped infrastructure category in the standard levy, with 117.801 million apportioned to the ICP from 135.104 million in listed standard transport project costs (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.9-13). The external funding exposure is material because several projects are not 100% internal to the ICP: the Cameron Street bridge is apportioned 50% to the ICP and 50% to the Lockerbie DCP, while three Donnybrook Road pedestrian or intersection projects are partly apportioned to the Shenstone Park ICP (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.10-11). The practical effect is that delivery of parts of the road network depends on coordination beyond the Donnybrook-Woodstock ICP area, not just collection within this ICP (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.7, 10-11).
The standard transport program includes five road projects: Cameron Street, Gunns Gully Road, two sections of Patterson Drive and Koukoura Drive, all described as interim two-lane arterial or secondary arterial carriageway works excluding intersections (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.9-10). It also includes the Cameron Street bridge over Merri Creek and the Melbourne-Sydney railway, a Patterson Drive culvert, a Patterson Drive bridge over Merri Creek, three signalised pedestrian crossings and 17 intersection projects (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.10-13). The high number of intersection items shows that the ICP is not only funding corridor construction; it is funding the junction capacity needed to make the new arterial and connector grid operational (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.11-13).
The supplementary transport levy is narrower and funds three culvert or bridge items with a total estimated cost of 1.002 million and an apportioned ICP cost of 836,987.97 (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.13). Two of those supplementary items are Growling Grass Frog habitat-suitable culvert or bridge crossings of Darebin Creek, which means the supplementary levy is connected to environmental passage requirements as well as drainage or movement function (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.13).
Community and Recreation Funding Gap Created by the Cap
The community and recreation construction list totals 116.954 million, but the Ministerial Direction cap limits collection to 86,627 per NDHa (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.15-17). Applied to 1,032.78 residential NDHa, that cap supports about 89.467 million in levy revenue, leaving an implied unfunded difference of about 27.487 million between listed project costs and capped levy collection (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.1, 15-17, 29). The ICP states that items will be provided as soon as practicable and as soon as sufficient contributions are available, while acknowledging the development agency’s capacity to provide the balance of funds not collected by the ICP (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.17).
The community building program includes seven centres: five Level 2 community activity centres, one Level 3 community activity centre with family resource centre and branch library at Koukoura Drive, and two Level 1 community activity centres at Woodlands and Merristock (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.15-16). The sports reserve program includes seven reserves, with listed facilities covering soccer, tennis, AFL/cricket, netball, lawn bowls and multi-purpose pavilions (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.16-17). The construction schedule therefore ties residential growth to a distributed community infrastructure network rather than a single central facility (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.15-17).
Public Purpose Land Equalisation
The land component requires 155.47 hectares of public purpose land, equal to 15.05% of residential NDA and about 8.71% of the gross precinct area (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.1, 24). The land contribution is split into 47.68 hectares for transport public purposes and 107.79 hectares for residential community and recreation public purposes (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.24). In proportional terms, about 30.7% of the public purpose land is for transport and about 69.3% is for community and recreation (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.24).
The ICP equalises public purpose land because facilities cannot be spread evenly across all parcels (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.24). Parcels that provide more than the 15.05% average are entitled to land credit amounts, while parcels that provide less than the average owe land equalisation amounts (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.24-25). The incorporated document identifies 31.7765 hectares above the average and 31.7765 hectares below the average across the PSP, but the cash values are marked with asterisks because the land equalisation and credit amounts were to be adopted after the valuation and dispute resolution process under Division 4 of Part 3AB of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.25-28).
This is a significant analytical limitation: the ICP identifies which parcels are over-providing or under-providing public purpose land, but the available incorporated document does not provide the dollar value of the land credit or equalisation payments (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.1-2, 25-28). Without those values, the page can identify the spatial burden of land provision but cannot quantify the parcel-level cash equalisation burden (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.25-28).
Land Budget and Constraints Embedded in the ICP
The land budget shows that only 1,032.78 hectares of the 1,785.94-hectare precinct is NDA, which means 42.17% of the gross precinct is assigned to non-NDA functions before residential yield is calculated (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.38). Open space is the largest non-NDA category at 579.88 hectares, or 32.5% of the gross precinct (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.38). Conservation reserve alone accounts for 372.82 hectares, or 20.88% of the gross precinct, while waterway and drainage reserve accounts for 63.37 hectares, or 3.55% of the gross precinct (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.38).
