Fishermans Bend industrial draft plan open until 3 November

The Victorian Government has put a draft Precinct Implementation Plan for the Fishermans Bend Employment and Innovation Area, with draft planning controls, out for public comment until Tuesday 3 November 2026.

Why it matters

This is the industrial and commercial side of Fishermans Bend, separate from the residential precincts covered in our levy story on Amendment GC224. The government’s consultation page places the area within the City of Melbourne, north of the Westgate Freeway and west of the Bolte Bridge. It does not mention the City of Port Phillip.

The draft sets a vision for the area to be internationally renowned for advanced manufacturing, engineering and design by 2050. It builds on the 2016 Vision, the 2018 Framework and the 2021 manufacturing strategy.

The numbers

The draft divides the area into three districts: the Central Innovation District, the Westgate Manufacturing District and the Gateway Design District. Each gets planning controls and design guidance for next-generation industrial uses, and existing businesses with a long-term future in the precinct would continue to be supported.

The consultation page gives no job figure. A separate government page on advancing manufacturing, updated 12 December 2025, says it is envisaged the precinct will be home to “at least 40,000 jobs and over 20,000 students” by the 2050s. That page names Boeing, Siemens and a Department of Defence research facility among existing tenants. These are government projections, not independently verified.

The draft also proposes a phased transport and open space network delivered progressively to 2050, plus an implementation pathway that includes an approach to infrastructure funding and delivery. The page does not publish the funding detail, dwelling, floorspace or hectare figures.

What’s next

Feedback, and registration for information sessions, goes through the Engage Victoria page linked from the consultation notice. Session dates are not listed on the government page. Landowners and operators in the three districts should read the draft controls before 3 November, because funding arrangements are still to be detailed. More coverage is on the Victoria hub.