From the CEO
“Risk is not just part of life. It is life. The place between your comfort zone and your dream is where life takes place. It’s the high-anxiety zone, but it’s also where you discover who you are.”
That’s by Aussie-American Nick Vujicic, who was born in 1982 with no limbs. He’s now one of the biggest motivational speakers in the world on reframing challenges. What’s that got to do with development? Plenty, especially as we stand today.
We all know that development is a game of risk. Every project starts with a vision, a ‘dream’ perhaps. The vision of how we can create or regenerate a new home, community, place or space that brings joy, safety, security and connection to others. Then we step firmly out of our comfort zone into the anxiety-inducing delivery phase where a whole bunch of things could go wrong. Approvals delayed or denied, construction costs blow out, can’t get clearances fast enough and the list goes on. The anxiety becomes normalised over the extensive length of time it takes to deliver a truly outstanding outcome.
Then, finally, at completion you can stand back and celebrate what was just a dream, that has now become a reality.
That is what we did as an industry last Saturday night at the 2024 UDIA WA Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner. Acknowledging not just the projects, but also the individuals and teams behind them. Our Awards sponsors too, who all play a part in bringing a vision to life in their own ways.
What stood out the most is the collective passion and positive energy in the room. Despite the challenges in delivering more places and spaces in today’s environment and the inevitable anxiety that comes with it, the pride was palpable.
Congratulations to all our award nominees and winners and a big shout out to the UDIA team for bringing our own vision for the night to reality for over 500 people at Crown. You should all be very proud.
Tanya Steinbeck
UDIA WA Chief Executive Officer
Keystart to become Government Trading Enterprise
UDIA WA has welcomed the news this afternoon that Keystart will become a Government Trading Enterprise (GTE).
The WA Treasurer, Rita Saffioti, introduced Legislation to Parliament today that will facilitate the Government-owned home lender to become a statutory corporation.
UDIA WA has been advocating for Keystart to diversify their product offering and we hope this change will help to facilitate more flexibility in the types of products available to retail customers, along with potentially providing financial assistance to support new housing development.
This is another small step toward getting more homes on the ground, faster.
You can read more about UDIA WA’s State Election Campaign, which is focused on boosting housing supply, here.
UDIA WA Policy & Government Relations
On Monday afternoon, UDIA’s CEO and Executive Director – Strategy & Policy started off the week with a quarterly meeting with the WAPC Chairman, Director General of DPLH, Assistant DG, Executive Director of Infrastructure Planning and Policy, Chief Planning Advisor and Government Architect. Topics of discussion included:
- UDIA WA’s 2025 State Election priorities.
- An update on cross government collaboration.
- Mechanisms to enhance infrastructure coordination.
- The MRS Bill and formalisation of the process for DSPs.
- The Environmental Protection Act Amendment Bill, what is and will be possible with parallel processing and approvals and streamlining referrals to the EPA.
- Other industry feedback around matters such as the process and ongoing work on the emerging Neighbourhood Design Policy and development incentives for social and affordable housing.
Following concerns raised by members, on Tuesday morning, UDIA WA met with Minister Carey, Minister Beazley, and senior representatives from both Ministerial offices as well as the Premier’s Office to discuss potential solutions to land supply blockages associated planning and engineering clearances and approvals, particularly due to capacity constraints within the local government sector. UDIA WA has also been having positive engagement with WALGA and the GAPP Councils. UDIA WA acknowledges the resourcing constraints that are being felt throughout the industry that are impacting upon all stakeholders, and the potential solutions we have been exploring through our Infrastructure Committee seek to support local government authorities to fulfil their statutory duties and responsibilities while getting more diverse, affordable, and quality homes on the ground, faster. We look forward to further engagement with the key stakeholders on this issue.
On Tuesday afternoon, UDIA’s CEO and Executive Director – Strategy and Policy met with Minister John Carey and senior representative from his and the Deputy Premier’s Offices to discuss UDIA WA’s State Election Priorities. This conversation included discussion on various matters including HAFF funding for WA, mechanisms for increasing the viability of infill development and addressing land supply challenges to unlock housing supply in the near-term.
We thank the State Government for the willingness to engage and work collaboratively with industry to ensure homes across the housing continuum can be delivered in a timely and efficient manner.
WA’s growing housing diversity on show
Thank you to the over 500 UDIA members and guests who joined us at our annual gala dinner on Saturday night, where the very best developments in WA were crowned at the UDA WA Awards for Excellence 2024.
For the first time ever, a Senior’s Living category winner also won the highest honour with Curtin Heritage Living’s Cottesloe Redevelopment taking out the Russel Perry Award for Urban Development Excellence!
According to the Awards for Excellence judging panel, Curtin Heritage Living’s Cottesloe Redevelopment is a standout project, from the sensitive redevelopment of a heritage area, the bringing together of old and new buildings, to the seamless integration of new community amenity in the heart of Cottesloe, the project sets a new benchmark.
The first to take home one of the two new categories was joint winners Wormall Group and Erben for Cirque Duet for Team of the Year, while the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale was crowned the inaugural Local Government Authority of the Year.
Many of this year’s award winners also successfully continue to navigate ongoing challenges from the pandemic. Despite these restrictions, the industry continues to deliver innovative and quality products, building new and enhancing existing communities.