The land budget also identifies 111.77 hectares of transport land, 59.21 hectares of community and education land, 27.33 hectares of utilities easements, 14.58 hectares of municipal open space, 0.39 hectares of post-contact heritage reserve and 2.31 hectares of existing developed land (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.38). These figures show that the ICP’s levy base is materially smaller than the gross precinct area because conservation, waterways, education, transport and open-space functions absorb substantial land before NDA is counted (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.38).
Administration, Works in Kind and Exemptions
Whittlesea City Council and Mitchell Shire Council are both collecting agencies for levies payable under the ICP, and each council is the development agency for projects identified in its municipal area (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.29). This creates a cross-municipal administration model: the same incorporated ICP applies across the growth area, but delivery responsibility follows municipal boundaries (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.29).
The ICP permits works in kind for monetary component items only where the works are listed ICP projects, timing is agreed, the works are secured through a section 173 agreement, and detailed design and construction meet the development agency’s standards (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.32). The land component, land equalisation amounts and land credit amounts cannot be accepted as works in kind, which means land transfer and land equalisation remain separate from construction delivery credits (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.32).
Government and non-government schools are exempt from paying the infrastructure contribution levy, and housing provided by or on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services is also exempt (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.31-32). The exemption matters because the land budget includes 32.34 hectares for government schools and 20.47 hectares for potential non-government schools, meaning education land is part of the urban structure but not part of the monetary levy base (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.38).
Current Status
The available incorporated document is dated July 2018 and describes the ICP as commencing on incorporation into the Whittlesea and Mitchell planning schemes (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.4-5). The manifest identifies the initiative status as pending, but the source document filename identifies the July 2018 ICP as approval gazetted; this page therefore treats the statutory ICP document as approved while noting that no later review document was included in the supplied corpus (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf).
Dependencies
- Blocks: Development cannot avoid the ICP payment and land-transfer framework where subdivision or development of residential NDA triggers a monetary levy, land equalisation amount or public purpose land requirement (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.29-31).
- Blocked by: Timely infrastructure delivery is affected by available contributions, development agency funding capacity for amounts not collected by the ICP, and coordination with external funding sources including Lockerbie DCP and Shenstone Park ICP (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.10-11, 17).
- Informed by: The ICP relies on the Donnybrook-Woodstock PSP, including its infrastructure rationale, public purpose land requirements, encumbrances and parcel-specific land budget (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.5).
- Implements: The ICP implements the infrastructure contributions mechanism under Part 3AB of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the Ministerial Direction on the Preparation and Content of Infrastructure Contributions Plans (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.4).
- Conflicts with: The available source does not identify unresolved submissions or policy conflicts, but it does disclose a funding tension where community and recreation project costs exceed the capped levy collection amount (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.15-17, 29).
Cross-Jurisdictional Links
The ICP is cross-jurisdictional because it is implemented in both the Mitchell and Whittlesea planning schemes and was prepared with both councils, the VPA, service authorities and other major stakeholders (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.4-5). The transport program also has explicit links to other infrastructure funding areas: the Cameron Street bridge depends on a 50% contribution from the Lockerbie DCP, and multiple Donnybrook Road pedestrian or intersection items depend partly on Shenstone Park ICP apportionment (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.10-11). These links mean the delivery of the Donnybrook-Woodstock movement network is partly contingent on adjoining precinct funding frameworks, not only on levy collection inside the ICP area (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.10-11).
Gaps in This Analysis
The supplied corpus contains the incorporated ICP text and a duplicate web-research capture of the same source, but it does not include the Donnybrook-Woodstock PSP, PSP background reports, transport assessment, drainage assessment, biodiversity material, land valuation report, panel material, submissions or post-2018 ICP review material (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, p.5). Because those documents are absent, this page cannot verify dwelling yield, staging triggers by lot count, servicing constraints, biodiversity offset requirements, detailed road modelling, contested issues raised during exhibition, or the final dollar values for land equalisation and land credits (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.5, 24-28). A corpus gap should be recorded for the full Donnybrook-Woodstock PSP package and any later ICP review because the incorporated ICP expressly relies on PSP background reports and anticipates five-year reviews (Source: GC101IncorpDoc-Donnybrook-WoodstockInfrastructureContributionsPlanJuly2018ApprovalGazetted.pdf, pp.5, 17).