UDIA WA Policy Priorities launched
UDIA WA has released our Policy Priorities document, outlining the Institute’s advocacy focus for the next 12 months aimed at delivering the homes we need, faster. The priorities are aligned with our three-year FY27-FY29 Strategic Plan and are refreshed annually. The overarching strategic focus of Reform. Results. Resilience guides our priorities, that identify practical actions to unlock housing supply through targeted reform, effective implementation and meaningful outcomes.
Our priorities focus on four areas where government action can have the greatest impact:
- Enabling investment – securing and leveraging investment that supports housing delivery and choice;
- Infrastructure – strengthening infrastructure planning, funding and delivery certainty;
- Delivery capacity – addressing labour and construction capacity constraints; and
- Approvals reform – cutting red and green tape.
Read the UDIA WA Policy Priorities document here.
For more information, contact policy@udiawa.com.au.
Complete the Productivity Commission developer survey
The Productivity Commission’s Housing Developer Survey closes on Wednesday 30 September. With support from UDIA, all developer members are encouraged to complete the survey to ensure industry experiences are reflected in the Housing Supply Regulation Inquiry.
The survey is designed to inform the Productivity Commission of the pain points experienced by developers throughout the approvals process, and how regulatory requirements affect the cost of delivery of new housing.
The survey takes about 20 minutes to be completed and will be used by the Productivity Commission to understand the issues and target their recommendations to the reforms that will have the biggest effect on reducing red tape and help accelerate the delivery of more homes.
Complete the survey: https://s3.surveyresearch.com.au/n/peXHA5v
The survey closes on the 30th of September.
For more information, visit the Housing supply regulation inquiry.
Mood of the Nation: September 2026
SEC Newgate have released their latest findings from their Mood of the Nation survey. Canvasing Australians across the country, the report provides insights into community attitudes and priorities.
Of the 36 unprompted concerns and priorities polled, cost of living continues to concern Australians with 70% of respondents indicating that a reduction in household bills and other essential expenses is a priority.
The cost of groceries, petrol, household bills and affordable housing continue to drive Australia’s concerns in relation to cost of living. The survey saw 87% of respondents are concerned about groceries prices, 83% petrol prices while 76% and 73% respectively are concerned about affording their rent and mortgage repayments.
Overwhelmingly, the survey saw 91% of responses list the rising price of construction and building materials as a key contributor to housing affordability pressures. 84% of people believe not enough new properties are being built, while 82% say Stamp Duty makes people reluctant to downsize their property.
Behind a labour and skills shortage (79%), 75% of Australian’s believe local governments are not approving developments quickly enough and community opposition to higher density developments in their area (74%) also contribute to Australia’s housing affordability and availability issues.
Additionally, the majority of Australian’s polled have lost confidence in the housing market. 56% of survey responses believe now is a bad time to rent a home, while 44% believe it’s a bad time to sell a property and 45% believe now is a bad time to buy an investment property. Sentiment marginally improves when considering buying a home to live in, while 37% of responses also believe now is a bad time to buy a home, 29% believe it’s a good time and a further 30% think now is neither a good nor bad time to buy.
When considering the next 12 months, there is an expectation that the market will mildly improve. Those who think it will be a bad time to rent falls to 41%, a bad time to buy an investment property and sell a property each drop to 34%, and those believing it to be a bad time to buy a home to live in reducing to 22%.
Read the SEC Newgate Mood of the Nation September 2026 report.
Perth City Link Build-to-Rent development underway
Located within the Perth City Link redevelopment area on Roe Street, construction is underway for a 30-storey build-to-rent development that will deliver 174 social and affordable homes in the heart of Perth.
Delivered by the State Government with support from the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF), the development is one of 21 projects under construction with further projects expected to commence in the coming months.
Expected to be completed in 2029, the building will be constructed to achieve a minimum Silver Livable Housing Design accessibility standard and an average 8-star NatHERS energy efficiency rating.
Free Event: Economic Impact in the City
Housing All Australians and Lillypilly Place are inviting UDIA WA members to their event Economic Impact in the City: Is Compassionate Capitalism the Missing Piece for Housing?
On Thursday 15 October, the free sector and community event provides a platform for industry leaders, policy-makers, and community advocates to hear first hand how ‘compassionate capitalism’ is driving change.
Featuring a keynote presentation from Housing All Australians Founder and Director Rob Pradolin, the cross-sector symposium is an opportunity for the property development sector to help address Perth’s complex housing accessibility challenge.
Learn more about Housing All Australians.
Congratulations Keystart!
As part of our recent membership renewal process, every member that paid their membership in full by June 30 went into a draw to win a table of 10 at one of our fantastic industry lunches, valued at $1,938.
