$30m development cash tap windfall

A SPECIAL fee to be slapped on large commercial developments in central Dandenong will reap an estimated $30 million for the State Government.
The Infrastructure Recovery Charge (IRC) that started on 1 September will be incurred on developments in the declared area of VicUrban’s Revitalising Central Dandenong project that exceed a cost of $250,000 over three years.
VicUrban senior project manager Fiona De Preu said the IRC was not intended for projects under the $250,000 cap, and that VicUrban had designed it so it would not affect single or dual occupancy developments.
Ms De Preu said the IRC fee was calculated as being 5 per cent of the total development value, which is the cost of the works plus 5 per cent of unimproved value of the land as it appears on the most recent rates notice.
Over a 15 to 20-year period VicUrban anticipates the IRC will collect $30 million for State Government coffers.