From the CEO
The UDIA WA office has been a hive of activity this week with all of our Operational Committees meeting, and with judging for the Awards for Excellence projects now in full swing… which always brings an air of excitement and buzz to the team.
Touring our esteemed judges around to all the different sites is a great opportunity for the rest of the UDIA team to get out and about and see what our members are working on firsthand. A theme that has been running through a lot of our touring this week, is the importance of the public realm and community benefit. We have seen some fantastic parks, activated main streets and community facilities in greenfield areas, through to clever children’s playgrounds and other extensive amenities within impressive apartment projects.
I also had the pleasure of exploring Civic Heart with our Infill Development & Precincts Committee this morning, and it was fantastic to see residents already enjoying the vast array of amenities, as well as the coffee (and warmth) provided by The Station.
The importance of the public realm is becoming more pronounced when we consider the greater diversity of housing product, including more compact homes, that are being delivered by our members. In his presentation at our Member Briefing on Wednesday evening, Urbis Design National Housing Lead Michael Webb explored the concept and role of urban villages and the shift in focus of younger generations when it comes to housing choice and beyond the home, to the shared spaces, sustainability and inclusivity of the community they want to live in.
The importance of the public realm is being explored even further by the team at UDIA WA as we work on the September edition of our magazine, The Urbanist, which will be themed around the public realm and delve into topics including healthy streets, liveable neighbourhoods, community engagement, and a range of case studies from around the world.
At the end of the day, it is the human side of urban development that we all need to keep front of mind in the work that we are doing every day to deliver the homes that we desperately need now, and for the future.
Sarah Macaulay
Executive Director Strategy & Policy
Major Cabinet Reshuffle
UDIA National welcomed Sunday’s announcement of a senior Federal Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that included the appointment of Hon. Clare O’Neil MP as Minister for Housing and Homelessness.
In congratulating Minister O’Neil, UDIA National President Col Dutton also thanked the Hon Julie Collins MP for her work in the portfolios over the past few years. Mr Dutton particularly noted her work to build the first steps of a framework to boost housing supply and set in place Australia’s first national housing targets.
The new Ministerial lineup also includes Senator Murray Watt, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Hon Tony Burke as Minister for Immigration and the Hon Andrew Giles as Minister for Skills and Training.
Skilled migration – particularly those with specific construction skills and experience- is a key issue that must be addressed if we are to rebuild the workforce to successfully address the current housing supply crisis.
“There is much work to be done and UDIA and our members are ready to work with the Ministers in their new portfolios, so that together we can find ways that enable more Australians to secure a home of their own,” Col said.
Our Committees in Action
All UDIA WA Operational Committees are meeting over the next couple of weeks, with several meeting this week including:
Community and Consumer Conversations
The C& CC Committee met to discuss the ongoing implementation of UDIA WA’s Community Engagement Strategy that aims to enhance the reputation of the development industry and facilitate two-way engagement with the wider community on development related topics. At this meeting, the three established working groups reported on progress to date in relation to developing a range of information that will be made available on the UDIA WA website, across social media channels and other communication platforms, that is directly aimed at consumers and community members. More to come!
Infill Development & Precincts Committee tour Civic Heart
A bright start to a blustery day! Our Infill Development & Precincts Committee toured Finbar’s Civic Heart apartment complex this morning, which has quickly become an icon within the Mends Street precinct in the heart of South Perth. Scott Cameron walked the committee through the impressive project, highlighting the mix of apartment typologies from 1 bed options with no carpark, through to larger 3 bed options aimed at downsizers. The shared facilities are extensive, and it is fantastic to see the passion that our members have for delivering wider community benefit through projects like Civic Heart, that has successfully activated the ground level with the already popular The Station Bar and Café along with a range of commercial tenancies.
Following the site tour, there was a discussion of recent experiences in the social and affordable housing landscape, ongoing State Government work in this space and where the Committee feels they are best placed to assist. In addition, discussion of recent trends of applied charges to infill developments and how they are impacting on project viability.
Professional Development
The Professional Development committee discussed updates from the respective working groups to achieve strategic priorities as planned for the coming months. The committee finalised three new courses including a webinar course on Sustainability and the new Leadership Program commencing in September 2024 through to March 2025.
Environment & Climate Action
The Committee discussed the work being undertaken by DWER with respect to regional planning as well as implementing the recommendations form the Vogel-McFerran Review and how UDIA could potentially assist from an industry point of view. In addition, discussion was had around the upcoming Lifecycle Assessment Project which will look to create a standardised method of assessment of the lifecycle carbon emission of land development and the upcoming legislative and reporting standard changes which will require projects such as this to create a better way to count and report carbon in development.
