Guide to development licences

In Victoria, you need permission under the Environment Protection Act 2017 to conduct certain activities that could harm human health or the environment from pollution and waste. These activities are listed in Schedule 1 of the Environment Protection Regulations 2021 and are called prescribed activities.

Permissions include licences, permits, and registrations. You can learn more about permissions on our website. A development licence is one type of permission. Its purpose is to prevent and minimise the risk of harm before an activity starts.

When you need a development licence

Under section 44 of the Act, you must hold a development licence for prescribed development activities if you plan to:

1. construct or install plant or equipment
2. develop processes or systems
3. modify plant or equipment (except for general maintenance), processes or systems that create a risk of material harm to human health or the environment.

If you require a development licence, you may apply for an exemption from a development licence under section 80 of the Act. You can learn more about exemptions on our website.

Why development licences matter

A development licence is a preventative tool. It gives us oversight of your proposal before any part of the activity begins. The application assessment process checks that you:

• understand the risks of harm that your activity poses, or may pose, to human health and the environment
• have measures in place to eliminate or minimise those risks.

A development licence does not allow you to operate an activity. In most cases, you’ll need an operating licence after a development licence. Some activities may only require a permit or no permission at all. You can find which permission you need on our website but we always recommend you get advice before applying.

Get advice before applying

Preparing a quality application takes time and money. If you are unsure of the type of permission you need, use our free permission pathway process before you start your application.

Development licence application requirements are complex and depend on the activity. Our pathway advice can help you understand:

• whether you need a permission
• what information you will need to provide in an application.

How long it takes

We have a statutory assessment timeframe of 4 months to assess development licence applications. It can take longer if we need to request additional information to make a decision.

If we issue a development licence, it will be valid for a specified period that must cover all key development phases, including detailed design, construction, and commissioning.

Development licences are an important project milestone. It can take several years for a proposal to progress from concept to full operation. Understanding the process can help you avoid unnecessary costs and delays.

Submit your application well before your planned start date.

Our role includes managing the development licence application process. We assess applications against the statutory requirements of the Act and Regulations to determine compliance with the assessment criteria.

As part of this process, we are responsible for:

• notifying the community when we receive an application
• considering community submissions and feedback
• engaging with referral agencies
• assessing the potential risks of harm to human health and the environment
• documenting our decision-making in an assessment report
• notifying the applicant, community, and other stakeholders of our final decision.

Our Charter of Consultation explains our commitment to transparency and accountability. We aim to keep everyone with an interest in a development licence application informed about the progress of our assessment and decision-making. We mainly do this through Engage Victoria, the state government’s engagement platform.

Both applicants and affected third parties have legal rights to appeal the lawfulness or merits of our decisions.

If we issue a development licence, it will include conditions that must be met. We’ll monitor and enforce compliance with these conditions.

Applicants and licence holders

Applicants are responsible for:

• designing their proposal
• engaging community and stakeholders
• preparing and submitting application documents
• paying the application fee
• working cooperatively with us and stakeholders during our assessment process.

If a development licence is issued, the licence holder must comply with all conditions within the development licence.

To meet these responsibilities, applicants must:

• understand the process for applying and holding a development licence, and their legal obligations under the Act including all relevant duties
• demonstrate and document awareness of potential risks and the controls available to eliminate, and if that isn’t reasonably practicable, minimise them so far as reasonably practicable
• implement good design, considering best available techniques or technologies, including site selection, process design, control measures, and potential impacts
• engage early with community and stakeholders before applying, gather meaningful feedback and explain how the feedback received influenced the final proposal
• conduct robust assessments of the proposal and its potential impacts using accepted methodologies and standards
• submit complete, accurate, and high-quality documents
• participate constructively in the development licence application process, including in any EPA-led engagement
• respond promptly and fully to our requests for information and keep us informed of expected response times or delays
• maintain open communication with community and stakeholders throughout the application and development licence process.
  

EPA Portal and permission administrators

Our portal is used for:

• submitting requests, including permission pathways advice and pre-application meetings
• submitting and managing applications
• managing permissions, including amending, transferring, or surrendering your development licence.

