| Planning scheme | A council's rulebook for land use and building. Each Victorian council has one |
| VPP | Victoria Planning Provisions: the state's standard parts that every scheme is built from |
| Zone | What land is mainly for and what can happen on it. Every lot has one |
| Net Developable Area (NDA) | In a Precinct Structure Plan, the land for housing and employment, including lots and local streets. It leaves out parks, schools and other public land. The land budget shows it beside the lots alone |
| Lots | The land buildings stand on, leaving out streets, parks and civic land |
| Existing | What's on a site now: an estimate of homes and people from the 2021 Census, and its land, which you can change |
| Workplace jobs | Jobs based on a site, in shops, offices and other workplaces, worked out from floor space by use. Not what residents do for work |
| Capacity | How many more homes a lot's zone and limits would allow, less what's there. What the rules allow, not what will happen |
| Uptake | The share of capacity that actually gets built in a period. A starting figure in Growth, from recent approvals, that you can change |
| Suitability | How well a lot fits a chosen set of tests. A judgement to test, not a forecast |
| Housing target | The net new homes Plan for Victoria sets each council to reach by 2051 |
| Overlay | An extra control on some land, for things like heritage, flooding or built form |
| Schedule | A council's own settings for a zone or overlay, such as a height |
| Clause | A numbered section of a planning scheme |
| Standard | A number or test that shows how to meet an objective. A planner can accept another way |
| Objective | What a rule is trying to achieve |
| Variation | Departing from a discretionary standard, with reasons |
| Mandatory | Can't be varied, even with a permit |
| Discretionary | A planner can accept something else, with reasons |
| Planning permit | Council's approval to use or develop land, where the scheme requires one |
| Building permit | A separate approval that a building meets the building rules, from a building surveyor |
| VicSmart | A faster permit path for small proposals |
| Clause 54 and 55 | Rules for one home on a small lot, and for two or more homes up to about three storeys |
| Clause 57 | Rules for buildings of 4 to 6 storeys in certain zones |
| Clause 58 | Rules for apartments, mainly of 7 storeys or more |
| Clause 52.06 | Car parking rates |
| Clause 56 | Rules for subdividing land |
| Covenant | A private restriction on title. It can stop what a scheme allows |
| Easement | A right over part of a lot, often for pipes or access |
| Title | The legal record of who owns land and what binds it |