Melbourne Maps Reveal Govt Highrise Housing Solution

Towers up to 16 storeys could be coming to some of Melbourne’s most affluent suburbs according to draft maps detailing 25 new train and tram zone activity centres for the city.

The Victorian Government has released the maps outlining proposed building heights and boundaries for the activity centres as part of its strategy to deliver more than 300,000 homes by 2051.

The draft plans target areas within walking distance of public transport infrastructure across Melbourne’s established suburbs.

Hampton, Kew Junction, Hawthorn, Auburn and Oakleigh have the highest proposed limits of 16 storeys in designated core areas next to transport hubs.

Carnegie, Hughesdale, Glenferrie, North Brighton, Middle Brighton and Sandringham would accommodate buildings up to 12 storeys under the proposals.

Premier Jacinta Allan said the “plan to make this city fairer” was motivated by “too many people … locked out of suburbs where they want to live”.

The 25 centres include seven areas connected to the Metro Tunnel network, three stations along the Belgrave-Lilydale line benefiting from five-minute peak services, and four Sandringham line stations with eight trains per hour during peak periods.

Five Glen Waverley line stations with up to nine hourly peak services are also included.

Core areas around stations would operate under fast-tracked approval processes, with eligible developments deemed to comply with planning rules and exempt from Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal review.

▲ Glen Waverley is among five on its namesake line proposed for increased building heights.

Buildings exceeding specified heights would require standard planning approval processes.

Surrounding catchment areas propose more moderate development limits.

Inner catchments, with up to a five-minute walk from stations, would allow four-storey buildings or six storeys on sites exceeding 1000 square metres.

Outer catchments—areas up to 10 minutes from transport—propose three-storey limits or four storeys on larger blocks.

Heritage and landscape overlays would remain in place across catchment areas, and existing resident rights to appeal would be unchanged.

Community consultation will be held this month and next, focusing on heights, setbacks and boundaries detailed in the draft maps.

The government received more than 3000 submissions during initial consultation rounds, and nearly 2000 people attended information sessions.

▲ Murrumbeena Station on Melbourne's first SkyRail elevated railway.

Urban Development Institute of Australia Victorian chief executive Linda Allison welcomed the plan but said market conditions remain challenging for medium and high-rise apartment development.

“Right now, the conditions for developing—particularly medium and highrise apartments—is extremely difficult in Victoria,” Allison said.

Consultation for all 50 planned activity centres is to be completed by early next year.

Victoria’s housing strategy—which includes transit-oriented development through the Suburban Rail Loop project, greenfield expansion via Precinct Structure Plans, and adaptive reuse of government assets—has helped create the nation’s biggest pipeline of new residential land.

It’s the state most economists are betting on as most likely to achieve its assigned portion of the National Housing Accord.

“I would say Victoria is the only state with ability to get close to its target,” Oxford Economics lead economist Maree Kilroy said at the Oxford Economics Housing and Construction Outlook 2025 summit.

Scroll below to see the draft maps for all zones