State Government Activity Centres

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The State Government has proposed new planning controls aimed at delivering housing growth in and around 60 Activity Centres close to train and tram lines across Melbourne as part of the Train and Tram Zone Activity Centres Program. This follows State Government planning reforms announced within Plan for Victoria.

Of the 60 identified Activity Centres, 15 are within the City of Stonnington. They are being implemented in three stages: 

Pilot: Implemented

Stage 1: Implemented

Stage 2: Final maps have been released. Implementation is expected in July or August 2026.

Recent Updates

Stage Two - Final maps released

The State Government released the final maps for Stage 2 of the Train and Tram Zone Activity Centre Program on Friday 26th of June 2026. 

Some changes have been made from the draft plans:   

  • The majority of heritage precincts within the catchment areas have been changed from Housing Choice and Transport Zone HCTZ1 (Inner Catchment) with a height limit of 4 storeys (6 on sites over 1000m2) to HCTZ2 (Outer Catchment) with a lower height limit of 3 storeys (4 on sites over 1000m2) 

  • Additional streets are proposed to have sunlight protections, including Grattan Street, Greville Street and Carlton Streets in Prahran, parts of Mathoura Road in Toorak, Beatty Avenue and part of Rose Street in Armadale and parts of Winter Street, Union Street, Station Street and Claremont Street in Malvern. 

  • In the ‘Activity Centre Cores’ around the commercial shopping strips there have been changes to heights in some locations: 

  • Heights have been decreased in 6 locations, including small parts of South Yarra on the northern end of River Street; a section of Station Street and Claremont Avenue, Malvern; between Grattan Gardens and Izett Street in Prahran; and some scattered small sites in South Yarra and Prahran. 

  • Heights have been increased in 11 locations, including large parts of Toorak Village, and scattered sites in South Yarra fronting Toorak Road and Chapel Street, central Prahran and Hawksburn Village. 

Whilst site specific changes have occurred, there have been no broad changes to heights within activity centre cores.  

City of Stonnington continues to advocate for better outcomes for our community regarding heritage precincts and planning controls. The changes made in the final plans partially respond to issues Council raised about protecting heritage and sunlight to important streets. However, concerns related to urban design and the transparency of the planning process have not been addressed.  

A formal submission to the State Government responding to the draft plans was prepared by City of Stonnington. This was endorsed by Council on 16 March 2026, and you can read it here: Stage Two Submission  

Council has also produced indicative maps(PDF, 3MB) comparing the initial TTZAC maps with the final released maps.

You can view the State Government’s final plans here:  

South Yarra to Windsor 

Hawksburn to Malvern (and Toorak Village) 

Caulfield (Malvern East) 

Stage One - Implemented

The State Government has finalised planning controls for Stage 1 of the Activity Centres Program, and the new controls were implemented on 31 March 2026 through planning scheme amendment GC270.  

These controls allow:

  • Heights of 6-12 storeys in commercial areas in Activity Centre ‘cores’. 
  • Heights of 3-4 storeys in residential ‘catchments’ within approximately 800m of the ‘cores'. Heights of up to 6 storeys are allowed on residential lots over 1000sqm closer to the cores.

A formal submission to the State Government responding to their draft plans has been prepared by City of Stonnington. This was endorsed by Council on 27 October 2025, and you can read the Stage One Submission(PDF, 18MB).

Further information

We acknowledge the need for additional and diverse housing. Our population is growing and changing. It is important to guide this growth to protect and enhance our much-loved streetscapes and highly valued heritage and neighbourhood character. We must also consider how growth affects infrastructure needs and climate readiness, including canopy cover and greening.

City of Stonnington has a comprehensive existing system of planning controls. These controls were developed with extensive community and expert input and respond to local needs while facilitating growth.

We have progressed projects to improve planning in the municipality, including the Housing Strategy and Neighbourhood Activity Centres Framework, which Council formally adopted on Monday 8 September 2025.

