Plans of subdivision in Victoria: reading and ordering yours

It's the surveyed plan registered with Land Use Victoria under the Subdivision Act 1988 when land is divided into lots. Plan numbers start with PS, such as PS123456A. Older Victorian land may instead be on a lodged plan (LP) or a title plan (TP), which the registry prepared from an old title diagram rather than a new survey.

A plan of subdivision shows:

• Lot boundaries, dimensions and areas, and road names.
• An easement table, with each easement labelled (E-1, E-2 and so on), its purpose, width, origin and who benefits.
• Any restrictions created by the plan, such as building envelopes or a limit of one dwelling.
• Any owners corporation, with the common property and each lot's entitlement and liability.

A Victorian title is called a Register Search Statement, and it's referenced by volume and folio. Its land description names the lot and plan, and the Diagram Location line points to the plan for further details and boundaries.

The Encumbrances, Caveats and Notices section usually includes standard wording that the land is subject to any encumbrances shown or entered on the plan. So easements and restrictions on the plan bind your lot even when the title doesn't list them one by one. That's why the plan matters so much in Victoria.

Buy it from LANDATA: a plan search is A$7.90 on the LANDATA website or A$9.80 for account holders in 2026-27. You'll need the plan number, which is on your title and council rates notice. The free VicPlan Planning Property Report also shows the lot and plan for an address. If you're buying, the vendor's statement (Section 32) normally includes the title and the plan.

Title Registry doesn't sell plans yet. At launch we sell the Victorian title search (A$79), with a one-page plain-English summary, and the Title + Full Report (A$109), which explains every entry beside its original text and lists questions for your conveyancer. If you just need the PDF and know the volume and folio, LANDATA's own fee is A$8.30.

Victoria doesn't use strata plans for new developments. Units and townhouses are lots on a plan of subdivision that creates an owners corporation. The plan sets each lot's entitlement (its share of the common property and its voting weight) and liability (its share of the owners corporation's costs). The owners corporation's records, such as fees owing and minutes, are separate: buyers get an owners corporation certificate for those. See strata plans.

• Building: you generally can't build over an easement shown on the plan without consent, and restrictions on the plan can limit the size, position or number of dwellings.
• Buying: check the lot's dimensions, any easements through the yard, and any owners corporation.
• Council agreements: a section 173 agreement is a separate document recorded on the title, not part of the plan.
• Boundaries: the plan gives the legal dimensions. A licensed surveyor can mark them on the ground.