GAIC land and administration

Contribution area

The contribution area is represented by certain types of land located within the growth areas in the municipalities of:

• Cardinia
• Casey
• Hume
• Melton
• Mitchell
• Whittlesea
• Wyndham.

This is growth area land that has been zoned for urban use and development. Our forms do not allow submissions for properties not located within one of these municipalities.

There are 4 types of land for Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution (GAIC) purposes as each type of land became part of the contribution area at different times. 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.

Application of GAIC to land in the contribution area

Liability to pay the GAIC arises on the day the GAIC event first occurs in relation to the land in the contribution area, unless an exemption or exclusion applies to that GAIC event.

GAIC was intended to apply to a GAIC event that occurred during the transitional period from 2 December 2008 to 29 August 2010 in relation to land that was in the contribution area before (i.e. Type A land), or was brought into the contribution area (i.e. Type B-1 and B-2) after the commencement of GAIC. However, the liability to pay the GAIC for these transitional GAIC events arises on 1 July 2010 for Type A land and 30 August 2010 for Type B-1 or B-2 land.

If you have a transitional GAIC event, either contact us for further advice to clarify the GAIC liability in relation to that event or use our GAIC decision tool to determine what certificate you may need to apply for.

GAIC recordings on land

Affected land within the contribution area will have a recording placed against the title to the land to restrict dealings in relation to the land. This recording remains against the title until the GAIC is paid.

Once the Victorian Planning Authority has identified that land is within the contribution area, it will issue a notice to Land Use Victoria for a GAIC recording to be placed 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, on the land without a notice issued by us allowing that GAIC event to occur.

Certificates we issue

To facilitate land development in the contribution area, we issue various notices and certificates relating to the GAIC status of the land.

If you are buying, selling, developing or carrying out buildings works on land within a contribution area, you can apply to us for a GAIC certificate. There is no fee for these certificates.

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 s32 vendor’s statement.

Other certificates

To enable transfers of title, registrations of a subdivision and permit applications for building works, we issue the following certificates for land in the contribution area subject to your application. 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:

1. Certificate of no GAIC liability - Confirms there is no GAIC liability in respect of an excluded GAIC event or a circumstance where GAIC is not imposed. It facilitates the registration of a land transfer or subdivision of land or issuing of a building permit.
2. Certificate of exemption - Confirms a particular event is exempt from the GAIC. It facilitates the registration of a land transfer or subdivision of land.
3. Certificate of deferral - Confirms the GAIC liability on the land has been deferred and enables a land transfer to be registered.
4. Certificate of staged payment approval - Where the Minister for Planning has given staged payment approval, we will issue this certificate confirming the existence of this arrangement and facilitating the registration of a subdivision or the issue of a building permit.
5. Certificate of partial release - Confirms a GAIC liability has been partially paid. It is issued when a liable party has been given a staged payment approval and has paid the GAIC, including interest relating to a stage. This certificate facilitates the removal of a GAIC recording on the part of the land for which the liability has been paid. This certificate is also issued where a landowner subdivides land solely for a public purpose and the Commissioner is satisfied that the GAIC has been paid on the public purpose land. This will facilitate the registration of the plan of subdivision which creates the public purpose land and the subsequent removal of the GAIC recording on the title of the public purpose land in respect of which the GAIC has been paid. For further information, please see our bulletin about public purpose land subdivisions.
6. Certificate of release - We issue this certificate if we are satisfied that the GAIC imposed in respect of the land has been fully paid or otherwise extinguished. This certificate facilitates the removal of a GAIC recording on the land.

Notices we issue

Where applicable, certificates will be accompanied by a notice enabling transfers of title or registration of a subdivision of GAIC affected land when they are provided to Land Use Victoria. These are:

1. A G2 notice which must be presented for a GAIC recording to be fully or partially removed from the title of the land. We will issue this notice where a GAIC liability has been fully or partially paid.
2. A G3 notice which facilitates a proposed change to the title, such as a plan of subdivision or the transfer of title with Land Use Victoria. We will issue this notice following certain events, such as a GAIC deferral, an excluded or exempt event or staged payment approval.

There is no need to apply separately for these notices. They are issued in conjunction with the relevant certificate for the identified event.

GAIC as a charge on land

We may register a charge over the land for the unpaid GAIC if you have failed to do any of the following:

• 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
• an incorrect notification of a GAIC recording has been made on the land
• the land is not subject to the GAIC.

Land Use Victoria will also remove a GAIC recording when given a G2 notice issued by us, which only occurs if:

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