In the lead up to the 2026 State Election, Labor committed to allowing dogs in pubs. But that announcement leads to a far more important question of: what about groundhogs in live music venues?

The need to formally recognise and protect live music venues via targeted Planning Scheme content has been gaining traction in recent years. But frustratingly, there has been little in the way of actual controls implemented at a municipal level, despite specific attempts having been made.

Four years is a long time in politics, but if you were to cast your mind back to the 2022 State election, on 19 November 2022, Labor made a specific election commitment to implement a Cultural Precinct Planning Overlay (CPPO) to protect live music venues. Four years on, the CPPO never materialised, while on the eve of the caretaker period for the 2026 election, a Live Music Overlay (LMO) has been gazetted into the Victorian Planning Provisions (VPPs).

Labor’s announcement regarding protections for live music precincts has been generally welcomed across the music industry. Although those voices of support perhaps do not fully appreciate the complexities and time involved in progressing matters through the planning system, and what work is still required to be undertaken to give on-ground statutory effect to an LMO covering a designated live music precinct.

As it currently stands, the introduction of this LMO in and of itself does nothing to protect live music venues. Rather, the LMO is merely a tool for Councils’ to potentially use – or not. Likewise, based on the background strategic work involved, and the lengthy Planning Scheme Amendment (PSA) process required to formally implement it, the introduction of any LMO could be years away. Perhaps as long as the next State Election in 2030!

While Labor can now smugly say their 2022 election commitment to introduce an overlay to protect live music venues has been achieved, to utilise another animal related metaphor, this comes across more as the weasel words of politics. The lack of current overlay protections for live music venues, and the length of time still required to implement them would be of little comfort to the live music industry.

But this article on live music venues and the planning system is not focused on election commitments alone. Prior to the 2022 election commitment, positive moves had been made towards acknowledging and seeking to protect live music venues. New controls were introduced in 2020 via VC183, and specifically included the introduction of:

• A new State Policy – Clause 13.07-3S – Live Music which established a specific statewide policy recognizing the social, economic, and cultural benefits of live music, and directed Councils’ to proactively encourage, create, and protect live music opportunities.
• Updated Clause 53.06 – Live Music Entertainment Venues

 
Of note, a specific strategy within the newly introduced Clause 13.07-3S sought to:

“Identify areas where live music venues are encouraged or where there are high concentrations of licensed premises or clusters of live music venues”.

With this strategy clearly encouraging Councils to implement ‘live music precincts’, the City of Port Phillip took up the call and developed Victoria’s first declared St Kilda Live Music Precinct. Hansen Partnership assisted Council with the St Kilda Live Music Precinct Study, and specifically Stage 2: detailed investigations & recommendations.

The body of work undertaken resulted in the preparation of PSA documentation to formalise the St Kilda Live Music Precinct and embed it within the Port Phillip Planning Scheme. Based on AmVC183’s new planning framework, key elements of the proposed approach involved implementing:

• A new policy at 07-3L St Kilda Live Music Precinct, which includes the St Kilda Live Music Precinct (SKLMP) boundary map
• A schedule Clause 53.06 – Live Music Entertainment Venues, to list current key venues.

 
Following detailed drafting, the required PSA documentation was lodged with the Planning Ministers Office on 2 May, 2024 to obtain the required pre-authorisation. Once obtained, it would have allowed the PSA to be progressed, and its details to be rigorously examined and independently tested. However, pre-authorisation of the PSA was never granted, and the work has languished unprogressed since.

Now that the LMO has been introduced as a VPP tool, no doubt the City of Port Phillip has the option to review, revise and update prior completed work, before a further PSA package is prepared, and pre-authorisation sought again. This is all before the amendment can properly commence. It is then not unreasonable to suggest that the reworking of prior material and subsequent amendment process may take a number of years to complete.

Given this article’s rather dry analysis of planning controls, it warrants reemphasising that live music venues constitute a significant and integral part of Melbourne’s cultural landscape. But appropriate and robust planning scheme protection has been sorely lacking in actual implementation, despite best intentions. For many music industry advocates who have been agitating for the prompt implementation of planning scheme controls to protect existing live music precincts (as well as support new ones), the release of the LMO only amounts to further delays. In a pragmatic sense little progress has been made since AmVC183 in 2020, or the following 2022 election promise.

With any locally targeted live music precinct controls still being potentially years away from formal implementation, it certainly feels the live music venues are stuck in an unwanted and unwarranted ‘groundhog day’ loop. Given the cultural currency they provide for Melbourne, live music venues deserve better.

But whatever the outcome of the upcoming election, I would hope groundhogs are banished from live music venues sooner rather than later.

Article Author:
Richard Stevenson,
Senior Associate, Strategic Planning