Gippsland Regional Growth Plan

The Gippsland Regional Growth Plan is also known as the Gippsland Integrated Land Use Plan (GILUP) and is one of eight regional growth plans being prepared across Victoria. It will provide a broad direction for regional land use and development as well as detailed planning frameworks for key regional centres.

On this page:

Gippsland mapAbout the region

The Gippsland region is located in the south east of Victoria and includes coastline extending from Phillip Island to the New South Wales border.  The Princes Highway, Bass Highway and South Gippsland Highway provide major road links to Melbourne. Regional rail services provide a connection between Melbourne and Bairnsdale.

The networked centres of Traralgon, Morwell and Moe-Newborough comprise Gippsland’s major regional city. Other important regional centres include Sale, Bairnsdale, Warragul, Wonthaggi, and Leongatha.

The region’s economy has traditionally been based on natural resources, mining and agriculture, including manufacturing of food products. Gippsland’s brown coal resource and electricity generation infrastructure is of state and national significance. Dairy farming is a significant contributor to Australia’s domestic supplies and overseas exports.

A number of significant natural assets also exist in the region including Wilsons Promontory National Park, Gippsland Lakes, Alpine National Park and Ninety Mile Beach.

The Gippsland Integrated Land Use Plan covers the municipalities of Bass Coast, Baw Baw, East Gippsland, Latrobe, South Gippsland and Wellington.

About regional growth plans

The regional growth plans will provide the means to implement the strategic land use and infrastructure directions that are set out in the Regional Strategic Plans.

Regional growth plans are being prepared in a partnership between local government and state agencies and authorities.

The regional growth plans will:

  • identify important economic, environmental, social and cultural resources to be preserved, maintained or developed
  • provide direction for accommodating growth and change including residential, employment, industrial, commercial, agricultural and other rural activities
  • show broadly which areas of land can accommodate growth and which are to be maintained, including consideration of the infrastructure needed to support growth or change
  • help councils by streamlining planning policy as well as potentially reducing the amount of strategic work councils have to do.

Developing the plan

A Strategic Directions brochure was developed and made available for stakeholders and the community to consider and provide feedback. This consultation phase closed on 10 August 2012.

An interim report on the consultation outcomes is now being prepared and will help to inform preparation of the draft Gippsland Regional Growth Plan.

Other recent activities for the project included a land use Integration Workshop held in Traralgon on 16 August 2012. The workshop was based around three main economic themes that have significant spatial and land use implications in Gippsland - agriculture and forestry, tourism, and earth resources. These themes were then overlaid with environmental values and natural hazards. Comments and maps developed by the workshop stakeholders will help inform the draft plan.

The project team has also recently completed a series of meetings with each of Gippsland's councils to better understand their local settlement planning, and how this contributes to a broader picture of population growth and land supply within the region.

A series of background reports on agriculture, tourism, commercial centres, infrastructure, and natural assets will soon be completed, and will provide a comprehensive base of information to inform preparation of the draft plan.

The project team is now commencing preparation of the Draft Gippsland Regional Growth Plan.

Get involved in the planning process  Aerial shot of Lakes Entrance

Opportunities for community engagement

There will be opportunities for the community to provide comments and ideas to help shape the plan and its main directions.

Community consultation will occur in two stages:

  1. Consultation on emerging strategic directions for the plan
  2. Consultation on the draft Gippsland Regional Growth Plan
The consultation period for the plan's emerging strategic directions has now been completed. A brochure outlining emerging directions for the plan was prepared as part of the intitial consultation phase.Consultation on the draft plan is scheduled to commence April -May 2013.

Your views

If you have any feedback or questions about the project or information on this website please contact:

  • Craig Birch Senior Project Manager, Department of Planning and Community Development,  71 Hotham Street, Traralgon VIC 3844
  • Email: Gippsland.RGP@dpcd.vic.gov.au
  • Fax: (03) 5172  2100

For information about our privacy policies please refer to our privacy statement below.