Refer to our portal page for more information.

Permission administrators are portal users with access to advanced features. They manage requests, applications, permissions, and account details on behalf of their business.

Referral agencies

We work with other government agencies during our assessments. These agencies provide technical or regulatory expertise. Some referrals are mandatory, others are discretionary. If we receive comments from a referral agency, we must consider them in our decision-making.

If a referral agency raises concerns or needs more information, we may issue a request for information. Applicants should include referral agencies in their stakeholder analysis and engage with them early to avoid delays.

Below are our most common referral agencies and why we seek their advice.

Planning responsible authorities

Responsible authorities consider and determine planning permit applications under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (PE Act). They are usually municipal councils or the Minister for Planning. They are prescribed referral agencies for all development licence applications under regulation 22(1) of the Regulations.

They have 15 business days to advise whether:

• the activity is allowed or prohibited by the planning scheme
• a permit under the PE Act is required, has been issued or is being considered.

They also have 32 business days to advise whether they:

• support, do not object to, or object to the application
• recommend conditions if we issue a development licence.

If a planning permit is also required, consider requesting joint advertisement of notices with your development licence application.

Department of Health

The Department of Health (DH) is a prescribed agency for significant development licence applications. These are applications reasonably likely to have significant implications for public health and that meet specific criteria.

We refer these applications to the Secretary to the DH for their advice on:

• radiation (both hospital/medical, and industrial radiation)
• drinking water
• food-for-sale.

The Secretary to the DH has 15 business days to provide comments, which may include objections or recommendations. The DoH may object to the application if public health is likely to be endangered. In these cases, we must refuse the application under s 69(4)(c) of the Act.

Table 1 Common referral agencies

Public participation

Public participation is an important part of the development licence assessment process. We make better decisions when we understand community views and local knowledge. It also helps us identify and consider potential impacts of a proposal.

Learn more about how we engage with the public in our Charter of Consultation and about your application community engagement requirements.

Environment effects statements

An environment effects statement (EES) is a type of development assessment required under the Environment Effects Act 1978 (EE Act). The Minister for Planning decides whether an EES is needed following a referral.

If an EES is required, we cannot make a decision on a development licence application until the Minister has completed their assessment. We must then consider the Minister's assessment when deciding on the application.

Learn more about EES requirements in the Ministerial guidelines for assessment of environment effects on the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) website.

Joint notifications and exhibition

The EES process includes a public review and exhibition period. You may request that this process is combined with the notice and submission period for your development licence application.

Changes to review rights

You and third parties may not apply to VCAT to review our decision to issue a development licence if:

• the advertising and notification were combined and
• the development licence we have issued is substantially in accordance with the assessment of the Minister for Planning.

Planning permit or scheme amendment applications

Planning permits are a type of statutory approval for the use or development of land. Responsible authorities consider and determine planning permit and scheme amendment applications under the PE Act.

Joint notifications

Planning permit and scheme amendment applications may require a public comment and submission period. You may request that this is combined with the notice and submission period for your development licence application.

Changes to review rights

You and third parties may not apply to VCAT to review our decision to issue a development licence if:

• the advertising and notification were combined and
• a planning panel has been appointed and
• the development licence we have issued is substantially in accordance with application or amendment as heard by the panel.
  

All development licence applications go through a comprehensive assessment. However, not all applications pose the same level of risk or complexity.

We use a risk-based approach informed by science, intelligence, and evidence. This helps us focus our efforts where they will have the greatest impact.

We are committed to making decisions that are transparent and accountable. To do this, we use the permission application profile assessment as a framework for managing applications in a consistent and proportionate way.

Factors that influence an application profile rating

Two main factors influence an application’s profile rating: technical complexity and stakeholder interest.

Technical complexity factors include:

• site location and proximity to sensitive environments or public health concerns
• existing levels of background or cumulative pollution
• novelty of process or environmental control
• volume and characteristics of emissions or discharges
• volume and characteristics of waste managed or generated
• reuse of waste.

