A Section 173 Agreement will generally be a requirement of a condition placed on your planning permit. Not all planning permits require one, but you will need to read your conditions carefully and act on it if there is a requirement to do so.

A Section 173 Agreement is a legal contract made between us and any other party or parties, under Section 173 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. There are a number of requirements set by us and the Title Registration Service that you, as the landowner, need to meet when entering into a Section 173 Agreement.

Why would I be required to enter into a Section 173 Agreement?

An Agreement specifies what a person can or can not carry out. An agreement will provide for specific requirements set out by us where a planning permit condition may not be enforceable or where there is a specific obligation that is required to run with the Title of the land (so that future landowners are bound by the requirement).

An Agreement may provide for:

• The prohibition, restriction or regulation of the use or development of the land;
• Conditions which the land may be used or developed for specified purposes;
• Any matters intended to achieve or advance the objectives of planning in Victoria or the objectives of the planning scheme or an amendment to the planning scheme.

A Section 173 Agreement may be used:

• to establish monetary contributions for road construction;
• to prevent the further subdivision of land;
• to provide for the provision of infrastructure;
• to protect native vegetation;
• to provide for maintenance of a facility or property. 

Who prepares a Section 173 Agreement?

Agreements are normally prepared by your solicitors. The cost of preparing agreements is met by you, the applicant.

What must be considered when preparing a Section 173 Agreement?

The following requirements are set out by the Title Registration Service and should be forwarded to your solicitor to assist in the preparation of an agreement:

• Attachments must not be included with Agreements. If a reference must be made to a particular plan or permit, simply refer to its reference number, rather than attaching a copy of the document.
• In some cases, it may be appropriate to attach a diagram or plan. This should be done where only part of the land in a title is affected by the Agreement and the diagram or plan assists in defining the affected part.
• The agreements must be prepared on white good quality paper (A4 size), in an acceptable font size (minimum 11 point size font) and quality press print to accommodate imaging by Land Registry and retrieval by others for search purposes.
• All pages must be in black print and printed single side only.
• Any essential attachment must be referred to in the body of the agreement.

What is the process for Section 173 Agreements?

• We request your solicitors forward a draft copy of the agreement to the Council Planner involved in your application to ensure that all requirements set by the planning permit conditions have been included. Confirmation that the agreement is suitable to process will be directed to your solicitor.
• Three (3) copies of the agreement, signed by all parties, must then be submitted to us for signing by our delegate. One copy of the agreement will be sent back to you, one kept by us and the third copy is forwarded to the Title Registration Service for registration.
• A processing fee of $209.00 (incl GST) is required for the approval and registration of the agreement. This fee covers the cost of our legal fees and fees for lodgement of the Agreement with the Title Registration Service.
• We arranges the lodgement of Section 173 Agreements with the Title Registration Service.
• We then wait for confirmation of a "dealing number" (formal proof of registration of the agreement on your Title). Notification will be forwarded to you via your representative when this is received.

Please note that the content provided in the Information Sheet does not constitute legal advice in relation to the Agreements. We encourage you to obtain your own legal advice when preparing a Section 173 Agreement. An 'example document' is provided for you to access that shows the required layout and structure of a Section 173 Agreement.

Attachments

• Section 173 Agreement information sheet(PDF 141kb)
• Example S173 document template(Word 42kb)