Activity Centres

Plan for Victoria and Activity Centres

The State Government released a new State planning strategy in early 2025 – Plan for Victoria replacing the previous metropolitan strategy Plan Melbourne.  This new planning strategy provides high level directions for planned growth and land use in Melbourne and the State.

Plan for Victoria, introduced a new designation for activity centres which will guide future growth:  

• Activity Centres – Housing Choice and Transport

An activity centre with sufficient public transport, facilities and services to be the location for large numbers of new homes.  

The State government is leading the planning for 60 of these Activity Centres – Housing Choice and Transport throughout Metropolitan Melbourne as part of their Activity Centre Program.  

The Activity Centre Program seeks to introduce controls supporting increased housing growth to several of Glen Eira’s Activity Centres including Moorabbin, Carnegie, Murrumbeena, Hughesdale, Elsternwick, Caulfield, Glen Huntly, Ormond and Bentleigh.

You can find more information on the State’s Activity Centre Program in Glen Eira here:

Council continues to work with the Victorian State Government to align planning for our activity centres to Plan for Victoria, and in doing so advocate for the best outcome for the Glen Eira Community.

Activity Centres in Glen Eira

At a municipal scale, Glen Eira distinguishes types of activity centres based on their size and services as Major Activity Centres (MACs), Neighbourhood Activity Centres (NACs) and Local Centres.  This aligns with the hierarchy adopted in Plan Melbourne. Our centres are shown on the below map.

We have seven Major Activity Centres: 

• Bentleigh 

• Carnegie 

• Caulfield 

• East Village – noting that this is an innovation precinct 

• Elsternwick 

• Glen Huntly 

• Moorabbin Junction 

We have 11 Neighbourhood Activity Centres: 

• Alma Village 

• Bentleigh East 

• Caulfield Park 

• Caulfield South 

• Gardenvale 

• Hughesdale 

• McKinnon 

• Murrumbeena 

• Ormond 

• Patterson 

• Ripponlea 

We also have a range of local centres. 

*Bold centres are part of the Activity Centre Program currently being undertaken by the State Government.

Structure Plans or Built Form Frameworks have been prepared for some of our activity centres to guide future use and development. This includes the Bentleigh, Caulfield, Carnegie, Elsternwick and Glen Huntly MACs, and the Caulfield Park, Caulfield South and Bentleigh East NACs. Find more information at Structure Planning.

We have prepared ‘structure plans’ for several of our busy Activity Centres.

Victorian Government’s Activity Centres Program

The Victorian Government is planning for its Activity Centres Program to provide more homes in and around 60 activity centres across Melbourne, focusing on areas near train and tram lines with good access to public transport, services, and open spaces.

The Program proposes to update current planning controls and aims to create 300,000 new homes in these areas by 2051.

The Victorian Government will be the planning authority in developing these activity centre plans. Council will be the planning authority once the new planning controls are in place, this is expected in 2026.

The program is divided into a pilot program and then two stages (tranches) and affects several of Glen Eira's activity centres as summarised below:

The Pilot Program was completed in early 2025 and new controls applied to areas in and around the Chadstone and Moorabbin activity centres.

Planning for Tranche 1 activity centres (Carnegie-Oakleigh Cluster) is now being finalised. Consultation on draft maps for the core and catchment areas and proposed building heights closed on 19 October 2025. Council has lodged its submission in response to this consultation. Council will continue to advocate for our existing Carnegie Structure Plan to be integrated into the Carnegie plan as final control are being determined in the coming months. Tranche 1 Activity Centre Plans and controls are expected to be in place in early 2026.

Planning for Tranche 2 centres (Elsternwick and the Caulfield, Glen Huntly, Ormond and Bentleigh Cluster) is now underway. Council will continue to advocate for our existing structure plan work and proposed planning scheme amendments to be used in this process. Further consultation is due to occur in February 2026.

What this means for Glen Eira

Over recent years, Council has worked closely with our community to develop structure plans for many of our activity centres including Bentleigh, Carnegie, Caulfield, Elsternwick and Glen Huntly. These Structure Plans capture local community feedback about the future vision, growth, development, open space, heritage protection, and liveability. Each of these Structure Plans have been adopted by Council and has active planning scheme amendment applications awaiting approval by the Minister of Planning. 

Generally, Council’s structure plans did not address residential areas around activity centres; instead, these areas were considered through our Housing Strategy. Our Housing Strategy shows Glen Eira has the capacity to accommodate 55,000 new dwellings between 2021 and 2036. The Victorian Government's housing target is 63,500 new dwellings in Glen Eira by 2051. As our Housing Strategy capacity figure was only to 2036, this gives us another 15 years to achieve the Victorian Government's target. 

