From the CEO
Every year, the major dictionaries announce the ‘word of the year’.
In 2024, ‘enshittification‘, manifest and ‘brain rot’ were given the crown and I think we’ve started strong in 2025 with the ‘treebate’.
To go nicely with WA’s share of the one million new homes, WA Labor is going to double Perth tree cover with one million more trees if re-elected. The $16.9 million program includes $150 household ‘treebates’ to any West Aussie over 18 to buy and plant a native tree on their property within the next ten years. This is in addition to the $10 million urban canopy growth program, now desperately needed due to the shot-hole borer decimating our most beautiful, largely non-native trees across Perth.
It’s a topic I’m becoming more and more engrossed in leading up to speaking at the WALGA Urban Forest Conference on 14 February. Aptly named the Tree House Panel, I’m joining the Mayor of the City of Armadale, Sabrina Hahn and Walter McGuire to talk about how to address threats facing urban forest resilience. Without wanting to pre-empt the discussion, as an advocate for the development industry, I myself may be one of the threats they are referring to.
Speaking of one million new homes, Commonwealth Treasury has appointed a National Housing Delivery Coordinator to improve local engagement on the National Housing Accord and work alongside the Council of Federal Financial Relations to identify solutions to increase housing supply. Next week, I will have the opportunity to brief them on why WA really is different and what can be done to increase well located housing supply. I encourage you to reach out to myself or Sarah if you have any insights or ideas you would like us to consider in advance.
Whilst all the election campaigns are firing, homes still need to be approved and delivered. One could say that we are in this mess because of the ‘gradual deterioration of a service brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided’ over many, many years. My job is to help address and prevent any further ‘enshittification’ and make manifest a better operating environment for you all.
The winning ‘word of 2025’ is sure to be hotly contested. With two elections in the next six months, we will have plenty to choose from.
Tanya Steinbeck
UDIA WA Chief Executive Officer
First Ministerial meeting for 2025
On Monday, UDIA WA’s CEO Tanya Steinbeck and Policy Officer Isaac George attended a meeting with Minister Whitby’s office to discuss various matters relating to the Minster’s portfolio.
Topics for discussion included the Federal Government’s EPBC reforms, creating a better system for offsets and enhancing the parallel processing and approvals system that the Government has recently implemented.
Ensuring the recently welcomed announcement on the Housing Enabling Infrastructure Fund (HEIF) translates into better forward planning and implementation of energy infrastructure was also discussed.
We thank Minister Whitby and his Office for their continued engagement with UDIA WA on the many crucial matters within his portfolio that impact our industry.
State Conference Keynote Speaker announced
We are excited to announce that well-known Futurist, tech entrepreneur and Channel 9 television host Steve Sammartino will provide the opening Keynote Address at our upcoming State Conference to be held at the Hilton in Busselton in February.
Steve is an expert in AI’s profound implications for business and society. From writing his first lines of code at 10, to engineering a drivable Lego car that went viral with 100 million views globally, he has a knack for turning the imaginary into reality. His latest venture is co-founding Macro3D, a company that is now 3D printing houses with cutting-edge robotics and AI technology.
Steve is currently working on the world’s first home built entirely by AI. He is not just predicting the future of technology, he is literally building it.
Steve will set the scene for this conference, which features an outstanding line up of industry and senior government speakers who will explore the theme – Developing the Future of WA.
To find out more, and to register for one of the few remaining tickets to this fantastic event visit here.
Labour Force remains tight
Western Australia continues to hold the lowest unemployment rate of any state in Australia, at just 3.4%. The latest Labour Force statistics, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today, reflect a 0.1% decrease in WA’s unemployment rate, that sits below the national rate of 4%. Our participation rate is also among the highest, at 69%.
While the figures reinforce the state’s strong economic growth, they also represent the ongoing challenge in WA’s tight labour market.
UDIA WA has been advocating for a Construction Workforce Attraction & Retention Strategy and Plan for Perth and the Regions for some time as part of our State Election campaign. As part of this, we were pleased to welcome the launch of the State Government’s ‘Build a Life in WA’ incentive, that came into effect at the beginning of January 2025.