Stakeholder interest factors include:

• site location and proximity to sensitive environments or public health concerns
• the applicant’s or industry’s compliance track record or record of complaints
• level of community interest and pre-application engagement
• other regulatory approvals required, such as environmental effect statements, planning scheme amendments, or waste to energy cap licences.

Profile rating and assessment timeframes

An application with a higher profile rating is more likely to involve:

• more community engagement activities
• more submissions or referral agency comments
• extra requests for information.

These factors can affect the timeliness of our decision. Higher-profile applications should expect that we will need the full 4-month statutory assessment period. This does not include the time you need to respond to any requests for information.

In some circumstances, we may request additional time to complete our assessment.

How you can support timely decisions

You can help us make faster, more robust decisions by:

• seeking our pathways advice before you start preparing your application
• conducting thorough community and stakeholder engagement before applying
• addressing community concerns by showing how feedback influenced your proposal design
• managing technical complexity by engaging qualified professionals and subject matter experts
• submitting high-quality documents that are clear, concise, well-organised, and supported by strong evidence
• describing your process in detail and providing schematics that identify hazards and critical control points
• clearly explaining your risk assessment, including hazard identification, risk evaluation, control measures, and monitoring
• considering and assessing risks of cumulative impacts from your existing and proposed activities, as well as from surrounding and neighbouring activities, and clearly demonstrating how these risks will be managed
• proposing best available techniques or technologies or clearly justifying why they are not feasible
• meeting recommended separation distances as set out in our Separation distance guideline and Landfill buffer guideline.
  

We assess development licence applications against the criteria in section 69(3) and (4) of the Act. Additional statutory or risk-based considerations may apply depending on your proposal.

Refer to our Development licence application form and content guide to identify all relevant application requirements.

What your application must demonstrate

Your application must enable us to assess:

• how you will comply with the general environmental duty
• the impact of the activity on human health and the environment, including any environmental values in the Environment Reference Standards
• how you apply the principles of environment protection
• the use of best available techniques or technologies in the process design and controls
• whether the activity is consistent with the Act and the Regulations
• any other prescribed matter.

During the assessment, we may also request additional information to address:

• comments from referral agencies
• submissions received through our community engagement process.

Other statutory considerations

Our assessment may also include decision-making responsibilities under other legislation, such as:

• Climate Action Act 2017
• Fauna and Flora Guarantee Act 1988
• Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006.

These Acts create additional obligations we must consider when making certain decisions, such as deciding on a development licence application. You can learn more about the information we need to complete these assessments, and other frameworks to consider, in the Development licence application form and content guide.

Grounds for refusal

Under the Act and Regulations, we must refuse your application if:

• you are not a fit and proper person to hold a development licence
• the proposed activity poses an unacceptable risk of harm to human health or the environment
• the application is for a new landfill that is not listed in the Victorian Recycling Infrastructure Plan (VRIP).

We must also refuse your application if the Act or Regulations prohibit the proposal. For example:

• Regulation 19 prohibits us from issuing a permission for an activity that results in a wastewater discharge or deposit to surface waters in a special water supply catchment area

We may also refuse your application if:

• referral agencies object to the proposal
• the proposal is inconsistent with the Victorian Recycling Infrastructure Plan (VRIP)
• the proposal seeks to extend an existing landfill that is not consistent with the VRIP.
  

You must prepare your own application documents or engage a qualified professional to do so on your behalf. Your application must use the Development licence application form and content guide.

Use the form and guide to:

• understand what information is required
• ensure you submit a complete and compliant application
• avoid unnecessary delays and costs.

Key steps in preparing an application

Preparing a development licence application can be complex. Complete the following steps to meet all requirements:

• Get pathways advice
• Get professional help
• Understand your regulatory requirements
• Assess technical feasibility and regulatory alignment
• Understand the state of knowledge for your activity
• Manage risk
• Show acceptable risk of harm
• Engage stakeholders
• Engage community
• Use the application form
• Avoid common mistakes

Get pathways advice

Request pathway advice through our permission pathway process before you prepare an application. It is free and highly recommended.

