What Is a Plan of Subdivision?

What is a plan of subdivision?

A plan of subdivision is the Victorian name for the surveyed plan that divides land into new lots. It is the legal document behind every new title: once it is registered, the old title is cancelled and each lot on the plan gets its own.

The Subdivision Act 1988 sets out the path every plan follows. The person who wants the plan registered must have it prepared to the Act's standards, submit it to the council for certification, obtain a statement of compliance, and lodge it with the land registry. In practice a licensed surveyor prepares the plan and lodges it through SPEAR, the Victorian Government's online system for subdivision applications, referrals and lodgement.

The plan is one part of the wider subdivision process, which also includes planning approval and works. If you are buying a lot that does not have a title yet, the proposed plan is what you are buying from; see buying an unregistered land lot.

What does a plan of subdivision show?

The plan shows everything that defines the new lots and the rights over them:

• Lots: each lot's number, boundaries, dimensions and area.
• Roads and reserves: land set aside as a road or reserve, which vests in the council or other body named on the plan when the plan is registered.
• Common property: shared land such as a driveway, garden or car park, owned by the lot owners together in shares set by their lot entitlement.
• Easements: existing and new easements, with their purpose and the land or authority they benefit, for example drainage, sewerage or carriageway.
• Restrictions: limits on how lots can be used or built on, such as a building envelope, which take effect when the plan is registered.
• Owners corporations: whether the plan creates one or more owners corporations, which lots and common property each affects, and each lot's entitlement and liability.
• Notations and stages: notes from the surveyor or council and, for a staged subdivision, which stage the plan covers.

Not every right appears as a line on the plan. The Act implies easements on some plans, for example on land affected by an owners corporation or a plan that subdivides a building, covering support, shelter, services such as water, sewerage, drainage and electricity, and rights of way, where they are needed for the reasonable use of each lot. Our guide to easements explains how easements work on a title.

When does a plan of subdivision create an owners corporation?

Whenever a plan includes common property, it must create at least one owners corporation. The plan states whether each owners corporation is limited or unlimited, and which lots and common property it covers.

The plan also sets two numbers for each affected lot:

• Lot entitlement: the lot owner's share of the common property.
• Lot liability: the share of the owners corporation's administrative and general expenses that the lot owner pays.

The owners corporation comes into existence when the plan is registered, and the owners of the lots become its first members. A two-lot subdivision with a shared driveway can create one just as a large apartment block does, so check for it before you buy or subdivide. When a lot sells, the buyer's conveyancer obtains an owners corporation certificate, and our comparison of community and strata title covers shared schemes in other states.

How is a plan of subdivision certified and registered?

A Victorian plan moves through council certification, a statement of compliance and registration. The main steps are:

1. Prepare and lodge the plan. A licensed surveyor prepares the plan and submits it to the council for certification through SPEAR, either with the planning permit application or after the permit issues.
2. Referral to authorities. The council sends the plan to referral authorities, such as the water corporation and the power distributor, within 7 days. Each has 35 days to consent, ask for changes or refuse, and is taken to consent if it does not reply in time.
3. Council certification. The council certifies the plan when it complies with the Act, the planning scheme and the permit, and every referral authority has consented. It has 21 days for a plan that is not referred and 49 days for one that is, with the clock stopped while changes are made.
4. Works and payments. You carry out the works the permit and the authorities require, or secure them with an agreement, and pay any open space or development contributions.
5. Statement of compliance. The council issues a statement of compliance once it is satisfied that the requirements have been met, or that an agreement secures them.
6. Lodge for registration. The certified plan is lodged with Land Services Victoria with the statement of compliance and the written consent of any mortgagee or other person with a registered interest. Plan lodgements have had to use the SPEAR electronic lodgment network since 29 April 2024.
7. Registration and new titles. Plans are generally registered within 15 business days of lodgement. Roads and reserves vest in the council, easements and restrictions take effect, any owners corporation is created, and each lot gets its own title.

Certification lasts five years, so the plan has to be registered within that time, and a permit to subdivide usually expires if the plan is not certified within two years of the permit issuing. For the timing of each stage, see how long subdivision takes; for the fees, see subdivision costs.

What is a plan of subdivision called in other states?

Every state uses a surveyed plan to create new lots, but the name, the supporting documents and the approval before registration differ.

In NSW the section 88B instrument is the document that lists each easement, restriction or covenant the plan creates, the lots it burdens and the lots or authorities it benefits, while the plan shows where each one sits. In SA, new strata plans have not been accepted for deposit since 1 June 2009, so new shared schemes use community plans. Older titles in some states refer to earlier plan types, which our guide to registered and deposited plans explains.

Why does the plan matter when you buy or sell?

The registered plan is part of what you are buying. Before you sign, your conveyancer reads it alongside the title search to check:

• that the boundaries and area match what you were shown
• easements that limit where you can build, such as a drainage or sewerage easement along a boundary
• restrictions such as building envelopes or single-dwelling covenants
• whether an owners corporation affects the lot, and the lot liability you will pay

When you sell a lot in Victoria, the vendor statement given to the buyer draws on the same title and plan information; see the Section 32 guide. If you are subdividing and selling lots before registration, the contract refers to the proposed plan, and changes to it after signing can give the buyer rights, so involve your conveyancer before agreeing to any change. ConveyDirect arranges fixed-fee quotes for subdivision conveyancing.

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules, fees and timeframes change and differ between states, so confirm your own situation with a licensed conveyancer, settlement agent or solicitor.