The Building Victoria's Recovery Taskforce has recently been established through the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). The taskforce will identify a number of 'shovel-ready' projects throughout Victoria to support activity in the real estate, planning and construction sectors.
The intent of the Taskforce is to provide a formal pathway to facilitate expedient approvals for projects which will keep Victoria’s planning and construction industries moving.

The Project Fast-Track Team (PFTT) is currently inviting submissions for priority projects that may be recommended to the Minister for Planning for expedited planning processes. DELWP has recently released the criteria for assessment as a priority project. The assessment process is in two stages:

Stage One – Threshold criteria for Taskforce triage

The PFTT will assess whether the project meets a preliminary threshold criteria.

First, the applicant must establish that the project warrants Ministerial intervention. Key considerations include the state or regional significance of the project and whether it delivers public value. Policy objectives will also be considered, including whether the application raises fairness, public interest or a major planning policy issue, and whether the decision has been unreasonably delayed.

It will also involve a preliminary consideration of whether the seven key assessment criteria can be established .

Stage Two – Priority projects assessment criteria

The PFTT will assess seven main criteria:

Economic

The project should deliver a significant short to medium term economic impact.

Social and environmental

Social projects may include those that contribute to social infrastructure, community facilities or local procurement and supply chain opportunities.

Environmental projects may include those that contribute to emissions reduction.

Policy alignment

The project should align with government policies and priorities. This may include projects that support essential services, vulnerable communities and industries or government funded projects.

Stakeholder views 

Stakeholder views, including the Council, referral authorities and the public, should be known or able to be ascertained through an expedited process. Alternatively, the project may warrant an exemption from notice requirements. 

Project complexity and speed

Factors to be considered include the time period for benefit realisation and the state of understanding of any technical and compliance issues involved.

Project feasibility

The project must be "shovel ready" and satisfy financial risk, non- financial risk, project risk and economic impact thresholds.

There must be evidence of market demand for the project and that financial arrangements are in place.

Probity

Safeguards must be in place or available to ensure the probity and integrity of the fast-track application.

To ensure you meet the criteria and be assessed as a priority project, our team can help you evaluate and submit eligible projects.