Two different jobs
Most council planning software is a system of record: it lodges applications, routes them to referral authorities, tracks status and stores the file. GreenLight, Statura, Objective Build and Civica all live in this category, each strong at managing the workflow.
PlanSuite is the determination and report layer. It answers the planning question — is a permit required, on what grounds, and here is the council-ready assessment — using live VicPlan and Vicmap data and the actual Victorian planning scheme.
So this isn't really "either/or." PlanSuite is designed to sit alongside your lodgement system: applications keep flowing through your system of record, while planners get VicPlan-accurate intelligence and draft reports from PlanSuite.
Where each fits
| PlanSuite | Council platforms | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Planning determination & report generation | Lodgement, workflow, case management, records |
| Does the assessment? | Yes — reads the scheme and produces the determination | Generally no — they route the application to a planner |
| Data | Live VicPlan, Vicmap & GeoServer; cited scheme clauses | Address/GIS lookup & form data (varies by product) |
| Outputs | Six council-ready report types, editable Word/PDF/HTML | Application records, correspondence, tracking |
| Relationship | Complements your system of record | The system of record PlanSuite sits beside |
This comparison reflects our opinion, not an independent or impartial assessment. It is based on publicly available information as of May 2026, sourced from each vendor's website (e-vis.com.au, statura.com.au, Objective, Civica). Feature categories are general; specific products vary, and some (e.g. Objective Build, Civica's AI assessment tooling) include their own assessment features.
What PlanSuite adds for Victorian planners
The planning judgement, not just the file. PlanSuite produces the permit determination and the assessment reasoning — the work a planner would otherwise do by hand after the application lands in the queue.
VicPlan-accurate property intelligence. Zones, overlays and parcel data read live and built to match the VicPlan property report.
Council-ready reports. Delegate, initial assessment, permit, subdivision, town planning and compliance outputs in editable Word — ready to finalise.
Fast to adopt. Because it complements rather than replaces your core system, planners can use PlanSuite without a disruptive platform migration.
Minimum input from you. We know you hate filling out forms. PlanSuite works the answer out from what it can already see — your address, the plans you upload, and the live planning record behind them — so you do almost nothing and the results are still thorough.
When a platform is what you need
If the problem you're solving is how applications move through the council — online lodgement, referrals, fees, statutory clocks, records — a dedicated case-management platform is the right tool, and PlanSuite is not a replacement for it. Some of these platforms (for example Objective Build and Civica's AI assessment tooling) also include their own assessment features.
PlanSuite's strength is the Victorian planning assessment itself, with VicPlan-accurate data and council-ready reports. Many councils will want both: a system of record to manage the file, and PlanSuite to do the planning work.
Add the assessment layer to your stack
See how PlanSuite gives your planners VicPlan-accurate intelligence and council-ready reports alongside the system you already run.
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