Introducing the 2026 Victorian Local Heritage Guidelines

The new Victorian Local Heritage Guidelines (May 2026) have officially been released, effectively replacing Planning Practice Note 1 (PPN01). Following an extended preparation period and industry input, the new framework represents a step in the right direction for the heritage planning sector. It moves the conversation away from isolated heritage overlays and integrates it into broader strategic planning realities.  

Key Takeaways

• Strategic Alignment: The guidelines tell planning authorities to evaluate how a new Heritage Overlay impacts other state and local policies, including housing and employment.

• Net Community Benefit: Councils should now balance heritage objectives against sustainable development targets to deliver a net community benefit.  

• Proactive Policy is Essential: Local Government Areas (LGAs) should consider modern, forward-looking heritage strategies to address conservation in the context of other strategic priorities.

Balancing Heritage with Strategic Growth

For developers and property owners, the most significant shift is the recommendation for strategic assessments when applying the Heritage Overlay. Under the new guidelines, councils should have regard to Ministerial Direction No.11 – Strategic Assessment of Amendments.  

A Heritage Overlay can no longer be applied in a vacuum. A strategic assessment of a proposed Heritage Overlay:

• Identifies relevant state and local planning policies, including settlement, housing, activity centre and employment policies.  

• Evaluates how the Heritage Overlay impacts the achievement of these policies and determine if it delivers a net community benefit.  

• Recommends whether any changes are required to council's strategic framework, structure plans, or local policies to manage potential policy conflicts.  

This provides a contextual and planning anchor. It ensures that when Council's apply or update heritage overlays, they are also weighing the commercial and social realities of 21st-century urban needs—like increased housing density and development opportunties.

From PPN01 to the 2026 Guidelines: What Continues

The core foundation of Victorian local heritage assessment remains intact. The eight recognised heritage HERCON criteria (Criteria A through H) continue to underpin significance testing. The mechanism for statutory protection also remains unchanged: places of local significance are still managed through the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay (Clause 43.01).

Statements of Significance still adopt the familiar 'What is significant?', 'How is it significant?', and 'Why is it significant?' structure. However, the new 2026 Guidelines identify how this data should be integrated into the planning scheme, demanding a higher standard of evidence to withstand planning panels scrutiny.  

The Break: A New Era of Statutory Precision

Where PPN01 offered high-level, flexible guidance, the 2026 Guidelines introduce a more structured methodology. This breaks from past precedent in several critical areas that will directly impact heritage review feasibility and planning scheme amendments:

The Two-Step Assessment Test: Heritage consultants can no longer rely on one-step threshold judgements. Part A of the new guidelines identifies the 'Basic Test' (does the place meet the condition of the criterion?) followed by a 'Threshold Test' (does it meet the local significance threshold?). This demands greater analytical rigour from the outset and follows the approach of the state Victorian Heritage Register and the Heritage Council of Victoria.

The End of Municipal Categorisation Maps: Historically, councils relied on broad municipal maps or lists to grade properties. The new guidelines establish the incorporated Statement of Significance—specifically its mandated property table—as the single, definitive source for identifying Significant, Contributory, and Non-contributory sites. This provides far greater clarity for stakeholders and communities.

Codifying Non-Contiguous Heritage: PPN01 briefly touched on group listings. The new framework introduces formal definitions and structural rules for Group, Thematic, or Serial (GTS) listings. This allows geographically dispersed sites that share common heritage values to be managed efficiently under a single HO number, streamlining the documentation process .  

Balancing Competing Policies: PPN01 focused on identifying significance. The 2026 update takes a broader commercial and civic view. Applying a Heritage Overlay now requires a strategic assessment (under Ministerial Direction No. 11) that balances conservation against other VPP objectives, such as housing supply, activity centre growth, and employment targets.

These changes signal a maturation of the heritage review approach. Desktop reviews and generic citations will no longer suffice when proposing or challenging a Heritage Overlay. The technical threshold for statutory protection has been definitively raised.

Resolving Tension Through Local Frameworks

While the new guidelines confirm that a Heritage Overlay listing should be implemented in a way that complements the strategic framework of the planning scheme, significant tension will remain in practice. Proposed Heritage Overlay listings will inevitably sit alongside aggressive housing, activity centre, and employment targets. How that tension is resolved at the local level will be watched closely.

Now, the Victoria Planning Provisions (VPPs) to be updated to provide a more functional, modern heritage overlay framework for all LGAs, to help property owners, decision makers and communities to achieve conservation outcomes in line with the new guidelines.

Is Your Council Preparing for a Heritage Review?

The transition to the 2026 Guidelines requires Local Government Areas to rethink how municipal heritage studies are structured, assessed, and justified. From applying the new two-step assessment test to balancing heritage protections with housing and activity centre policies under Ministerial Direction No. 11, statutory rigour is more essential than ever.

The Guidelines provide opportunities for Local Government to adopt creative, contextual, and evidence-based approaches that appropriately calibrate new and existing Heritage Overlays. HOs now must achieve conservation, alongside other strategic local and community priorities.

Heritage Workshop partners with local governments across Victoria to deliver independent, forward-looking heritage reviews and policy frameworks. If your council is developing a project brief or inviting tenders for upcoming municipal heritage studies, gap analyses, or Thematic Environmental Histories (TEHs), we provide the practical, evidence-based advisory needed to meet the new state standard.

Reach out to Dr James Lesh and the team at Heritage Workshop to discuss your procurement requirements and ensure your next heritage strategy delivers a clear net community benefit and meets the new guidelines.