We may also offer additional pre-application support, including:

• support from an assessing officer to advise you on application requirements
• meeting with our technical experts to advise you on key matters to address in your application.

We only offer this additional support if you seek pathway advice through our portal. The Permissions proposal pathway guideline has more information on preparing your pathway request.

Get professional help

Your application is a legal document once it has been submitted. Make sure it meets professional standards. This will help you avoid legal risks or complications during our assessment.

We recommend you engage:

• a suitably qualified professional to prepare your application, such as an environmental consultant
• suitably qualified subject matter experts for any detailed technical studies and reports.

If your application is low quality, we may not be able to make an evidence-based decision. In these cases, we will refuse your application.

Understand your regulatory requirements

Your application will need to show how your proposal complies with our assessment criteria. To do this you need to understand your obligations and duties under the Act.

Identify and document all relevant regulatory standards you will need to address in your application, such as:

• the Act
  • your duties
• the Regulations
• legislative tools and instruments
  • the Environment Reference Standards
  • Noise Protocol
  • waste classification assessment protocol
• compliance codes or codes of practice
• policies and guidelines.

Assess technical feasibility and regulatory alignment

Your application must show that you understand your activity, the risks it may create, and the controls needed to eliminate or minimise those risks so far as reasonably practicable. It must also be technically viable and able to meet all relevant regulatory requirements.

This may involve balancing business objectives with social, economic, and environmental requirements. For example, improving one aspect of a proposal may increase public health or environmental impacts in another. Your application should identify these trade-offs and explain how the proposal achieves the best overall public health or environmental outcome.

Understand the state of knowledge for your activity

Your proposal should reflect current information and industry knowledge about the activity, its risks, and available controls. Use relevant sources of information to prepare your application, including EPA publications, industry guidance, manufacturer information, research, and comparable development licence applications published on Engage Victoria.

Manage risk

Understanding and managing risk is central to a development licence application and your obligations under the general environmental duty. Use a risk management process to identify hazards and assess the risks of your proposal, including risks of cumulative impacts on the local environment.

This includes identifying:

• the likely or potential risks of harm to human health or the environment
• the likelihood of those risks eventuating
• the degree of harm that would result if those risks eventuated
• the availability of controls for eliminating or reducing those risks, including best available techniques or technologies
• the costs of eliminating or reducing those risks.

A documented risk management process is required as part of your development licence application and must demonstrate how risks, including cumulative risks, will be effectively mitigated or managed.

Detailed risk assessments may be required depending on the nature, scale, complexity, and risk of your activity. They are usually needed where your risk assessment identifies medium-to-high risks, cumulative impacts, sensitive receiving environments, significant uncertainty, or controls that require detailed design or precise operation.

The Development licence application form and content guide includes more information on when detailed risk assessments may be needed and the methods you should use.

Show acceptable risk of harm

We must refuse an application if it poses an unacceptable risk of harm to human health or the environment. Your application must demonstrate that any residual risk of harm associated with the proposed activity:

• has been minimised so far as reasonably practicable
• does not pose an unacceptable risk of harm, including to any values of the Environment Reference Standards
• will not emit unreasonable noise.

Use our publications and accepted assessment methods to assess potential risks of harm to human health and the environment.

Engage stakeholders

Before submitting your application, you should identify and engage with a range of stakeholders. Early and ongoing engagement with these stakeholders will help you avoid delays during assessment.

This includes:

• other government agencies that may advise you on separate statutory approvals
• any relevant referral agency listed in Table 1 Common referral agencies.

Engage community

Communities have a right to know about activities that may pose a risk of harm to their health and environment. We expect you to engage with the community early in your proposal and before submitting your application.

Use the approved application form

You must use the Development licence application form and content guide. If you do not use the approved application form, your application will be noncompliant. By law, we cannot assess noncompliant applications.

