Supporting the Education Pipeline: Navigating Approvals and Masterplans
Beveridge Williams provides planning and development services for an increasing number of school and education projects across Victoria, New South Wales, and the Northern Territory, working with both government and non-government clients in growth areas, regional centres and peri-urban locations.
Recent projects include new and expanding schools in Ballarat, Sale, Shepparton, Echuca, Swan Hill, Bairnsdale and Cranbourne. We also work with the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) over a long period, providing due diligence and site assessment services as it considers a range of sites across Melbourne’s growth corridors for the establishment of new government schools. We regularly assist landowners and developers with advice and recommendations when they are navigating the acquisition process where their land has been earmarked for future school use under Precinct Structure Plans (PSPs).
Our services span planning advice and masterplanning through to contamination assessments, engineering input, and survey. At Ballarat Grammar, our team is also providing project management services for a staged master plan – coordinating subconsultants, managing utilities, and supporting implementation. In New South Wales, our SUI and surveying teams are on the Schools Infrastructure Panel for Land Surveying Services, with recent surveys completed at Bourke Public School and Menindee Central School.
In NSW and the NT, our Clouston design division has developed long-standing working relationships with major universities, including the University of Sydney, Charles Darwin University, the Desert Knowledge Centre, Alice Springs and Western Sydney University. These relationships have helped with campus masterplanning and open space design to assist with the expansion and ongoing development of their campus’s and lands. Our focus when working with Universities is to use a principle-based design approach to ensure we are providing the people who use the spaces every day the best environment to learn and grow. This work encompasses master planning, concept development, documentation, and construction services. Our work has included strategic planning of six Catholic University Campuses in Victoria. In NSW we also have experience in the design and documentation of school campus’s for example at Rowland Hassall special needs school. In the Northern Territory we provided design and documentation for Rosebury Education precinct and Mackillop Catholic College.
We assist clients by identifying risks early, navigating approval processes, and resolving site-specific issues – particularly where school sites interface with residential, employment or mixed-use development, or where infrastructure servicing constraints exist.
Whilst planning approvals for government schools in Victoria are generally exempt under Clause 16 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, consultation with councils is expected to ensure integration with surrounding uses. Non-government schools are typically subject to permit requirements depending on the scale and nature of development. In 2023, the Victorian Government confirmed that the Minister for Planning is now the responsible authority for new non-government schools and upgrades over $3 million. These are assessed via a fast-tracked pathway managed by the Department of Transport and Planning. Smaller upgrades (under $500,000) may be eligible for VicSmart processing in certain zones.
A school site masterplan is a common feature of many projects – a long-term strategic plan that guides a school’s staged development over time. A well-prepared master plan supports flexibility, allowing minor works to proceed without new approvals where they remain consistent with the endorsed plan.
Beveridge Williams’ deep understanding of land use planning across residential, employment and mixed-use contexts provides valuable insight when advising on school and campus development. With growing investment in education infrastructure, particularly in regional and peri-urban areas, early planning input is critical to keeping projects on track.
What sets Beveridge Williams apart is our ability to resolve complex issues, provide strategic and practical guidance, and work collaboratively with stakeholders to support timely, integrated school delivery.