Background and issuesRolling hills of West Gippsland

Gippsland Regional Strategic Plan

The regional strategic plan, the Gippsland Regional Plan, was developed in 2010. The plan sets out the strategic priorities and infrastructure directions for the region. It was prepared in the region and represents regional stakeholder's aspirations and agenda for regional development and long term strategic planning.

View the Gippsland Regional Plan on the Regional Development Victoria website.

The plan identifies ten priority areas for Gippsland:

  • Low Carbon Economy Transition and Building Economic Resilience
  • Post Secondary Education and Training
  • Gippsland Gateways (Freight and Public Transport)
  • Centre for Sustainable Technologies
  • Gippsland Lakes Sustainable Development
  • Health and Wellbeing
  • Integrated Land Use
  • Gippsland’s Water
  • Broadband Connectivity
  • Tourism Infrastructure
It also identifies issues, challenges and opportunities for land use planning in Gippsland, including:
  • the need to address population growth including changes to land use and infrastructure development
  • establishing urban residential growth areas based on each area’s growth potential
  • improving the function, capacity and amenity of the region’s commercial centres
  • identifying the region's natural resources including coal and high value agricultural land
The Gippsland Integrated Land Use Plan provides an opportunity to refine, test and implement these directions through Victoria's planning system.

Regional planning issues for Gippsland

As part of the initial phase of preparing the Gippsland Integrated Land Use Plan, a draft issues paper has been prepared in consultation with state and local government partners and other agencies.

The draft issues paper includes background information about the settlement, infrastructure, community, economic and environmental characteristics of Gippsland.

It refers to existing work and policy that has been undertaken as part of planning for the region. This background material has been used to help identify the important issues that will shape the future policy directions of the Gippsland Integrated Land Use Plan.

Download a copy of the draft issues paper:

Accessible Version: Download a copy of the emerging directions brochure:
Accessible version:

Project timeline

An indicative timeline and project phases are shown below:

Phase   2011 2012 2013
1. Project Establishment
 June - September

2. Data Review
 July - December

3. Prepare Issues Paper

 September -

 January
4. Integrated Issues Analysis
February - September
5. Strategic Directions Consultation
June - July
6. Prepare Draft Regional Growth Plan
October - March
7. Draft Plan Consultation

April - June
8. Final Draft Plan Prepared

July - September
9. Final Endorsement

October

Managing the project

The Gippsland Integrated Land Use Plan is being prepared in a partnership between local government and state agencies and authorities.

A project steering committee provides overall strategic direction for the development of the plan.

A technical working group includes expertise from state and local government as well as key agencies such as water authorities and catchment management authorities.

Coordination of the project is being provided by the Department of Planning and Community Development’s Gippsland Region office.

Project Steering Committee members include:

State Government:Yarragon Village Craft Shop

Councils:

Catchment Management Authorities:

Contact us

If you would like any further information, or would like to be included in future community engagement about the Gippsland Integrated Land Use Plan, please contact our project team on telephone: (03) 5172 2530 or by email at Gippsland.RGP@dpcd.vic.gov.au

Privacy

If you provide feedback or information via this website, the personal information is collected by the Department of Planning & Community Development (DPCD) and/or its contracted service provider for the purposes of recording public comment relating to the Gippsland Integrated Land Use Plan project.

Collection of this information is required to allow members of the community to be involved in the planning process. We may use the information to consult with you in activities such as making draft documentation available for feedback and other community consultations etc. Your information may also be included in a report that may be made available to the public in various ways, including by publication to the general public on our website. However you can contribute to this project anonymously if you would prefer.

You can request access to your personal information by contacting DPCD's Traralgon Office. If normal access cannot be given to you, contact DPCD's Freedom of Information unit by phone (03) 9208 3112 or by email foi@dpcd.vic.gov.au.

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