Infrastructure
Key discussion points included the work being undertaken by Government to address UDIA’s concerns around collaborative planning of growth corridors. The various working groups also provided updates, including the DCP Model, Infrastructure Requirements and HV Pool groups. Updates were also received from Western Power and Water Corporation on current and future work in relation to their respective roles in the delivery of new homes.
Masterplanned Communities
The Committee received a briefing from Patrick Smit, Manager – Regional South at DevelopmentWA on the ongoing housing situation in regional WA, what DevelopmentWA is currently doing, and constraints currently faced in the delivery of housing in regional areas. The Committee also discussed where the industry could assist in resolving these issues. Discussion around the Committee’s ongoing work on Land Lease Communities, DCPs and various other policy and regulation issues which have recently arisen was also very insightful.
New UDIA WA Leadership course
Focused on supporting professionals in Western Australia’s urban development industry, UDIA WA are pleased to announce our new course designed to develop today’s professionals to be tomorrow’s leaders. Taking place on September 19, the One-day course covers the fundamentals of effective people leadership. The one-day course is paired with ongoing Industry Mentoring and applied learning through to March 2025.
To register your place in UDIA WA’s inaugural Emerging Leader Program, click here.
Market update for members
A UDIA WA Member Briefing focused on the June Quarter results of the UDIA WA Urban Development Index was held on Wednesday 31 July. Kindly hosted by Urbis, this Member Briefing shone a spotlight on the current market performance of the Western Australian greenfield residential market and forward expectations of demand and supply.
The presentations commenced with Tim Connoley (Director, Urbis) providing an economic update of the key macro-economic factors driving forward market activity across the broader housing market, with the key take-out being economic conditions are set to remain robust over the coming 12 months here in WA which will continue to support the maintenance of the strong population growth fuelled demand profile.
David Cresp (Director, Urbis) then provided a colourful overview of the June Quarter results from the UDIA WA Urban Development Index (UDI) highlighting the maintenance of the very strong land sales profile across all growth corridors. David highlighted that forward sales activity is however expected to moderate which relates, in part, to lack of available stock with the UDI Supply vs Demand Ratio for greater Perth remaining in ‘severe undersupply’ territory – which will only continue to place upward pressure on lot pricing.
Michael Web (National Housing Lead, Urbis) then provided an illuminating presentation on the role, function and evolving features of urban villages across the nation – which are all striving to deliver heighted housing choice and amenity within master planned communities.
UDIA WA’s Sarah Macaulay (Executive Director – Strategy & Policy) then facilitated an interesting panel discussion featuring David and Michael who were joined by Priya Correia (Senior Development Manager, Mirvac) and Toby Adams (Head of Research, UDIA National & WA) where a deeper dive into forward predictions for forward market activity, on-the ground insights of current consumer preferences and profiles, and emerging trends in greenfield housing planning and deliver were discussed – among other issues.
The UDIA WA Urban Development Index for the June quarter will be published and released to members early next week, so keep an eye out for it in your inbox.
Become an expert in sustainable built form with EnviroDevelopment
If you are looking to include sustainable specification for your next high-density project, or to expand your EnviroDevelopment knowledge, please join us for an in-depth look into high-density development types on 20 August. This 1-hour webinar is designed for developers and consultants, and the session will explore what is involved in getting projects certified under EnviroDevelopment and provide an overview of the technical standards, key trends, and how certification works using real-life case studies.
To book your spot in this upcoming EnviroDevelopment webinar click here.
State Government appoints experienced CEO for DevelopmentWA
UDIA WA congratulates Dean Mudford on his recent (official) appointment as CEO of DevelopmentWA. Dean is an accomplished property leader with more than 25 years of delivery experience and, as many will be aware, he has been acting in the CEO role for some time.
Dean has expertise in the delivery of projects from affordable and social housing to priority State Government projects and we look forward to continuing to work with Dean and the wider DevelopmentWA team moving forward.
Draft National Urban Policy up for discussion
The Federal Government recently released a draft Urban Policy for consultation, with an aim to establish a clear vision for urban growth across Australia. Among other objectives the goal of the policy is to enable liveable, equitable, productive and resilient urban spaces.
Given the significance of this new policy approach, UDIA WA has secured Federal representative David Mackay, Deputy Secretary for Regions, Cities, and Territories from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts to provide a key note presentation outlining the draft Policy.
Also speaking at the event, we have Dr Michael Fotheringham and Bronwen Clark, who are both members of the Federal Government’s Urban Forum, that was established to inform the draft.
Respected Town Planner Mike Day will also provide a private industry perspective on the policy and drill down to what it means for Perth.
This event is a timely opportunity to hear the details of the policy and ask any pertinent questions before the draft becomes a reality and potentially impacts on strategic planning and decision making in relation to urban growth across our major cities, including Perth.
To find out more about the policy and UDIA’s position prior to the event, you can read UDIA National’s submission on the policy here.
To register for the event and find out more, visit here