Green Travel Plan
An endorsed Green Travel Plan is an obligation the owner carries after occupancy. Written as a lodgement formality, it promises measures nobody funds or monitors. We tie the plan to the bike parking, end-of-trip facilities and EV bays in your design, and write it so the owner can run it.
Send us your plans and permit conditions.
[Why it matters]
A Green Travel Plan (GTP) explains how residents, staff and visitors will reach the site other than by driving alone. It also sets out who keeps that working after occupancy. Councils increasingly ask for one alongside the SMP, and an endorsed GTP becomes an ongoing obligation. We write GTPs that tie into the design (bike parking, end-of-trip facilities, EV and car share bays) and give the owner a plan they can operate.
[What is a Green Travel Plan?]
A Green Travel Plan explains how residents, staff and visitors will reach the site other than by driving alone, and sets out who keeps that working after occupancy.
It is not a traffic impact assessment. The traffic report assesses car movements and parking. The GTP sets out how car trips will be reduced and who runs those measures. The NSW SEARs list them separately.
Green Star projects use a Sustainable Transport Plan instead. Green Star's Movement and Place credit uses a Sustainable Transport Plan with a calculator-based comparison.
A planning document: how car trips will be reduced, with operational commitments and who runs them.
Assesses car movements and parking. Listed separately from the GTP in the NSW SEARs.
[What you receive]
Walking and cycling routes, public transport services, car share pods and local destinations.
Car and bicycle parking, end-of-trip facilities, EV-ready bays and loading.
Such as bicycle provision, car share, travel information packs and EV charging.
Owners corporation, building manager or tenant.
So the plan keeps working after occupancy.
With the SMP transport section, and with any traffic report on the application.
To satisfy permit conditions and council comments.
Plans, parking numbers, the traffic report (if any) and permit conditions.
[When do you need a Green Travel Plan?]
Councils and consent authorities ask for a GTP in a few predictable situations.
In Manningham, 10 or more dwellings, or more than 1,000 m² non-residential, require an SMP and a Green Travel Plan.
In Ballarat, developments of 10 or more dwellings need a GTP. Planning consultants report GTPs being requested more often.
The SEARs for schools, hospitals and tertiary institutions list a "Green Travel Plan or equivalent". They ask how the proposal will minimise car parking, encourage car share and public transport, provide bicycle parking and end-of-trip facilities, and implement a Green Travel Plan.
Use a Sustainable Transport Plan instead.
We prepare it to the condition wording and handle council comments.
The GTP documents the alternatives and the measures that support the case.
We prepare it to the SEARs wording, consistent with the transport assessment.
[How it works]
Plans, parking numbers, the traffic report (if any) and permit conditions.
Fast-track timeframes are available case by case; timeframes are confirmed at quote.
We audit the site, align with the design and agree measures with you.
A council-ready GTP, with condition and RFI responses.
No. The traffic report assesses car movements and parking. The GTP sets out how car trips will be reduced and who runs those measures. The NSW SEARs list them separately.
Often, yes. Measures like information packs or car share arrangements are ongoing. We make sure responsibilities are realistic before you lodge.
Some councils accept a transport section in the SMP. Others ask for a standalone GTP. We check which applies.
No. Green Star's Movement and Place credit uses a Sustainable Transport Plan with a calculator-based comparison.
[Why Makao]
Transport commitments match across the GTP and the SMP, and there's one point of contact for council.
If the project also targets the Movement and Place credit.
Reviewed by Kelvin Mureithi, Founder, Makao · Green Star Accredited Professional, ISAP, Engineers Australia member.