Up to $10,000 in incentives are available for eligible building and construction professionals and tradespeople to move to WA from interstate and New Zealand.
Find out more here.
Federal Cabinet reshuffle
With the departure of Bill Shorten MP as Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Minister for Government Services, the Prime Minister today announced a minor cabinet reshuffle, including several new appointments.
In brief, Amanda Rishworth MP will be appointed the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme; Senator Katy Gallagher is set to become the Minister for Government Services; and West Australian MP Dr Anne Aly will become the Minister Assisting the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme
In addition to the above changes, Anika Wells MP, Minister for Aged Care and Minister for Sport, has been promoted to the Cabinet.
The new appointments will be sworn in at Government House on Monday 20 January 2025.
UDIA WA featured a special interview with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the recent edition of The Urbanist magazine, focused on the theme of leadership. Read the edition here.
Short term job opportunity available
UDIA WA is seeking a Policy Officer for three months…
With the housing crisis top on the agenda for the imminent State and Federal elections, this is an exciting and important time to work with UDIA WA to help enable the delivery of the homes we need, faster.
We are seeking a Policy Officer for a full-time, 3-month fixed term contract opportunity, ideally commencing Monday 24 February 2025 and ending Friday 30 May 2025.
This role would provide an unparallelled and unique opportunity to:
- rapidly gain broader exposure and knowledge of our multi-faceted industry;
- better understand the influence of effective policy, advocacy and government relations on our industry and project outcomes; and
- foster meaningful relationships across the industry.
The invaluable experience, knowledge, and connections to be developed would be of benefit to the successful candidate and any employer they work for in our industry. As such, it could make for a great secondment opportunity, with an employer’s support.
Applications close at 9am on Tuesday 28 January 2025.
Early applications are strongly encouraged as the interview process is ready to commence immediately for the right candidates.
Refer to SEEK for more information.
Accelerating Smarter Development Industry Survey
Delos Delta invites you to participate in the collaborative project Accelerating Smarter Development being undertaken by NBN and Urbis to drive interest and engagement in smart development, analyse industry perspectives, and ultimately develop an industry informed Prospectus to serve as a resource for all stakeholders.
Consisting of 22 questions, the results from the survey should serve to complement the workshops and engagement sessions undertaken during 2024, taking approximately 12-15 minutes to complete.
Participate in the Accelerating Smarter Development Industry Survey.
Bethanie Housing to deliver 90 new social homes for seniors
The State Government have announced Bethanie Housing Limited as the preferred proponent to develop and operate a new community development in Mount Lawley as part of the Housing Diversity Pipeline.
Located in Mount Lawley on the corner of East Parade and Guildford Road, Bethanie Housing will work with the Department of Communities to develop a design for the proposed three-storey development that will deliver 90 new social homes for over 55s. Part of the Housing Diversity Pipeline, with the aim of maximising the use of lazy government land, the 11,000 square metre development site is located near Mount Lawley’s shopping and recreational areas.
“Our Government continues to unlock lazy government land through the Housing Diversity Pipeline to maximise the potential of the land for social and affordable housing”, said Planning and Housing Minister John Carey. “The East Parade development will deliver 90 high-quality social homes for vulnerable seniors, within close proximity to Mount Lawley’s shopping and recreational areas.”
The development will be built to silver Liveable Homes standards. Upon construction completion, Bethanie Housing Limited will provide tenancy, maintenance and placemaking services for the building and its residents.
2024 Strata manager Annual Returns are now open
Under the provisions of the Strata Titles (General) Regulations 2019 (Regulations) all strata managers must submit an annual return by 31 March 2025. The information gathered through these returns plays an important role in shaping future policies that directly reflect the evolving needs of the strata industry.
Strata managers will need to complete their annual return electronically again this year. Annual returns can be completed via Landgate’s online portal.
For additional enquiries regarding the annual return, please contact Landgate’s strata enquiries team on 08 9273 7047 or email StrataTitlesActReform@landgate.wa.gov.au.