The quality of these projects and their market success is testament to the dedication and vision of the teams behind them.
Read about all the winners in this year’s showcase magazine.
Congratulations once again to all of this year’s award winners and finalists!
$9.2 billion in funding for social and affordable housing: UDIA National
Promising to deliver 4,220 social and 9,522 affordable homes, the first round of the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) and National Housing Accord programs has been announced by the Federal Government. The programs are worth $9.2 billion in investment across Commonwealth, State and Territory government, private and community housing sectors. Designed to provide ongoing funding streams to build 40,000 social and affordable housing projects, applications for round two are slated to open in the next 6 months.
A welcome move, UDIA National President Col Dutton said, “UDIA is a champion for improving the diversity and supply of housing across the continuum from at-market to affordable, social and crisis housing. The funding announced is a critical step in addressing the supply and affordability imbalances currently impacting Australians who urgently need a home.”
The additional housing funded and delivered through the HAFF will provide some financial relief for Australians in need. Housing Australia has selected an initial pipeline of 185 projects across the country under the first round of the HAFF. The pipeline is expected to deliver a third of the 40,000 social and affordable homes 5-year target, with 700 homes expected to be completed during this financial year, ready for tenants to move in across every state and territory.
While the program announced is welcome, UDIA continues to advocate for broader policy initiatives to boost housing supply, particularly for median priced housing to meet the demand from ‘middle Australia’.
Australia’s housing markets have been beset by a continuous undersupply for most of the past two decades, eroding development ready land pipelines, housing affordability and access to home ownership.
UDIA continues to assert that the shortfall in new housing stems from multiple factors: shortages of development ready land, increasing materials & skilled labour costs, productivity challenges, planning delays, it is the combination of each issue that has contributed to fewer homes, driving up purchase prices and rents.
This has led to Australians forced to pay more for homes, or rent for longer at higher rates, with a growing number inevitably forced to seek government support or social housing.
Public comment invited on Bentley Redevelopment Project
Anticipated to deliver between 800-1000 new dwellings, the Draft Bentley Redevelopment Scheme and Draft Master Plan have been released for public comment and community feedback.
The redevelopment project aims to transform the 30-hectare site into a community hub comprising a mix of housing types to accommodate community needs, proposing that one in seven homes in the precinct be dedicated to social and affordable housing.
“The release of the draft Bentley Redevelopment Scheme and Draft Master Plan marks an exciting step forward in our commitment to transforming Bentley into a thriving, inclusive community, said Victoria Park MLA Hannah Beazley, “by engaging the local community in this consultation process, we are ensuring that Bentley’s future is shaped by those who live and work here.”
While some medium-high density housing has been proposed including low-rise apartments, the Draft Master Plan focuses primarily on medium density housing including single detached, semi-detached homes and terraced housing.
View the draft Scheme on DevelopmentWA’s planning page.
Read the State Government’s media release.
WA’s population outstrips housing supply
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released population figures today that show Western Australia has the fastest growing population in the country, up 3.1 per cent in the 12 months ending March 2024, further raising alarm bells for the ongoing housing supply crisis.
UDIA WA recently released research data that shows Western Australia’s housing supply continues to lag behind growing demand. The UDIA Housing Index, launched last week, revealed that housing supply continues to weigh negatively on the overall health of the WA housing market. While UDIA Housing Index for WA is moderately high, sitting at 108.3 points, the Supply Sub-index has dropped to a weak 89.2 points. The Supply Sub-Index continues to be dragged down by persistently low dwelling commencements and near record low rental listings across the state
With a focus on creating new homes, keeping costs down, and planning for the future UDIA WA has launched a 2025 State Election Campaign that offers a range of practical solutions to address the housing supply crisis and get the homes we need on the ground, faster.
Read our State Election Campaign Priorities.
UDIA National Congress partnership opportunities
UDIA is the development industry’s most broadly represented industry body, with more than 2,000 member companies and agencies across the public and private sector.
UDIA National Congress gives your organisation the opportunity to build brand and product awareness, consolidate industry relationships and enjoy face-to-face interaction with key decision makers across the urban development industry.
National Congress has a range of partnership options available to select from, giving your organisation the ability to market to a large, focused audience from across Australia and benefit from strong brand exposure leading up and throughout the Congress promotional period.
Contact Nichola Byrne, National Congress Manager UDIA for more details.
Nominations open for Heritage Awards
Closing Friday 11 October 2024, nominations are now open for the 32nd Heritage Council of Western Australia Awards. The awards program acknowledges the outstanding contribution of individuals and organisations to heritage conservation, adaptive reuse, interpretation, tourism and promotion in Western Australia.
Including the new category, ‘Conservation or Adaptive Reuse of a Local Heritage Place’, the 2024 awards categories are:
- Voluntary Individual Contribution;
- Professional Contribution;
- Contribution by an Organisation;
- Interpretation Project;
- Heritage Tourism;
- Conservation or Adaptive Reuse of a Local Heritage Place; and
- Conservation or Adaptive Reuse of a State Registered Place.
“The Heritage Awards provide an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the dedication and passion of volunteers, professionals, private owners, local governments and others to preserving and promoting the State’s heritage assets and sites,” said Heritage Minister David Templeman.
Visit dplh.wa.gov.au/heritage-awards to make a nomination.