Parliament of Victoria | Legislative Council | Bills
17 June 2026
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan Region):
The Planning Amendment (Restricting New Fast Food Developments) Bill 2026 seeks to strengthen the authority of local governments to determine whether new fast-food establishments should be permitted within their municipal boundaries.
The bill amends the Planning and Environment Act 1987 to:
- ensure that public health is an appropriately weighted priority when decisions are made about the use and development of land, including by restricting use and development of lands for fast-food development (proposed section 4(2)(db));
- amend the planning scheme to provide for the regulation or prohibition of land for fast-food outlets (proposed section 6(2)(ea));
- ensure that before approving an application for a fast-food outlet the responsible authority has considered whether the applicant has demonstrated that the outlet will not cause harm to the public health of residents of the municipal district in which the land is situated; and has considered:
- the applicable land’s proximity to schools;
- the number of fast-food outlets within a 5-kilometre radius of the land; and
- local obesity or public health data for the municipal district in which the land is situated;
- set aside the decision of VCAT in McDonald’s Australia Limited v Darebin CC [2026] VCAT 283 and reinstate the decision of Darebin City Council in application P1041/2025.
This is a timely bill and one that empowers local communities, residents and businesses, and their councils, to have a say over fast-food developments proposed for their neighbourhoods.
The bill comes in the wake of the VCAT decision to overturn Darebin City Council’s rejection of an application to build a McDonald’s in Northcote – a development that was met with overwhelming community opposition.
Northcote is far from being the only community to oppose the expansion of the fast-food industry in this state. Many of you would know of the local opposition to the development of a McDonald’s in Castlemaine. We are seeing a similar situation in Phillip Island and in Bendigo.
Local governments have attempted to give expression to the strong opposition conveyed by the parents, families and young people of their community but have invariably seen their decisions overturned on appeal by corporations to VCAT.
Even while local governments are legally obligated under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 to protect, improve and promote public health, they cannot do this under the current planning framework, which facilitates the uncontrolled expansion of the fast-food industry.
The impacts on health and wellbeing are profound
Evidence shows a consistent link between regular fast-food consumption and increased risk of chronic diseases, driven by its high-calorie, low-nutrient composition and its contribution to inflammation and weight gain.
These negative effects and poor health outcomes are exacerbated among low-income populations and in outer-suburban and growth area environments. In Australia, children from disadvantaged communities are twice as likely as children from more advantaged communities to be above a healthy weight.
Melbourne is officially Australia’s fast-food capital. Its growth areas have experienced a near-doubling of outlets between 2008 and 2016, leading it to be accurately described as a food swamp by Deakin University researchers. In some parts of our city there are now nine fast-food outlets for every healthy food outlet.
Fast-food consumption has surged in Australia, raising critical concerns for public health. Pre-COVID industry research found that Australians were spending around a third of their weekly food budget on fast food, rising to nearly 40 per cent for 18- to 35-year-olds.
Worse still, Victorian and Australian taxpayers are subsidising the profits of the $30 billion multinational fast-food industry. The Obesity Evidence Hub has shown that the economic burden of chronic dietary-related ill health will pass $60 billion by 2030 and reach $230 billion by 2060, fully 3 per cent of Australia’s GDP.
Safeguarding community health and wellbeing, especially of vulnerable populations including young people, must be a principal priority of the Victorian planning framework. Consistent with the agency pillar of the FAO definition of ‘food security’, Victorian communities must be able to meaningfully shape their local food environments.
Internationally, more and more jurisdictions are recognising the cost of the unchecked development of fast-food outlets.
Countries with comprehensive public health and nutrition regulations – such as taxation on unhealthy food, advertising restrictions and strong planning controls – report lower dependence on fast food and improved public health outcomes.
Research has also found that a multidimensional policy strategy results in a significant density decrease in fast-food outlets. These policies include restrictions from schools, control of density of fast-food restaurants and limits through the obesity rates of children. More than half of local authorities in the UK have now introduced one or more elements of these policies to improve public health outcomes.
In Ireland, ‘no fry zones’ of 400 metres from schools and early years centres have been introduced to decrease the public health burden of childhood obesity.
And in Australia, the South Australian government last year took the bold first step of banning junk food advertising on all forms of public transport.
We need a multipronged approach to this problem. However, Victoria can demonstrate its commitment to a healthy future for its children and young people by passing this legislation to empower local governments to restrict, for the first time, the further expansion of the fast-food industry.
[Debate adjourned]
