On 17 June 2025, in Re Kaur S ECI 2025 01364 the Supreme Court made a further modification to the network of restrictive covenants in the Mt Ridley Estate, Mickleham, shown below:

That takes the number of titles modified to allow an additional one or two dwellings, to six or more in recent years. We are now finding that most applications proceed unopposed.

And for good reason. Large subdivisions of land such as that in the Mt Ridley Estate incorporate single dwelling covenants often as an assurance to planning authorities that infrastructure will not be overwhelmed by the subdivision and subsequent development of land.

As time passes, and surrounding land is intensively developed, these subdivisions stand as artefacts to infrastructure conditions long gone.

Lots remain sufficiently large for further subdivision to occur without noticeably impacting on the amenity of neighbouring beneficiaries and the Supreme Court seems increasingly comfortable in approving applications to vary these covenants.

Significantly, the experience has been quite different for those people who apply via the permit application process, with an application in Ambrosio v Hume CC [2019] VCAT 2049 being refused on the basis that the grant of a permit could result in amenity or character loss through the creation of a differently shaped lot.

The Supreme Court, however, has been flexible in the creation of regular lots and battle axe allotments to work around existing dwellings.