We are incredibly pleased to announce that this year, Keystart are the lucky winners!
We look forward to seeing the Keystart team at one of our upcoming lunches.
Congratulations, and we want to say to all our members, thank you for supporting UDIA WA as we embark on another year of successfully representing our members across the housing continuum.
Ocean Reef Marina’s first residential lots released
Marking a major milestone for Ocean Reef Marina, DevelopmentWA has released the first 13 residential lots to the public. Over subsequent releases, a total of 70 residential lots and three development site will be made available as part of the Stage 1A works.
The milestone has been reached after the delivery of significant marine and community infrastructure including new boat ramps, jetties, and public open spaces. Anticipated to begin the final stages of construction in 2030, the fully EnviroDevelopment certified precinct is expected to deliver over 1,000 homes and provide a vibrant mix of recreation, tourism and public open space as part of the 65-hectare waterfront development.
National Updates
UDIA National Submission: Minimum Tax on Discretionary Trusts
UDIA has made a submission to the second consultation on new 30% CGT tax changes related to discretionary trusts which are used for investment by industry.
The proposal is broad and inadvertently includes activities or trust types (like MITs) that should not be targeted.
The ATO/Treasury is targeting misuse of trusts to minimise tax by shifting money between beneficiaries.
UDIA National have provided an overview of key operational problems with the 30% minimum CGT tax proposal. There is no one solution to solve the problems for everyone.
This proposal is meant to determine which trusts are considered fixed trusts under law and do not have to apply the new CGT 30% floor. However:
- There are functional and practical issues with the fixed trust approach.
- The election that would exclude discretionary trusts nominating fixed trust distributions does not work – there are unresolved family, stamp duty and trust law issues Treasury need to solve.
- Widely held trusts, and MITS need to be specifically excluded in line with AMITs.
There needs to be a number of changes including:
- an exclusion for widely held trusts and MITs
- changes to the fixed trust tests/definition to:
- avoid catching unrelated activities.
- use actual allocations to determine status not future hypotheticals.
- allow for a wider range of trust discretions under a fixed trust.
- simpler self assessment.
- less reliance on ATO decision-making that will hold up activity.
View UDIA National’s submission.
UDIA National Submission: Inquiry into the Commonwealth Land (Affordable Housing) Bill 2026
Independent Federal Senator Pocock has proposed a Bill to provide a 30% affordable housing allocation for Commonwealth land which has been taken to a Parliamentary Inquiry.
As noted before, UDIA National have supported this proposal because:
- the affordable allocation is provided before land is sold (so the land price reflects the burden); and
- the cost is to the Commonwealth specifically – essentially the widest possible spread of costs across all taxpayers.
UDIA have made several suggestions to improve the Bill:
- Affirm in the objects that the cost of the affordable housing allocation is with the Commonwealth land pre-purchase.
- Confirm there will be agreements (where possible) with states and territories to provide “as of right” planning approval to reduce delay and cost.
- Describe how the 30% allocation is calculated and ensure any state and territory allocations for planning bonuses are included in the 30% (both requirements would be satisfied by that allocation).
- Modify the affordable housing rental discount to allow flexible reduction of rents without being tied to actual incomes.
View UDIA National’s submission.
Federal discretionary trust changes impact industry confidence
New polling released on Monday 21 September 2026 has found more than 60 per cent of small-to-medium residential and commercial property developers anticipate the Federal Budget’s proposed discretionary trust tax changes will affect the timing and viability of their projects.
Among developers expecting an impact, 37 per cent said one or more projects would be cancelled entirely, making project cancellation the most common response.
New Accent Research polling commissioned jointly by the Housing Industry Association (HIA), Master Builders Australia (MBA), the Property Council of Australia (PCA), the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) and the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) found the proposed discretionary trust reforms are likely to have significant consequences for housing delivery, development activity and small business investment.
Read the joint industry media release.
Intergenerational Report highlights need for action on housing supply
UDIA has responded to the 2026 Intergenerational Report, stating it reinforces the need for urgent action to ensure housing remains affordable for most Australians.
The report shows home ownership among 25-to-34-year-olds has fallen by 17 per cent over the past 40 years, representing up to 250,000 fewer households owning their own home.
The report notes that at the same time, the growth in new housing supply has slowed relative to demand, reversing the trend of the previous 25 years.
“Australia is now building about half as many homes each year as it was three decades ago,” said UDIA National President, Oscar Stanley
While the Intergenerational Report supports changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount that it indicates would add up to 7,500 homeowners each year over the next decade, equally it does not highlight the impact those same tax changes are expected to have on housing supply. Treasury’s own Budget estimates indicate the proposed tax changes could reduce housing supply by around 3,500 dwellings each year over the same period.