Avoid common mistakes

Common mistakes lead to delays and refusals. Avoid these common mistakes:

• ignoring our advice or not seeking pathway advice
• not using the Development licence application form and content guide
• engaging unqualified or inexperienced consultants
• not engaging technical experts or failing to verify their qualifications or their experience with similar applications
• insufficient detail on the proposal, risk assessment, or proposed controls
• a lack of supporting technical evidence
• not engaging with stakeholders and community.

Apply for a development licence

Once you have prepared your application, you must submit it through our online portal.

We will only process properly submitted applications. This means you must:

• answer all the questions in the form
• attach your application documents
• agree to all declarations and submit the form
• pay the application fee.

Learn more about how to apply for a development licence.

How to amend your licence

You may need to amend your development licence from time to time, for example to:

• update administrative details
• make minor changes to the activity’s configuration or staging.

If your amendment changes the risk profile of your activity, you may need to apply for a new development licence. The application only needs to cover the change or variation to your activity.

Before preparing an amendment application, request pathway advice through our permission pathway process.

See how to amend a licence, permit, or registration for more information.

How to transfer your licence

You may apply to transfer a development licence from the current holder to another person or organisation. You must have a written agreement to transfer the licence. The new licence holder must submit the application, not the current licence holder.

See how to transfer a licence, permit, or registration for more information.

After we assess your application, we will decide whether to issue a development licence.

Type of conditions

If we issue a development licence, it will contain conditions. All conditions are mandatory. There are 3 types:

• General conditions that apply to all development licences.
• Standard conditions that apply to each industry or prescribed permission activity, such as A01 (Reportable priority waste management).
• Specific conditions that are tailored to the development activity. We impose these conditions when environmental or human health risks are considered high. They are prescriptive and require further actions that are managed under our oversight.

If you propose a staged development, our conditions will match the complexity of each stage. They will be used to verify that each stage aligns with your approved application. We may also require further EPA approval or oversight by an EPA-appointed auditor.

The conditions we impose are guided by our approach to proportionate assessment and the quality of the application.

Commissioning under conditions of a development licence

Development licences often include conditions for commissioning. Commissioning proves the performance of the plant, equipment, system, or processes in your application.

Commissioning is usually required for activities involving:

• waste and wastewater management
• emissions, discharges, or deposits into the environment.

Our commissioning conditions cover planning, implementation, monitoring, proof of performance, and reporting. See our Development licence application form and content guide for more information about what to include in your application regarding commissioning.

Duration of a development licence

All development licences include a condition stating when they expire. You must meet all conditions and complete the approved development activity within this period including detailed design, construction, and commissioning. The duration is application-specific but will usually range from 2 to 5 years. Your application must outline a reasonable timeframe for you to complete your development activity.

Publishing our decision and notifying submitters

We publish our decisions on:

• the Permissioning Decision Register
• Engage Victoria

We also email submitters directly. We aim to notify submitters within 5 business days of our decision and inform them of their appeal rights.

Appeal our decision

You or a third party can seek a review by VCAT within 15 business days (after the day of our decision) if you object to:

• our decision to issue a development licence
• the conditions of the development licence
• our decision to refuse a development licence.

For details, visit Appeal our decision.

If we issue a development licence, it will have an expiry date. You must complete your development activity by this date, including meeting all conditions of the development licence. If your activities are staged, you must complete them in the approved sequence.

Start your development activity

You must notify us when you start development activities.

Email Permissions@epa.vic.gov.au and include your development licence number and the relevant condition code.

Reporting or submission requirements

Development licences may include conditions that require you to submit reports or documents with additional technical details, plans, or designs for approval. These conditions usually require implementation or monitoring plans, such as a construction and environment management plan, or the final detailed designs of an environmental control.

We use these conditions when these details are not technically or financially feasible to provide at the application stage. These conditions verify that your activity, or part of it, matches your development licence application and meets all requirements.

These conditions usually limit your ability to commence your development activity, or the relevant component of the activity, until we are satisfied that the required reports or documents are acceptable. These conditions may also contain additional requirements, such as requiring reports, plans, or designs to be prepared or endorsed by a suitably qualified professional.

