Today’s Age (https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/car-park-requirements-set-to-be-scrapped-in-planning-shake-up-20251202-p5nkak.html) carries a story on the government’s intention to remove the need for ANY onsite car parking spots in developments close to train stations and transport modes. To ‘compensate’, developers will have to pay $11,000 per dwelling for infrastructure of which council will receive 75% of the charge and the government the rest.
Insanity is one word to describe this latest action. Late in 2024 we published a post that analysed the state of car ownership in Glen Eira – particularly how residents living in both single bedroom and two bedroom homes owned cars. Our data came from the 2021 ABS census results. Here is the table produced at that time. We can only assume that car ownership has increased since then given the population increase.
We also wrote at the time the following:
If we do a simple calculation based on the above data, we can see that:
- Only one quarter of residents in single bedroom homes do not own a car (ie 26%)
- In two bedroom homes only 12.9% do not own a car
Thus if we have 75% of residents living in single bedroom homes owning cars, and 87% who reside in two bedroom dwellings also owning cars, what does this say about the requirements for adequate onsite parking? What does it say about off street parking becoming impossible for the majority of residents if onsite car parking waivers are the norm as illustrated with the recent Halstead Street application? And let’s not forget that council has already mooted that it intends to REDUCE the requirement for onsite parking in our major activity centres in the very near future.
The Age article also makes note of the government’s claim that 40% of onsite car spots remain empty. Really? How was this data collected and by whom? Did the analysis take place in the morning, afternoon, evenings, weekends? Put simply, the myth that living near public transport means that residents will not have cars is nonsense as proven by the ABS census.
Ad hoc planning, and virtue signalling is the hallmark of this government, as well as allocating 25% of any development contribution paid into its coffers instead of to councils.
Glen Eira Debates 
December 3, 2025 at 3:03 PM
The figures come from 2021. I think it’s fair to say that the rate of car ownership has gone up. It’s not unusual to find that families often have more than one car, depending on the number of kids living at home.
You have to wonder whether government policy even bothers to look at the latest research. Each change is based on undisclosed data, and is pie in the sky that ignores reality.
December 3, 2025 at 10:01 PM
The Allan Government’s latest thought bubble is the quid pro quo for all the money the development industry donates to the major political parties. They don’t have a coherent set of policies and hope nobody scrutinises them. Hence they were stuck for answers to basic questions about the policy. They’re still encouraging car ownership through their tens of billions of dollars invested in road infrastructure around Melbourne. They’re quite prepared to compromise residential amenity if/when it suits. And they whinge when their own policies create a shortfall of parking to meet demand–it was only a few months ago Steve Dimopoulos tried to blame GECC for insufficient car parking in Carnegie when it was his government that failed to provide sufficient parking for rail patrons and encouraged them to parking in surrounding streets instead. I wish our media did a better job of holding these politicians to account. Since Steve made the allegation that GECC had promised to build more carparking, I’d like to see the text of that alleged Council resolution.
December 7, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Sure thing Dimo lets go ahead and start clearing out homes in and around activity centres for a few extra parking spaces, what could possibly go wrong? I’m sure developers who have been eyeing those spots for their future high-rise glory will be absolutely delighted to watch their future profits get paved over for sedans and SUVs. Theres nothing like a feel-good planning “strategy” that completly nukes its own long-term goals.