We have shared our adopted structure plans with the Victorian Government and strongly advocated that this work be incorporated into their planning process for the Activity Centre Program.

We support good planning that improves housing options while protecting Glen Eira’s unique character and heritage. We will continue to advocate for well-planned development that protects heritage areas, delivers community benefit, and aligns with Glen Eira’s priorities and vision.

Have your say

The Victorian Government is now seeking community input on how our local activity centres should grow — including Caulfield, Glen Huntly, Ormond and Bentleigh and Elsternwick.   

The consultation involves two phases with Phase 1 now complete.

Phase two engagement is likely to occur in February 2026 and will be carried out by the Victorian State Government. For more details, visit the Victorian Government's Activity Centres Program or contact the project team on 136 186 or email activity.centres@transport.vic.gov.au. 

Council has long advocated for more meaningful local involvement in the Victorian Government’s planning process.

If you need further information, contact our City Futures team on 9524 3333 or email CityFutures@gleneira.vic.gov.au.

Council's existing structure plans

Carnegie Structure Plan and Amendment C237

Carnegie is one of the key focus activity centres in the Victorian Government’s planning reforms.

In 2022, Council adopted the Carnegie Structure Plan — a 15-year vision to guide local growth and improvement. It outlines a range of recommendations, including building heights, setbacks, and protections for sunlight in key public spaces.

The Amendment C237 proposes to introduce permanent planning controls that reflect the Structure Plan. It went through a full public process, including consultation, exhibition, and review by an independent planning panel.

The panel process was thorough and involved significant input from community members and experts. Council achieved many of its planning objectives through the panel process and accepted the panel’s recommendations.

Council adopted Amendment C237 over a year ago and has since been awaiting final approval from the Minister for Planning to include these controls in the Glen Eira Planning Scheme.

It is disappointing that the Victorian Government chose to prepare an entirely new activity centre plan for Carnegie, despite an existing adopted Structure Plan and Planning Scheme Amendment awaiting approval.

While Council was pleased to see that the boundary and heights within the Carnegie Structure Plan have been reflected in the draft plans prepared under the Activity Centres Program, it is concerning that the Minister and the Department haven’t been able to give us any details about how Council’s work will be used and how much of it will be carried across to the new activity centre plan. 

Elsternwick Structure Plan and Amendment C256 

The Elsternwick Structure Plan was adopted in 2023 and associated Amendment C256 was exhibited in early 2025. Council received several submissions to this exhibition and is advocating for the Elsternwick Structure Plan and these submissions to be included in the planning for the Elsternwick activity centre under the Activity Centres Program.  

Elsternwick activity centre is part of Tranche 2 of the Victorian Government’s Activity Centre Program. Phase 1 engagement for this centre is currently underway to understand place.  

Bentleigh Structure Plan and proposed Amendment C262 

Council endorsed the planning scheme amendment to incorporate the objectives of the Structure Plan into the Glen Eira Planning Scheme on 23 July 2024. Council has yet to receive authorisation from the Minister of Planning to exhibit this amendment. 

Bentleigh activity centre is now part of Tranche 2 of the Victorian Government’s Activity Centre Program. Phase 1 engagement for this centre is currently underway to understand place.   Phase 2 engagement is scheduled for early 2026.

Caulfield Structure Plan and proposed Amendment C245 

The Caulfield Structure Plan was adopted by Council on 20 September 2022. 

Council has prepared draft planning controls and a planning scheme amendment to implement the Caulfield Structure Plan. The draft Amendment C245glen was endorsed by Council on 21 May 2024. Council has yet to receive authorisation from the Minister of Planning to exhibit this amendment. 

Caulfield activity centre is now part of Tranche 2 of the Victorian Government’s Activity Centre Program. Phase 1 engagement for this centre is currently underway to understand place.   Phase 2 engagement is scheduled for early 2026.

Glen Huntly Structure Plan and proposed Amendment C221 

The Glen Huntly Structure Plan was adopted by Council on 23 September 2021. 

Council has prepared an Amendment which was endorsed by Council on 8 November 2023 to implement key directions in the Plan in the form of permanent planning controls for the use of land. Council has yet to receive authorisation from the Minister of Planning to exhibit this amendment. 

Glen Huntly activity centre is now part of Tranche 2 of the Victorian Government’s Activity Centre Program. Phase 1 engagement for this centre is currently underway to understand place.   Phase 2 engagement is scheduled for early 2026.