Submit these reports by emailing Permissions@epa.vic.gov.au and include your development licence number and the relevant condition code.

Commissioning

Some development licences require commissioning. This verifies that your activity meets the standards detailed in your application. Our commissioning conditions cover planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting.

The sequence for commissioning is:

• submit a commissioning plan for our approval before you start commissioning
• submit a monitoring report at the end of the commissioning period. The report must show the results of your proof of performance testing
• complete commissioning by the end of the validity period.

You cannot operate your activity until your commissioning results show compliance with the information that you provided in your development licence application.

Risk management and monitoring program

Development licences may include a condition requiring you to prepare a risk management and monitoring program (RMMP). The RMMP should be developed for your operating phase only. We may request part or all of your RMMP when you apply for an operating licence.

Preparing a risk management and monitoring program has more information.

Financial assurance

We may require a financial assurance as a condition of a development licence. This applies to certain prescribed activities as listed in Regulation 167 of the Regulations. They are:

• A01 (Reportable priority waste management)
• A05a (Landfills (excluding municipal landfills servicing fewer than 5,000 people))
• A13a (Large-scale waste and resource recovery)
• A13b (Medium-scale waste and resource recovery)
• G04 (Bulk storage)
• L02 (Onsite soil containment for contaminated sites)

We decide whether financial assurance is needed by applying the risk assessment criteria outlined in Regulation 168 of the Regulations. The risk assessment criteria cover:

• the risk of harm to human health and the environment
• your history of compliance
• if you are a prohibited person
• your financial capacity
• the risk of abandonment
• how much clean-up might cost

Each case is assessed individually. Financial assurance may be required to cover the potential costs of clean-up or remediation related to the activity.

Generally, financial assurance is more likely to be required if the site will:

• accept or store priority and/or reportable priority waste
• construct a landfill cell under the development licence.

Evidence of completion of development activities

You must not operate the activity until you have completed the development activities and received written confirmation from us. There are two options for obtaining this confirmation. We may conduct an inspection of the activity as part of either of the verification processes.

Requesting written evidence

Request this confirmation by emailing Permissions@epa.vic.gov.au and include your development licence number. Include a summary of how you have satisfied each condition of your development licence.

Applying for a section 73 statement

You may also apply for a statement from us confirming whether we are satisfied that you have completed your development activity. This is referred to as a section 73 statement. It is not mandatory to apply for a statement, but it is highly recommended.

We must provide a statement within 20 business days after receiving an application. There is currently no application fee when applying for a section 73 statement.

Apply by emailing Permissions@epa.vic.gov.au and include your development licence number. Include a summary of how you have satisfied each condition of your development licence.

We may conduct an inspection of the activity as part of the verification process.

Requesting an extension of time

You may request an extension of time if you are unable to complete your development activities by the end of your licence validity period.

Email Permissions@epa.vic.gov.au and include your development licence number. We will only consider requests that include:

• clear mitigating reasons why an extension of time is required
• a revised completion timeline.

We cannot consider requests after the validity period has expired.

Compliance checks

We may inspect your activity during the validity period of your development licence. These inspections verify whether the processes or plants are being implemented or constructed to the approved specifications.

We may initiate compliance and enforcement activities if we detect any non-compliance with the requirements of the development licence.

Permission requirements

In most cases, an operating licence is required after a development licence. However, some activities only require a permit or may not require a permission to operate.

Apply for an operating licence or permit through our portal. If your development licence modifies an existing permissioned activity, apply to amend your current permit or operating licence.

More information on permits or operating licences is available on our website.

If you do not need a permission to operate, you must still meet all your duties under the Act. We may inspect your activities to check compliance.

Operating licence applications and section 73 statements

If you are applying for a new operating licence and you hold a development licence and a section 73 statement confirming you have completed your development activity, you will:

• receive a decision within 15 business days
• not have to pay an application fee.

If you have not obtained a section 73 statement, you will:

• receive a decision within 42 business days
• pay an application fee.