Strategic Extractive Resource Areas

Safeguarding Victoria’s resources for future growth

A house being constructed.

The quarry sector is playing a key role in the state’s economic development, infrastructure boom and the construction of 800,000 new homes by 2034.

To keep transport and construction costs down, the Victorian Government has developed Strategic Extractive Resource Areas (SERAs). SERAs work to ensure that quarry materials are sourced close to where they will be used for construction.

By using planning controls to secure quarry materials, SERAs will help communities better understand where quarries might be in the future, taking into account neighbouring developments, environmental and community aspects as well as cultural heritage.

SERAs help better identify existing and potential quarry sites so they are more clearly considered in the assessment of other local developments, which will help to protect the supply of quarry materials into the future.

SERA roll-out

Three proposed SERAs  underwent 6 weeks of public consultation between 2 October and 18 November 2024. These SERAs are located in areas near:

  • Lang Lang (Shire of Cardinia)
  • Oaklands Junction (City of Hume)
  • Trafalgar (Shire of Baw Baw)

Details of the proposed SERAs are on Engage Victoria.

As part of this SERA initiative, engagement is occurring with local councils, Traditional Owners, government agencies, and other groups. Industry, landowners and the general public also have had the opportunity to be consulted.

The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) are reviewing submissions received from the public.  A final decision on the proposed SERAs will be made by the Minister for Planning in 2025, taking into account the views of stakeholders and Traditional Owners and advice from DTP.

For more information on SERAs, download the fact sheets from Engage Victoria.

Frequently asked questions

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SERAs indicate the locations of existing quarries and potential future quarries in areas close to where the raw materials are needed for construction and infrastructure projects. SERAs aim to identify and safeguard land with the highest potential to supply material to build Victoria’s future, taking into account the surrounding natural, cultural, and existing land uses, and supporting transport networks.

SERAs are also used to provide buffers to existing quarries so they can continue to operate, by ensuring sensitive or incompatible land uses are not built too close to an operating quarry.

SERAs apply a suite of existing planning controls in areas where access to potentially valuable quarry materials such as sand, stone and gravel may be at risk because of new sensitive or incompatible land uses. SERAs serve as strategic land markers in the planning system, indicating locations where extractive resources may exist and ensuring they are considered in land use decision making.

The planning controls that SERAs provide include:

  • utilising the Special Use Zone (SUZ) for existing quarries
  • applying a State Resource Overlay (SRO1) to areas that have been identified as potential new or expanded quarries in the future
  • applying a separate State Resource Overlay around existing quarries as a buffer.

A SERA is not an approval for a quarry. All proposals for new and expanded quarries in Victoria, including in SERAs, must be assessed under the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990 and the relevant Council’s planning scheme, as well as a range of environmental, water and cultural heritage legislation and regulations.

The demand for rock, sand and gravel in Victoria continues to rise. SERAs will help ensure there is a long-term supply of quarry materials available to meet this growing demand so that current and future generations can affordably build homes and infrastructure.

SERAs better identify potential quarry sites so they are more clearly considered in the assessment of local development and buffer zones. This will help to avoid potential impacts on quarries, and adjacent landowners or occupants.

SERAs provide greater certainty to industry, land use planners and the community to better inform future land uses well in advance, by defining the locations of strategic state resources in the planning system while considering other existing land uses, environmental assets and community interests.

Baw Baw, Cardinia and Hume were chosen because they have a significant resource of strategic importance to the state’s growth, and to keep construction costs down we need to ensure that rock, gravel and sand come from places close to where the material will be used.

Cardinia is part of the fast-growing south-eastern metropolitan region of Melbourne. It is also recognised for its significant sand reserves, producing about 16 per cent of all sand and gravel in Victoria. Baw Baw is anticipated to become a key source of sand in the medium to longer term for metropolitan Melbourne as existing sand supply sources closer to Melbourne become depleted. Hume is amongst an area of high demand for extractive resources for housing and major infrastructure and produces substantial supply of hard rock.

No. SERAs focus on ensuring the Victorian planning system clearly identifies where state-significant quarries are located now, and where they might be located in the future to minimise potential land use conflicts.

While the changes apply new zone and overlay controls to manage quarries in three local government areas, the SERAs themselves do not approve new or expanding quarries.

All proposals for new quarries in Victoria, including in SERAs, must be assessed under the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990 and the relevant Council’s Planning Scheme, as well as a range of environmental, water and cultural heritage legislation and regulations.

In some cases, a new or expanded quarry will be referred to an Environment Effects Statement (EES) process, which will assess the impact of the proposal.

Page last updated: 21 Aug 2025