Greater Geelong City Council is calling for Government support to trial a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) – an innovative pilot program for regional Australia – to help fast-track the revitalisation of its city centre and meet the demands of the growing community.
The Council says the proposed five-year pilot would unlock housing and business development, and help restore confidence, interest and investment in central Geelong and the greater region by extension.
“We now need the Australian and Victorian governments to get on board, by committing to tax breaks, stamp duty concessions, investment support and planning reform,” said Mayor, Stretch Kontelj OAM.
“We’ve led through manufacturing, education, health, technology and clean energy, and now we have an opportunity to lead Australia once again.
“A Special Economic Zone could go a long way towards driving the private investment and economic development we desperately need.
“We have vacant and under-utilised land in central Geelong that’s ready to go, and we need to incentivise development.”
Mayor Kontelj said he wants to work with the Australian and Victorian governments to develop a solution for Geelong that could be replicated in other key growth cities.
“If we can bring all levels of government together, we have a real opportunity to create a national model for housing delivery, CBD revitalisation and regional economic growth,” he said.
“Central Geelong already has at least 16 approved residential and mixed-use developments that remain stalled because current market conditions make them financially unviable.
“At the same time, Greater Geelong has been set Victoria’s largest housing target of any municipality – metropolitan or regional – with 128,600 new homes required by 2051. Around 60% of those homes are expected to be delivered through infill development.”
The Council’s SEZ proposal requires the Federal and State Governments to:
- make significant land tax and stamp duty concessions;
- reduce government fees and charges;
- back financial schemes for apartment pre-sales;
- fast-track planning approvals;
- fund infrastructure.
“Many of these measures wouldn’t cost governments anything in the short term because they would unlock projects that simply aren’t proceeding today,” said Economic Development portfolio chair, Councillor Trent Sullivan.
“Over time, increased development and economic activity would generate greater revenue while creating more homes and jobs.”
The Council says the proposal draws on decades of international success. Special Economic Zones have transformed cities and regional economies around the world, including the Shannon region in Ireland and Shenzhen in China, by attracting investment, creating jobs and accelerating urban renewal.
More recently, governments have used SEZs to stimulate housing delivery alongside economic growth.
Transforming central Geelong is one of Council’s hallmark priority projects for 2026, and the SEZ is part of that advocacy, it stated.
Find the Council’s Priority Projects at geelongcity.vic.gov.au/advocacy.
