Certificates and notices for GAIC land

Key information

The growth areas infrastructure contribution (GAIC) applies to land in designated growth areas and is recorded on the land title until it is paid or no longer applies. This recording restricts dealings with the land.

Liability arises when a GAIC event occurs. See understanding the growth areas infrastructure contribution for when events occur and who is liable.

You need a certificate and a notice to transfer land or register a subdivision. To proceed with building work, you only need a certificate.

We issue certificates to confirm the GAIC status of land, including any liability, exemption, deferral or amount due. We also issue notices that enable transactions and support the removal of GAIC recordings from title.

GAIC restrictions on land titles

Land within the contribution area has a recording placed against the title that restricts dealings. This recording remains until the GAIC is paid.

Once the Victorian Planning Authority has identified that land is within the contribution area, it notifies Land Use Victoria to place a GAIC recording on title. This recording appears as Notice Section 201UB in the Planning and Environment Act 1987.

Once this recording has been placed on title, transfers of title and subdivisions cannot be registered, and building works cannot proceed unless we issue a notice allowing that GAIC event to occur.

Certificates

GAIC status certificate

To facilitate land development in the contribution area, we issue certificates confirming the GAIC status of the land.

You can apply for a GAIC certificate when buying, selling, developing or carrying out building work on land within a contribution area. It is free to apply for a certificate from us.

A GAIC certificate sets out the:

• potential GAIC liability, if a GAIC event were to occur in respect of the land
• amount of GAIC due and unpaid
• amount of deferred GAIC, including interest
• amount of GAIC subject to a staged payment arrangement, including interest
• existence of a work-in-kind agreement and its impact on the GAIC liability.

These certificates can be used to form part of a section 32 vendor statement.

Certificates that allow transactions and development

We issue the following certificates to enable land transfers, registrations of a subdivision and permit applications for building works. There is no fee but we will only issue these certificates if we accept the facts stated in the lodged GAIC contribution form advising us of a GAIC event.

• Certificate of no GAIC liability confirms there is no GAIC liability for an excluded GAIC event or a circumstance where GAIC is not imposed. It allows a land transfer, subdivision or issuing of a building permit.
• Certificate of exemption confirms a particular event is exempt from the GAIC. It allows the registration of a land transfer or subdivision of land.
• Certificate of deferral confirms the GAIC liability has been deferred. It allows a land transfer to be registered.
• Certificate of staged payment approval confirms the Minister for Planning has approved staged payments. It allows the registration of a subdivision or the issue of a building permit.
• Certificate of partial release confirms part of the GAIC liability has been paid. It is issued when staged payment approval is in place and a stage has been paid, including interest. It allows the removal of a GAIC recording on the part of the land for which the liability has been paid. It is also issued for public purpose subdivisions where GAIC has been paid on that land. This allows the registration of the plan of subdivision and the removal of the GAIC recording from the public purpose land. 
• Certificate of release confirms the GAIC has been fully paid or otherwise extinguished. It allows removal of the GAIC recording on the land.

Notices

We issue notices with certificates to enable transfers of title or registration of a subdivision of GAIC affected land. These notices are provided to Land Use Victoria. 

The notices are:

• A G2 notice which is used to remove a GAIC recording from the title of the land, fully or partially. We will issue this notice when a GAIC liability has been fully or partially paid.
• A G3 notice allows changes to the title, such as a plan of subdivision or the transfer of title. We will issue this notice after events such as a GAIC deferral, an excluded or exempt event or staged payment approval.

You do not need to apply separately for these notices. We issue these notices with the relevant certificate.

Charge on land for unpaid GAIC

In addition to the GAIC recording on title, we may register a charge over the land where GAIC remains unpaid. We may register a charge if you have failed to:

• pay deferred GAIC, including roll-over GAIC, and any applicable interest that is not paid by the due date
• make a payment for any stage by the due date under a staged payment arrangement
• pay the outstanding GAIC plus interest and penalty tax arising from a failure to provide land and/or works required under a work-in-kind agreement
• pay a triggered GAIC liability by the due date.

Removal of a GAIC recording

Land Use Victoria will remove a GAIC recording when it receives a notice from the Victorian Planning Authority advising that:

• the land is no longer in the contribution area
• the GAIC recording was applied in error
• the land is not subject to the GAIC.

Land Use Victoria will also remove a GAIC recording when it receives a G2 notice issued by us. We only issue a G2 notice if:

• we have issued a certificate of partial release or a certificate of release for the land
• we are satisfied that a GAIC liability has been fully discharged.

Land types and zones

There are 4 types of land for GAIC purposes. Details of the different types of land, including the relevant zones, are set out in the table below.

Different rates of GAIC apply to the different types of land.

For some events between 2 December 2008 and 29 August 2010, different liability dates apply:

• Type A land has a liability date of 1 July 2010.
• Type B-1 and B-2 land uses the dates shown in the table.

Contact us or use our GAIC decision tool if you are unsure.