These strategies demonstrate how we can meet future housing needs. They identify potential to accommodate 67,000 additional dwellings, exceeding State Government targets for 50,000 dwellings by 2050. This evidence-based approach responds to local context, including heritage and neighbourhood character. We conducted substantial community engagement to inform our work. 

We continue to advocate to the State Government in line with these strategies. Planning needs to consider more than just the heights of new buildings. We need to encourage well-designed, sustainable development while enhancing characteristics that make our neighbourhoods great places to live, work and visit.

The planning controls for the area around Chadstone Shopping Centre were developed by the State Government were gazetted in April 2025 into the Stonnington Planning Scheme. They provide for development of:

  • Six storeys in a ‘core’ area close to Chadstone Shopping Centre.
  • Three to six storeys within the 800m ‘walkable catchment’ of Chadstone Shopping Centre.

Updated controls were introduced into the Stonnington Planning Scheme on 10 April 2025, through Planning Scheme Amendment GC252.

A formal submission to the State Government responding to their proposal was prepared by the City of Stonnington. This submission was endorsed by Counil on 16 September 2024, and you can read the Pilot Program Submission.

The State Government has finalised planning controls for Stage 1 of the Activity Centres Program, and the new controls were implemented on 31 March 2026 through planning scheme amendment GC270.  

These controls allow:

  • Heights of 6-12 storeys in commercial areas in Activity Centre ‘cores’. 
  • Heights of 3-4 storeys in residential ‘catchments’ within approximately 800m of the ‘cores'. Heights of up to 6 storeys are allowed on residential lots over 1000sqm closer to the cores.

A formal submission to the State Government responding to their draft plans has been prepared by City of Stonnington. This was endorsed by Council on 27 October 2025, and you can read the Stage One Submission(PDF, 18MB).

Minimal changes were made by the State Government between their draft plans and the final plans:  

  • Proposed heights were not substantially changed.
  • Core boundaries remained the same, except for around Darling Station, which was slightly reduced to exclude residential areas between Malvern Road and the station. 
  • Areas subject to heritage and neighbourhood character overlays in the residential ‘catchment’ areas have been reassigned to ‘outer catchment’ areas (3 to 4 storey building height), but are not excluded from HCTZ as requested by Stonnington.

The final planning controls do not reflect the controls proposed in the City of Stonnington’s Neighbourhood Activity Centres Framework.  

Stage 1 Activity Centres included: 

  • Tooronga Station
  • Glen Iris Station
  • Gardiner Station
  • Darling Station
  • East Malvern Station 
  • Holmesglen Station

Stage 1 Activity Centres outside of Stonnington that impact properties within Stonnington, include: 

  • Carnegie Station (City of Glen Eira) 
  • Murrumbeena Station (City of Glen Eira)

Further information regarding Stage One Activity Centres can be found on the State Government Stage One - Tooronga to Holmesglen webpage.

The State Government released the final maps for Stage 2 of the Train and Tram Zone Activity Centre Program on Friday 26th of June 2026.

A formal submission to the State Government responding to their draft proposal has been prepared by City of Stonnington. This was endorsed by Council on 16 March 2026, and you can read the combined submission Stage Two Submission(PDF, 22MB) . 

City of Stonnington is continuing to advocate for better outcomes for our community as the State Government finalises the plans.  

Stage 2 Activity Centres include: 

  • South Yarra Station
  • Prahran Station
  • Windsor Station
  • Hawksburn Station
  • Toorak Station
  • Armadale Station
  • Malvern Station

Stage 2 Activity Centres outside of Stonnington that impacts properties within Stonnington, include: 

  • Caulfield Station (City of Glen Eira) 

Information Webinar

Watch our Webinar Recording: Planning Law Changes and our Plan for Growth, which includes information about the State Government changes, and an outline of Council's strategic work to guide appropriate growth in Stonnington.

Further information

Additional information about the Activity Centre Program can be found on the State Government Train and Tram Zone Activity Centres Program website.

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